It is time for Forhist to wake up.
Created in 2020 as solo project of Vindsval (Blut aus Nord), the one-man band offers us Forhist, its first album.
Eight tracks of an Atmospheric Black Metal with pagan roots, soberly named from I to VIII, await us. We feel this connexion with nature since the introduction on I, singing birds that let place to a thick and dissonant rhythmic with passionate leads, then II introduces more majestic, more weighing tones, but as black and foggy. Mystical influences and airy leads take part to the composition, then the sound becomes rawer on III. The introduction immediately darkens the ambience, that wears a ghostly blackness, unhealthy howlings and piercing leads. We also find epic tones, like on the haunting IV, that offers impressive parts supported by majestic keyboards with sometimes Dungeon Synth accents, but also a more accessible and catchy rhythmic than the previous songs. The quiet break drives us again into this storm of blackness, then V offers a seizing melody with the sound of the waves on the background, before the storm strikes us again. VI continues into this oppressive dynamic with unholy melodies and faraway scary howlings. The sound is mesmerizing, and it is easy to let the blackness penetrate our mind, like on VII, a raw but still catchy song. To those abrasive riffs, the musician adds keyboards and backing vocals, creating an interesting and soaring contrast, that ends before VIII, the last song. More vivid and clod that the others, this song is similar to an icy wind from the north that only cease to come again later, charged og harmonics and soft but sharp ambiences from its break.
Forhist came out of nowhere to go back to the void after captivating us. Forhist is an album that has to be listened as a single piece to feel the whole atmosphere and interest, offering a temporary escape into blackness.
90/100