A Forest of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Double yellow vinyl LP pressing housed in gatefold jacket. A Shadowplay For Yesterdays is the third album by A Forest of Stars. After last year's new editions of The Corpse Of Rebirth (2008) and Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring (2010), this record is the real Lupus Lounge / Prophecy Productions debut by the group. While their first two albums hinted at the huge potential of the collective, A Shadowplay... is aspiring for even greater things, surpassing itself in the process. As for the lyrics, this is another concept album, dealing with a man at odds with himself, torn between virtue and the path of blasphemous (self-) destruction. In terms of music, the Gentlemen's Club enters new realms. The eccentric and sinister compositions that are the trademark of A Forest of Stars are still the music's foundation, but at the same time, they lace their avant-garde black metal with influences from the rich musical heritage of Great Britain epic doom riffs find their place alongside the melodics and playfulness of classic prog rock. As the highlight of it all, the Gentlemen's Club performs an alchemical miracle despite it's musical diversity and complexity, A Shadowplay... is the band's most accessible and catchy album by far. Thus, A Forest of Stars do everything properly on A Shadowplay... Skillfully, they unite the trademarks of the past with new ideas for the future, and in doing so, they present the most important album of their discography to date. May the shadowplay commence!

A Forest of Stars are the physical manifestation of what can confidentially be called 'British Black Metal'. InchStack Overflow in Corpse Pile InterfaceInch, the grandiose sixth full-length by the band from West Yorkshire is the sonic expression of this distinct and discernible local variant of the genre. InchStack Overflow in Corpse Pile InterfaceInch sends it's tendril-like roots deep into British musical soil. In his recitative mode, vocalist Curse is even reminiscent of electro poet Anne Clark - after a steady diet of prescription drugs and rusty nails. Another sonic pillar on which InchStack Overflow in Corpse Pile InterfaceInch stands, is the violin of Katheryne aka Queen of the Ghosts. Her melodies time and time again build beautiful bridges over the dissonant churning of electric guitars as the latter gloriously luxuriate in the chaos they create. On the harsh side of their unique sound, A Forest of Stars make use of the full spectrum that both classic heavy and black metal have to offer - with deadly and progressive moments meticulously slotted into all the right places. Connoisseurs of the black arts will not fail to notice that the collective from Leeds beg to differ from traditional Norse berserkir in the wake of MAYHEM, as well as contemporary compatriots such as WINTERFYLLETH. A Forest of Stars have used their temporary hiatus well to craft a collection of excellent songs. In their quest for perfection, they even discarded an entire finished album and started again from scratch. InchStack Overflow in Corpse Pile InterfaceInch is undoubtedly pure A Forest of Stars complex, catchy, contradictory - and completely individualistic. Welcome to British Black Metal!

Forest of Stars - The Corpse Of Rebirth [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/31/2011