black metal
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After a calm, quiet morning, it's finally time for a decent slab of metal. I selected this Old Forest album solely based on the cover, probably expecting doom metal or perhaps even folk. I felt that the band name rung a bell. I knew it from somewhere but I couldn't figure out where I knew them from. So I started handling this as a new band until I finally read the biography. I should read the biography first...
Old Forest was actually formed in 1998, disbanded in 2000 and resurfaced seven years later. The band features members from In The Woods and Carpathian Forest. I heard their debut ('Into The Old Forest') back in the days, a fierce old school piece of work, which would now remind me of Darkthrone or Burzum. Yet, things change over the course of years and now Old Forest is back with a stunning album.
For starters, the music is slower, almost doom inspired. In that aspect, I'm often reminded of the depressive black metal style, which is usually well received here. Combined with the deep tradition of honoring the English heritage, this aspect reminds me of bands like Primordial, probably one of our favorite blackened metal bands. Raw, harsh yet melodic and immersive, that's exactly how we like our black metal and in that aspect, Old Forest certainly delivers.
Then there's the massive use of keyboards and several folk inspired melodies, both seriously enhancing the atmosphere and overall quality of this album. But what surprised me the most, is the fact that the use of clean vocals often nudges this whole thing into a heavy version of gothic rock, again the version I like the most. In four lengthy tracks, Old Forest comes up with so many musical influences that I like that I must say that this is becoming one of my favorites now.
This album reeks of greatness. It truly is a tremendous piece of work, one that can easily please the old school fans and the open minded post-black metal fans alike. So check it out and pre-order the hell out of this thing, it's a cold and haunting masterpiece that definitely deserves your attention...
Serge
Old Forest was actually formed in 1998, disbanded in 2000 and resurfaced seven years later. The band features members from In The Woods and Carpathian Forest. I heard their debut ('Into The Old Forest') back in the days, a fierce old school piece of work, which would now remind me of Darkthrone or Burzum. Yet, things change over the course of years and now Old Forest is back with a stunning album.
For starters, the music is slower, almost doom inspired. In that aspect, I'm often reminded of the depressive black metal style, which is usually well received here. Combined with the deep tradition of honoring the English heritage, this aspect reminds me of bands like Primordial, probably one of our favorite blackened metal bands. Raw, harsh yet melodic and immersive, that's exactly how we like our black metal and in that aspect, Old Forest certainly delivers.
Then there's the massive use of keyboards and several folk inspired melodies, both seriously enhancing the atmosphere and overall quality of this album. But what surprised me the most, is the fact that the use of clean vocals often nudges this whole thing into a heavy version of gothic rock, again the version I like the most. In four lengthy tracks, Old Forest comes up with so many musical influences that I like that I must say that this is becoming one of my favorites now.
This album reeks of greatness. It truly is a tremendous piece of work, one that can easily please the old school fans and the open minded post-black metal fans alike. So check it out and pre-order the hell out of this thing, it's a cold and haunting masterpiece that definitely deserves your attention...
Serge