Cold, vast mountain landscapes.
Piercing gusts in the heart of winter. Although nothing explicitly
implies it here, I sense a strong nordic spirit in Forlorn Winds'
debut album The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun, in the kind of way a
Hate Forest record like Purity or Sorrow conveys its coldness – and
I wouldn't surprise if indeed the aforementioned band was a
deliberate influence on this band's sound.
The members behind Forlorn Winds aren't
any newcomers into black metal, though. Comprising a doublet of
Pantheon and Dark Fury related personnel, one might already guess
that this fusion would result in a competent record, and that is very
true. The band plays very straightforward, monotonous style of black
metal that is dominated by steady drum machine blasts and breezing
tremolo riffing. Melodically, the album is not entirely harsh nor
mournful: it nicely balances between the two elements, evoking a
rather epic yet ominous atmosphere. Fitting mid-range growls complete
the package, and in the end I don't have much bad things to say about
the album.
The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun is
smoothly executed underground black metal that on the other hand
doesn't provide anything new, but on the other it has pretty much
everything a good black metal album needs. No tricks, no surprises.
Sometimes during the course of the album it might get even a bit too
monotonous, but luckily Forlorn Winds have kept all their songs under
four minutes, so these raucous blasts will never tire the listener.
Just when the riff patterns would get too familiar, the song ends and
a new beast emerges. So if you happen to crave for another Blood of Kingu or Hate Forest record, you might want to give Forlorn Winds a
chance.
3.5 / 5
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