Astral Forest Winds

Hailing from somewhere in Sweden, Evermork play a style of Melodic Black Metal they label as Astral Metal. Their Astral Forest Winds EP, with Oak Knoll Records is perfect proof that this young band has a bright future ahead of them.

The band’s lyrics are all centred around astrology, hence the term, astral metal. The vocals on this EP are of a similar style to Abbath or Shagrath, while not the most original approach to black metal vocals, they compliment the rest of the music very well. The opening track “Autumn Meteor Shower” demonstrates the melodic side of the EP, with its catchy guitar work and vocals, while “The Comet” is a faster, more blacker song, yet still keeps its melody. The start of this song consists of very short riffs that halt for a second before starting again, with vocalist Micke Mörk throwing in a shriek or two in between. “Death Is Soon” starts out with a much lower tempo than the other two songs, but picks up about 20 or so seconds in to a much faster, more epic song.

So on the whole, this EP is definitely worthwhile buying, with a very spacey and melodic sound. I’m very glad I stumbled across this band (I got it for pennies from the Golden Lake closing down sale!) as it has become a short but sweet little gem in my collection. Highly recommended.

As yet another release from the Oak Knoll vaults had fallen into my anxious hands, without hearing a single second of the disc, I held no reservations of Astral Forest Winds being anything short of exceptional. Acting partly as the MetalReview expert on the small Massachusetts start-up label, I have developed a keen sense on what to expect from the acts that comprise the Oak Knoll roster; an anthology of outstanding metal gems that are certain to tickle my fancy no matter what mood I may be in. To put it bluntly, these guys really know how to pick ‘em. With that in mind, I eagerly proceeded to tear through the packaging that enclosed the EP in question. Lo and behold, my prior assessment was confirmed almost immediately after pressing the play button. Oak Knoll had done it again.

Relying greatly on their ‘primal’ instincts, Sweden’s EverMörk perform what they refer to as ‘Astral’ metal. Inherently, the three tracks that make up Astral Forest Winds are the band's own take on blackened melodic death. By design, the EP settles somewhere between the black metal realms of old Dissection and Dawn, while closer examination reveals the band harnessing a Gothenburg mentality that recalls Lunar Strain era In Flames. Essentially, EverMörk are a Swedish band that sounds, well, Swedish.

The trio effectively employ an in and out attack. Each song on Astral Forest Winds comes and goes in an instant, yet is guaranteed to linger in your head far after this ten minute assault has ended. Infectious melodic riffs and textured guitars are coupled with grim blackened vocals (think of a better Shagrath) and layered atop battering drum work with some insanely swift double bass. Much like Vintersorg (but less mathematical and complex), visuals of cosmic retribution paint a pretty picture of mankind’s demise; A hot theme in EverMörk’s lyrics. The sky is indeed falling, ladies and gentlemen, and EverMörk just may be your only key to survival.

The production for Astral Forest Winds takes on a quality similar to that of a mid-grade streaming internet radio station. This particular aspect of the band’s debut doesn’t take away from the explosive experience by any means. In fact, the recording actually adds a touch of unique flavor to the listen. Being that the majority of the acts that currently play this type of music tend to be more polished in the studio department, in my opinion this only exposes the true nature of EverMörk; fun dark metal that never takes itself too seriously.

In all the confusion of underground metal genres, sub-genres, and sub-subgenres, the last thing we need is additional style classifications. However, after exploring Astral Forest Winds, it is certain that the metal world will embrace EverMörk's ‘Astral’ metal.

I picked this up at a local record store just for fun.
I had never heard of the band before, and I did not know what it contained,
just that it was cheap :)

Upon the first listen, I was a little suspicious. The first track sounded like a underproduced Dissection sound-loop as the riff in the first track repeats itself many many times during the song. The vocals didn't sound anything special nor did the drumming.
The second track opened my eyes though. Here they've worked in a way I'm not familiar with. A short riff, then the music stops so the vocalist can do a little of shrieking. I'm pretty impressed, to my knowledge not many have tried this, and at least here it sounds at place.

After that, I listened the whole thing through a couple of times and declared it was not as bad I first thought, although the vocals were, and remain bad. The vocalist doesn't seem to have the right feel to his screams. Sort of when you just nag on without actually thinking.

With enough practice and new ideas I think these swedes could become something great. I'm eagerly awaiting the full-length.