Doomed & Stoned — Farer Climb To Furious New Heights With ‘Monad’

Farer Climb To Furious New Heights With ‘Monad’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

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There’s something extraordinary happening in the Netherlands in these extraordinary times, something which we took great pains to document in our two-part compilation, ‘Doomed & Stoned in the Netherlands’ (2020). Even after covering 60+ bands between them, we didn’t foresee the coming of the mighty doom-noise trio FARER.

Last month, Tartarus Records and Aesthetic Death released the band’s debut LP 'Monad’ (2020) on cassette and CD, respectively. I was struck by Neils Verwijk’s cover art straightaway, which reminded me of the stark transformation of one man’s anger in Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (a 2009 Japanese cyberpunk horror film, based upon a similar premise in 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man). In it, the protagonist is provoked again and again, until he sheds his human form and becomes a strange (and very violent) carbon life form – wrath incarnate.

Though there’s no evidence of Farer drawing direct inspiration from Shinya Tsukamoto’s viscerally disturbing parable, one can certainly detect an undercurrent of volcanic frustration gurgling just beneath the surface of this lumbering 52-minute behemoth. The shrieks and howls are replete with pain and anguish, reinforced by the slow and steady movement of bass and drums – two basses, in fact, and not a guitar in sight. The result is deeply atmospheric and emotionally savaging.



Today, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to bring you Farer in this remarkable live performance of Monad in its entirety. Shot by VoidManiac with a wonderful supporting crew of filmographers, stage hands, and sound engineers at Vera Club for the International Underground in Groningen, this is your chance to savor Farer in their most honest form: demanding, bleak, and undisguised.

Says the band:

Once it became clear that a true live show wasn’t happening anytime soon, we switched gears and decided to capture a live performance. Although nothing beats the real thing, we came close to conveying that unattainable live feel. We wanted it to be honest; no gimmicks. A uniform look and character shines through in all our outings, so expect monochrome long shots and slow transitions. Imagine yourself there with us, hearing the lamenting howls, rumbling of the drums, and abrasive noise of both bass guitars.

Shedding any hint of pretense, Farer lend themselves as a voice for our own angst and, indeed, a release for nearly a dozen months of pent up frustration, uncertainty, and loss. Witnessing the chains rattle on drums and the sweat-drenched crescendos accented by screeching bass strings adds something truly cathartic to the mix. It’s the next best thing to being there, so blow it up on the big screen if you can, or at the very least turn the volume up as high as the winter moon and…

…give ear.


Farer - Monad (live)


Some Buzz



Dutch doom/noise trio Farer create an imposing discord of severe, caustic bass textures, harrowing vocals and winding drums. The band, featuring members of Ortega, was originally founded as MENHIR in 2013, but chose Farer as their new moniker mid-2019, after spending two-and-a-half years of writing and recording their debut record 'Monad.’ By taking time to further explore the possibilities of being a band with two bass players and the absence of a guitar, the record exhibits the bands evolution into a new entity thoroughly. Meaning, carefully crafted, drawn-out, oppressive and compelling songs.

Traversing the absolute – 'Monad’ is a testament to suffering. Heavy grinding riffs and deep pulsating rhythms; a restless stirring. Amidst all these layers we hear the human voice as a primal wordless scream – the shock of being. We feel the dissonance of forces vying for existence and the harmony of lightless oblivion. Whispers of unfathomable truths emerge from the static.

Farer presents a tactile experience of the grim and brutal cycle of creation and destruction. There is desperation and anger, but above all a greater comprehension of the eternal patterns reverberating through flesh. The relentless driving layers of crushed sound offer no respite. In resonance is the movement of great mass. The vocals are brutally honest and raw. Complex and utterly bleak. A confrontation with the void.

Out of nothing, nothing becomes.


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