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Although I (2016) is the debut album from the UK atmospheric black metal artist known as Fuath, it's sole member Andy Marshall is hardly a stranger to the black metal scene. Having operated multiple projects on his own, most notable Saor (originally Àrsaidh), as well as being a member of Falloch at one point, Fuath is just the next in a line of projects tackling different takes on black metal.
Compared to his work with Saor, I does feel a bit more standardised for the atmospheric black metal genre, featuring a wintry vibe (Saor I guess could be described as any season but) and sticking to a more basic formula without any major deviations across it's four tracks. It would be fair to say it's a more generic release from Andy Marshall than fans of the genre will be used to if they know either of Saor's albums, but that by no means makes it unworthy of your time. It has a nice absorbing and relaxing kind of feel to it and while the individual tracks don't offer much to stand out on their own (nothing unusual for the genre there), it's an enjoyable listen from start to finish. The closing Spirit of the North stands out for me as the gem of the release.
If you know and like the genre, I is an easy album to appreciate, though for the same reason it may struggle to win over listeners who have heard this sort of thing just a bit too much from the atmospheric black metal scene. When it boils down to it though, I really quite like this one. At the end of the day Fuath presents a different side to Andy Marshall than we get to hear from the more folksy Saor. That's always a nice thing to experience and being a dab hand at atmospheric black metal by now, it shouldn't come as any surprise that I is one of the better examples of this kind of sound that I've come across. It's a high quality work that shouldn't be overlooked, though I do expect that when Saor drops it's currently upcoming third album Guardians (2016) this one will be blown out of the water. The two projects contrast each other quite well though, so based on what's been released of Guardians to date it looks like Andy Marshall has a double winner on his hands for 2016.