forlesen-hierophantviolent-reviews

Review from Toilet Ov Hell

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 22:04:04 +0100

From: Toilet Ov Hell

Published: September 16, 2020

There’s something about sadness.

My recent fondness for Wills Dissolve both lessened my aversion to albums consisting of long songs and had me bumbling around on the Hypnotic Dirge Bandcamp page. There I came across Forlesen‘s debut. Released all the way back in April, the album cover did seem to ring a bell, but I hadn’t checked it out yet, perhaps due to the format. Two tracks instead of just one, but both clocking in at around 20 minutes. Unwieldy, for sure. Nonetheless, now hardened by Echoes, I listened. Then I listened again. Then I immediately bought it and, during a third listen, embarked on the rambling review you’re about to read (or not). This spontaneity is pretty uncommon, and I hope it speaks to how taken I am with this record that it made me bypass my usually agonizing workflow.

While I initially thought that the slew of tags on the album’s BC page was a generic batch that every release on the label gets, I soon noticed that the “drone doom” tag doesn’t appear on all the records. And that’s where we begin: a low, ambient drone, from which the first song “Following Light” slowly, ever so slowly, builds. The press text mentions that the record was created at a time of immense loss, and that’s what I imagine this starting point to be; a moment where the almost proverbial “I don’t know what to say” as a reaction to a sad occurrence has become very literal. Can any artistic expression—any utterance—be made in the face of all-encompassing grief? The song doesn’t seem to know and has to feel this out. Softly, it extends feelers into the droning emptiness. Minimal sounds, a smattering of vocals. And as the drone responds like dry earth to rain, synths begin to take hold, and the energy softly increases as we find that yes, something can be said, and something needs to be said, even if the search for a more acute vocabulary takes up almost half the song. Analog instruments and more discernible vocals only begin to appear after the synths have prismatically broken the silence into a kaleidoscope. Tentatively, but seemingly emboldened by the options just discovered, they begin to speak of their grief, unfolding into soft, melodic doom, continually building up confidence even as the initial drone threatens to drown it.

After all that, second song “Nightbridge” doesn’t need to start at absolute zero; knowing the potential of what can grow from the void, it begins to throw a bit more into it. The void magnifies the meager input tenfold as a sudden angry, incessant banging causes the formerly half-whispered, half-muttered vocals to shriek in despair. If we refer to the stages of grief for a moment, we might find that it’s high time for anger, and clearly, there is something angry just outside the door that wants to be dealt with. But the song is not beholden to the program of Grief Counseling 101, so for now, that anger is quelled in favour of a slow vent of energy that somewhat resembles Flesh of the Stars‘ brand of doom. Before long, however, it’s back with a vengeance and cuts through the music with an incredibly stark burst of black metal. Righteous and necessary as it feels, the energy cannot be maintained for long, but even as the music resumes the minimal doom riffing, the outpour continues in the vocals, albeit in a fashion resembling an absolute breakdown, until words fail once again and a heart-wrenching guitar solo takes control of draining the emotional reservoir. The song’s closing moments are tired to the bone, utterly spent by what it worked through. Has closure been achieved? It doesn’t feel like it, but perhaps that is too much to ask anyway. The hole left by whatever loss inspired this record can probably not be filled in 40 minutes. Perhaps it can’t be filled at all. Perhaps life needs to re-arrange around it. Perhaps we will see Forlesen continue to try to build something from nothing.

Reviewed by: Hans

Review from V-M Underground

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 19:01:57 +0100

From: V-M Underground

Published: September 7, 2020

Original Link

This is different and for someone surely difficult to swallow. Forlesen present their debut two track debut album and even though there are just two tracks this record has a duration of about 40 minutes.

The two tracks roughly cut the album in half. As far as the genre is concerned, Forlesen is labelled as experimental avant-garde Black Metal. But are they a second Ulver? I don‘t think so. Different bands in the same genre can play really different Metal, for example Darkthrone and Abruptum.

