Forest Stream
Tears of Mortal Solitude
8.2
Through the harsh Russian winters and nine months in the making, Forest Stream arrives with their debut album, Tears of Mortal Solitude. This is the first album in the trilogy based upon, according to the band, “All the sorrow, all the majesty and all the hate.” Tears of Mortal Solitude is fueled by a bleak outlook on life and a never ending sadness. Filled with epic tracks containing elements of doom, black metal, and even a hint of some gothic sound, this is an impressive debut. Musically, everything is performed solidly, but it’s the crafty and emotion-filled songwriting where Forest Stream shines. As you walk through the valley of shadows created by this album you will hear influences from early Katatonia, My Dying Bride, and early Cradle of Filth (think Dusk and Her Embrace), yet the band still manages to create a fresh sound. The keyboards add ambiance, emotion, and give a very dark gothic feeling to the overall album. During the beginning of the song “Black Swans” I even got this feeling of Mortiis’ early solo material. Wizard Omin aids in creating the depressing nature of the album with flowing melodies, spiraling solos, and crushing heavy riffs. Sonm the Darkest hits the vokills perfectly. Even through his menacing growl, a sense of sorrow can still be felt, and when his clean vokills hit (which are never over-used by the way) you can feel the bleak depressing sound even more. The drums are well played with some cool fills and help add to the epic undertones. Production-wise I can’t really say I have any complaints. Everything sounds nice, but maybe the clean vokills could have been a tad bit louder, but that’s being really nit-picky. I highly recommend that you check this album out; it managed to grow on me with each listen. Forest Stream manages to paint a picture of a bitter, frozen winter in the forest touched by the light of the moon that would make most black metal bands envious. Expect great things from this band in the future.
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Forest StreamThe Crown Of Winter
8/11/2009