ALBUM REVIEW: Forest Nocturne – The Lord
Forest Nocturne is the first solo release from THE LORD – aka Greg Anderson. It’s coming out initially for this year’s Record Store Day, with a full release set to follow a few months after, and it sees THE LORD creating an album that is a mixture of an extreme metal record and a full on cinematic experience.
Anderson is, of course, best known as co-founder of Southern Lord Recordings and as an integral part of SUNN O))), but his musical CV is a vast thing indeed, counting bands as varied as GOATSNAKE, THORRS HAMMER, ENGINE KID and TEETH OF LIONS RULE THE DIVINE amongst his many musical endeavours. You can now add his own music as THE LORD to that sonic arsenal and Forest Nocturne is a formidable collection of mainly instrumental music that exudes heaviness but mainly through sheer atmosphere as it creates a sense of dread throughout in a way that is both thrilling and seemingly inescapable, like the soundtrack to a thrilling movie that has yet to be made.
This cinematic effect is extremely effective from the off and the feeling of unease is prevalent throughout Forest Nocturne as the music builds and builds, oozing tension from every pore as it creeps and creeps until ultimately a true horror is revealed.
The aptly titled Theme opens the album up and starts things off superbly by building and amping up tension with Anderson‘s instantly recognisable guitar playing at the forefront before another apt title in Church Of Herrmann pays perfect tribute to the masterful composer of such classic films as Psycho, Vertigo and Taxi Driver. It’s both chilling and beautiful at the same time, and the atmosphere that is created is simply sublime as it marries a glorious heaviness with a subtle organ sound that evokes a funereal vibe and the results are nothing but immense.
The hypnotic Lefthand Lullaby 1 follows and segues brilliantly into its Lefthand Lullaby 2 and this sequel track keeps the same hypnotic qualities but quickly amps up the heavy atmosphere to create a piece of music that evokes dread like nothing else. Forest Wake is pure panic and terror incarnate while Decidious is an ice cold slice of pure atmospheric anxiety and this keeps the atmosphere going before the epic Old Growth adds some black metal coldness to proceedings, which works brilliantly as it leads into Forest Nocturne‘s final track Triumph Of The Oak. This one features the unique vocals of MAYHEM‘s Attila Csihar and ends things on a horrific but triumphant high.
Forest Nocturne is an utter triumph and THE LORD Anderson has created an imposing but truly captivating listening experience. As the title suggests it is a dark and mysterious affair, but one that will have your full attention and keep you on edge for the whole journey.
Rating: 8/10
Forest Nocturne is set for release on April 23rd via Southern Lord Recordings.
Follow THE LORD on Bandcamp.