Musically this record is a feast for the listener‘s senses. It is best heard at night with closed eyes, so there is nothing that could distract you from this journey. A journey through clouds of fog, mountains, lakes, woods or even some isolated castle.

Everything you see, you see it through the eyes of a bird flying over a beautiful landscape created by wonderful sounds.

This Californian trio create a perfect musical „trip“. Enjoy and free your mind. (HaCeBo)

Reviewed by: HaCeBo

Review from Metal Storm

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 18:09:13 +0100

From: Metal Storm

Published: June 15, 2020

Original Link

Hierophant Violent is the debut album from Forlesen, a trio comprised of individuals with ties to the likes of Lotus Thief, Botanist, Kayo Dot and Maudlin Of The Well. With pedigree like that, it's safe to assume Forlesen may sound quite distinctive; however, Hierophant Violent is less weird than one might expect.

Containing two tracks that form roughly equal halves of the album, Hierophant Violent falls a tad short of 40 minutes in length, so isn't as extensive as some drone/ambient records can be. Nevertheless, there's no great rush to get things going here. The first few minutes see sparse noise gradually condense into increasingly musical forms, particularly when the sci-fi synths join the fray around the 5-minute mark. However, the first third of "Following Light" features nothing more structured than the gradual layering of ambient synths, and even beyond this point, as noisy distortion, random guitar chords and percussion are introduced, it's not until effectively halfway into the song that anything that might be recognized as a clear structure and rhythm takes shape.

When we do finally have a regular drum beat, it's simple and languid; fear not, there's no great change in tone just because you can now count the tempo. This tone is further maintained by the vocals from Bezaelith, who manages to carry over the alluring, haunting vibe she delivered on Lotus Thief's Oresteia earlier this year, but in a more spacious, drifting manner. Nevertheless, in contrast to the achingly slow progression of the first half of the song, the back stretch of "Following Light" has far more purpose, building and transforming on a timeline measured in seconds rather than minutes as Bezaelith and Ascalaphus duet over increasingly intensifying percussion and guitar arrangements. Others better versed in this sphere of music may be able to deliver more useful references, but I got vibes of Nadja (particularly Queller) and Wolvennest amongst others in the latter minutes of this opening track. It's a slow burner, but a rewarding one, building and building and building without ever quite reaching an explosive climax before it suddenly begins to decay in a sweeping wave of noise.

After committing its first half to an achingly gradual doomy drone track, Hierophant Violent brings a couple of new elements into play during its second track, "Nightbridge". Not right away, of course; got plenty of muted ambience to get through first. However, the layered acapella of Bezaelith acts as a nice springboard for the band's heavier sensibilities to eventually be set loose, first as rather grandiose symphonic doom and later as a burst of black metal. It is during this former stretch of slow, sustained riffs, overlapping vocal harmonies and delicate layering that the record begins to truly shine, particularly when a surprisingly evocative guitar solo is introduced into the fray. My only potential issue concerns how connected it feels to the material it is sandwiched between on "Nightbridge"; the muted blast beat transition from the doom to the atmospheric black conclusion to the record feels slightly like "well, we need to do something to join these parts", rather than a natural bridge, whilst the initial preamble that comprises the opening third of the track feels somewhat unnecessary. Still, these are minor quibbles, and the main sections of this track are compelling when they do arrive; the mid-tempo march of the black metal riffs and accompanying shrieks deliver an intense conclusion to an otherwise sedate experience.

