Farsot

To call German black metal band Farsot "cryptic" would be putting it mildly. As with many bands in that particular genre — some of whom wear corpse paint or go by weird names, fake titles, etc., Farsot eschewed the idea of going by their birth names, but — taking it one step further, admittedly — took on individual names such as: 10.XlXt (vocals), 3818.w (guitars), Pi: 1T 5r (guitars), v.03/170 (bass), and R 215k (drums). In addition to their names being rather impenetrable code, the titles for their releases shared in this style — their 2004 demo was entitled 042103freitod, for instance. Formed in 1999 in the Thruingia area of Germany, Farsot were influenced by such legendary forerunners in the black/atmospheric metal world as Satyricon and Katatonia. Their first demo, 2001's Im Zwielicht, was followed by the aforementioned 2004 release, which won them a deal with Lupus Lounge. In October of 2007, the German black metal collective released its official debut album, IIII.