A Forest of Stars - A Shadowplay for Yesterdays (Digipak CD)

A Forest of Stars - A Shadowplay for Yesterdays (Digipak CD)

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CD Digipak incl. bonus track "Dead Love" and extended 20-page booklet.

A Shadowplay For Yesterdays is the third album by A Forest Of Stars. 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 its 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 ...". Skilfully, 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!

Details

Track listing

  1. Directionless Resurrectionist
  2. Prey Tell of the Church Fate
  3. A Prophet for a Pound of Flesh
  4. The Blight of God's Acre
  5. Man's Laughter
  6. The Underside of Eden
  7. Gatherer of the Pure
  8. Left Behind as Static
  9. Corvus Corona (Part 1)
  10. Corvus Corona (Part 2)
  11. Dead Love

Review

AFOS have raised their game exceptionally: the sense of history (Victorian but also pagan), the new openness towards unabashedly captivating melody, the exquisite outpourings of British-prog (which has never sounded so fresh!), are amongst the main motives that caught my immediate attention. Now I must mention once again Mr. Curse's vocals, as they put the final sigil onto the uniqueness of this stunning band, delivering once again some of the most poignant interpretations you can find, dancing on the blood-stained razor-blade in-between psychotic and heart-breaking. Delightful Katheryne and The Gentleman are also lending their vocal chords, like several ghost telling their stories through a musical seance... - 5/5