An interesting first outing for this trio, Hierophant Violent is a fairly accessible ambient/drone offering, particularly as the songs becoming increasingly structured as they progress. Personally, I didn't find the more ambient stretches as entrancing as some other similar artists, nor the metal parts as gripping, and there was scope for taking the record into more unusual territory to make it perhaps more unique. Nevertheless, it manages to remain engaging for much of its runtime, and could serve as a solid foothold for the trio to push onwards from into stranger territories on subsequent efforts.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by: musclassica

Review from Metal Temple

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 21:06:12 +0100

From: Metal Temple

Published: May 28, 2020

Original Link

There’s an old saying on many countries that where Portuguese is spoken: “there’s more than a way to skin a cat”, and on Metal, it means that two (or more) different bands can play a same Metal genres, but sounding completely different. Think about the differences between DARKTHRONE and ABRUPTUM as a fine example. The first plays in a raw and traditional form, and the other uses different elements to create the same darkened and morbid form of music. So to deal with the North American trio FORLESEN needs a lot of patience and attention, because “Hierophant Violent” can cause diametric opposites reactions.

Musically, they can be labeled as an Experimental/Avant-garde Black Metal, using a lot of melancholic/dreaming ambiances that some works of ULVER bears, but contrasting with some aggressive parts, without tearing the funereal and dense melancholic atmosphere that permeates the album. Of course that such form of music will not be well received for those who want some played in the speed of light or with a bone-crushing aggressiveness, but it has a hypnotic charm that can bind the listeners. Without trying to compare their work with other bands, a crossing between the experimental Space Rock moments of HAWKWIND with influences of Progressive/Dark Ambient music and some aggressiveness could be a good description of what they play.

The sonority was created to be clean and defined due the musical direction that the band takes. And it is clean and defined in the introspective moments, but with a touch of a crude quality on the aggressive parts. It’s a good work on studio, indeed, a fine work of Jack Shirley. Musically, the better thing to be done is to hear and be drowned by the catharsis of the trio on the funereal and dense “Following Light” (9 minutes of the purest Progressive Rock ambiance based on synths, and the some guitars, bass and drums with male and female voices) and the “Nightbridge” (that bears the same elements, but when the aggressive parts comes, it becomes as aggressive and nasty as any Black Metal band, with fine shrieks). Yes, only two long songs are presented on “Hierophant Violent”.

This release is really something difficult to be swallowed, but FORLESEN bears some aspects that can be worked on the next coming. This is a release for DEAD CAN DANCE and LOW fans.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by: "Metal Mark" Garcia

Review from The Sleeping Shaman

Tue, 19 May 2020 22:12:50 +0100

From: The Sleeping Shaman

Published: May 18, 2020

Original Link

Well this is a weird little entity, Hierophant Violent by Forlesen, this is not just a switch on and turn up the volume kinda deal, this is a ritual. This is a lights off, eyes closed, laying horizonal, and empty your thoughts kind of affair. If I said this was unlike anything I’ve heard before I wouldn’t be lying, it’s completely its own thing, and if you like the thought of being taken away sonically, even without the use of narcotics, then this 36 minute, two track opus will take you on that ride.

Forlesen ‘Hierophant Violent’

As there are only two tracks, it’s impossible to choose highlights; it’s safer to say that the whole experience is the highlight, the journey that unfolds is so rich and to even pick out parts is impossible.

Not so much track one, as it is the first composition, Following Light, opens with a transcendent soundscape, and I instantly feel waves of calm flow through me. It feels as if I’m floating through the universe, I’m aimless, it’s tranquil, and I feel weightless and unburdened. It softly pulses, and as a slow turbulence builds to a sudden urgency in the piece, I feel a shortness of breath.

It’s replaced by calm, it is soothing, peaceful, and I relax again, the crisp cymbals chime, like a slow heartbeat. From nowhere there’s a voice in the darkness, its ethereal, its non-threatening, and it feels as if it’s guiding me somewhat. It doesn’t last long. The calm is replaced by a tension, and the tranquillity is shattered by pulsing drums. Our starting point seems like a distant memory, do we long for a return to the calm, or follow the path into the void.

