| Reviews for Forest of Shadows's Six Waves of Woe |
| All warm and fuzzy - 70% |
| Written by autothrall
on November 2nd, 2009
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| Forest of Shadows released a good debut in Departure a few years back, and this sophomore effort shows an increase in both maturity and depth to Niclas Frohagen's brand of swelling, transcendent doom. Consider that this is the work of a single man and you'll be even more impressed. Six Waves of Woe is a pretty direct title; each of these six songs is an emblem of sadness upon a tear-stained, frozen landscape. "Submission" takes off with some very minimal atmosphere, percussion and some light guitar chords breeding a somber theme, then picking it up with driving gothic doom and the man's sad, clean vocals. "Selfdestructive" once again starts things out slowly, but very catchy, until crushing you with its weight. Though his clean vocals are effective, I vastly prefer his growling which kicks in with this track. "Detached" is another song in roughly the same formula, but I was most pleased with "Moments in Solitude" which just starts out directly with a wall of soaring doom and downward spiral of melody. "Pernicious" also cuts straight to the chase, another of my favorites here. The closer "Deprived" has a similar format to the first few tracks but it's also quite good. As far as lyrics, well...we have an expression 'qq a little more' in online gaming, and this would probably apply to these very depressing words. But for the style of music they fit beautifully. You truly can't lose here if you are a fan of the crushing gothic death/doom of early Anathema, Paradise Lost, or My Dying Bride. But Six Waves of Woe will likewise appeal to fans of the more driving, melodic style of Katatonia, Rapture or Daylight Dies. Either way, you win (or lose, it's doom after all). Recommended to ruin those last few warm, sunny days of your year. Unless you live where it's warm all year round, in which case...you'll never understand. -autothrall http://www.fromthedustreturned.com |
| Niclas has perfected his ideas - 100% |
| Written by Cedric
on January 8th, 2009
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| This is the only 100% I have ever given to an album, and it's worth it. This is the best release I've heard in 2008, and it completely took me by surprise. While Departure was an amazing mix of electronica, doom metal, and minimalism, and this formula is still here, the tightness of the songwriting has increased exponentially. The first thing you notice when comparing this to Departure is the song lengths. Frohagen has cut down the lengths of songs significantly. There are no 20+ minute songs on here, which doesn't mean they don't reach the epic levels of catharsis, it just means they reach it quicker than before. Every song starts differently, but there's a clear build to climax in every one of them, with beautiful electronic almost Massive Attack-like interludes in between the heavy sections. Niclas' vocals have matured a lot, too. He was never a wailer, but his voice fits the music perfectly in their melancholy and slow, droning phrasing. His death vocals are thicker, more punishing here. The introduction of the harsher vocals in "Self Destructive" will hit you like a brick wall. It's clear what he has been listening to in the meantime. I definitely sense a clear influence from Cult of Luna and other post metal bands. The songs are solo-less, and there's no unnecessary wankery. Everything serves a purpose, and the layers complement each other seamlessly. By layering keyboards, electronic drums, heavy guitar and bass and occasional acoustic guitars with an almost 70s aesthetic in the keyboard production, he manages to create a thick atmosphere in every song. Surprisingly, the bass plays a huge role on this album, and you can hear it guide the music along in every song. This is where the Cult of Luna comparison really works, as it guides the music in that clear 8th note pump sway that COL possess. Every song on this record is an epic of its own, and even after 20 listens since I got it, it has not yet become tiring. For fans of Katatonia, Cult of Luna, My Dying Bride, and Jesu, this is recommended highly! |