Album Review: A Forest of Stars – Grave Mounds And Grave Mistakes (Prophecy Productions)

One of the UK’s leading avant-garde black metal bands, A Forest of Stars will release their brand new album, On Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes on the 28th September 2018 via Prophecy Productions. An exploration of the struggle against insanity, A Forest of Stars celebrates lushness and exuberance with this new release.

Sit down. Draw the curtains. Close all the doors. Light a solitary candle to soften the darkness. Now you’re ready for On Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes.

What an epic effort this is from A Forest of Stars. Glorious in how unusual it is but still drawing heavily from the well of black metal throughout the years. An album of experimental atmospheric darkness that delivers a deep, varied and fresh sound.

Each track is a long and arduous tale that only A Forest of Stars know how tell and they are determined to make sure you listen. Blending huge and cold melancholy passages with feral heaviness and dark spoken word monologues, Precipice Pirouette and Tombward Bound fill the mind up with scenes of horrifying beauty. The latter in particular is one of the finest tracks to be released this year.

Breathless. It will leave you feeling breathless so it’s somewhat a relief when Premature Invocation leans back to play soft flute folk-like melody. It’s short-lived though as the track reaches desperate levels of intensity demanding your entire attention.

Give it and while you’re at it give yourself over to the Children of the Night Soil and allow yourself to be Taken by the Sea. Both continuing the trend of deeply affecting music.

It’s with great sadness but also happiness that On Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes has to end. Sadness because it is such an incredible release you don’t want it to be over but happiness because it has been such an experience. Both Scripturally Transmitted Disease and Decomposing Deity Dancehall make sure there is no room for any doubting the quality of A Forest of Star’s new release. They’ve set a high bar for atmospheric black metal in the latter part of 2018.

A Forest of Stars – On Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes Full Track Listing:

1. Persistence is All
2. Precipice Pirouette
3. Tombward Bound
4. Premature Invocation
5. Children of the Night Soil
6. Taken by the Sea
7. Scripturally Transmitted Disease
8. Decomposing Deity Dancehall

You can buy the physical copy of the album via Prophecy Records here and the digital version via Bandcamp here. Keep up to date with news by checking out their website and Facebook Page.