Deciduous Forest has come to life.
Created in Australia by multi-instrumentalist Snjór (Graveir, live for Brimstone and Hebephrenique), the project calls on Chris Chapman (drums) to bring Fields of Yore to life, in collaboration with Gutter Prince Cabal.
The path opens with The Formless One, the first composition that quickly reveals its enchanting tones with Atmospheric Black Metal influences, welcoming fierce vocals to further darken the landscape. The harmonics and keyboards capture our attention almost constantly, allowing the singer to regain it at times, only to give it back to them during the most intense passages, but also in the quietest passages, including the one that leads to Ghost Of Lies and its intoxicating riffs. Leads once again fascinate us and draw us towards the dark growls that fuel the contrast with the brighter elements before blending in and tinging them with an oppressive melancholy, before offering a more jerky approach that finally joins Fields of Yore, the eponymous track. The magic happens from the very first seconds, enveloping us in this increasingly tortured universe, transforming the screams into something more plaintive before the refined break that calms us for a moment, then allows itself to be corrupted again by saturation and lets us drift along with it, rediscovering its overwhelming pain before finally letting Ages Past follow suit. The sound quickly becomes more disturbing, almost oppressive and suffocating but relatively majestic, offering a much rawer, colder approach to this sound that remains rooted in sorrow and creates a new, more solemn mix. The track breaks in the middle to give us a respite with a softer sound, but it will resume in an even more grandiose, but also brighter way before succumbing once again to the call of darkness and letting Anemoia, the shortest composition, offering us a long and soothing introduction that joins imposing but still fairly calm riffs, thus ending the album with this epic touch.
Deciduous Forest‘s sound identity is already well established for a first effort. Fields of Yore exactly knows where it’s taking us and does not hesitate to explore several facets of darkness to enchant us.
90/100