Composition two is titled Nightbridge and as I’m still recovering from Following Light, it begins. This time it’s darker, the opening vocal is more reminiscent of a chant than of anything else. It’s eerie, and invokes notions of vampires, the drums are like the rapping at a door, as if lifted from an Edgar Allan Poe fable.

this is a phenomenal piece of art, it isn’t just music, it speaks on a completely different level, it’s rich, captivating, and all consuming…

I’m awake. It feels like I’m riding the wind, no, more like I AM the wind, gently blowing over a midnight city. The haunting vocal flows through me, it calms me. But It doesn’t remain. I hang off of every sound, the drums, the guitar, those ethereal vocals, it feels like I’m being summoned home, my final days, and the end of the journey, through the portal, and into the next life.

This is broken by an intense outpouring, perhaps a reluctance to pass, the screech of the vocal, and the blast beats of resilience, the notion of unacceptance at the end of things. This breaks any ambience, its as far removed as it could be, its intense and aggressive, its urgency replaces any notions of a calm, its fiercely passionate, it pulses, and pulls me on.

We’re taken from tantric to terrifying, and back again, to the final acceptance, and as the smoke clears, I acknowledge my fate.

In all honesty, I’m blown away, this is a phenomenal piece of art, it isn’t just music, it speaks on a completely different level, it’s rich, captivating, and all consuming. To pigeon hole this into any specific category would do it no justice, it has to be experienced to be fully appreciated for what it is, and that, is a piece of art.

Review from: Lee Beamish

Review from Aristocrazia Webzine

Tue, 19 May 2020 22:11:36 +0100

From: Aristocrazia Webzine

Published: May 16, 2020

Original Link

I Forlesen sono un gruppo nato da tre musicisti già appartenenti ad alcune realtà molto apprezzate su Aristocrazia, quali Lotus Thief, Botanist e Kayo Dot. Partendo da questo presupposto, le aspettative erano molto alte e l’album di debutto Hierophant Violent non le delude affatto.

Le due tracce che compongono l’opera si espandono tanto in durata — circa diciotto minuti ciascuna — quanto in termini musicali, inglobando elementi di diversi generi per creare sonorità magiche e surreali. Hierophant Violent preferisce muoversi con una certa lentezza, appoggiandosi a volte sul vuoto minimale dello slowcore e altre sulla pesantezza mastodontica del doom metal; al contempo, però, i brani sono tutt’altro che statici e si evolvono come nella migliore tradizione dell’universo post-, raggiungendo notevoli picchi di intensità con ritmiche altamente dinamiche che fanno da contraltare alle ipnotiche fasi ambient-drone.

Nonostante quanto detto finora sia già sufficiente a evocare una realtà parallela nella testa chi ascolta, i Forlesen rincarano la dose inserendo un’importante vena psichedelica che attraversa l’intero album, alla quale si aggiunge la voce femminile raffinata e angelica, in più occasioni coadiuvata da quella maschile altrettanto pregna di emozione. L’ascolto diventa così un’esperienza quasi sovrannaturale, in grado di far viaggiare la mente in un mondo immaginario fatto di mille colori e altrettanti suoni. Hierophant Violent è un album in cui luci e ombre si confondono, dove i concetti di delicatezza e impetuosità, di bellezza e di orrore sembrano andare di pari passo fino a fondersi; e se è vero che gli aspetti più luminosi risultano evidenti nell’atmosfera incantevole che si respira nell’opera, è altrettanto impossibile ignorare gli elementi più oscuri, il cui apice è indubbiamente l’improvvisa discesa negli abissi del black metal più opprimente in “Nightbridge”.

Eppure, in un contesto così surreale, la cosa più sconcertante è scoprire quanto riesca a essere immersivo l’ascolto: non esagero se dico che fin dalla prima volta i quasi venti minuti di ogni traccia sono volati come se fossero meno della metà; questo la dice lunga sulla capacità dei tre musicisti di indurre sogni a occhi aperti, abilità che comunque non stupisce più di tanto, considerando le altre realtà di cui fanno parte.

Hierophant Violent è una piccola perla che — a dispetto della sua natura così astratta e poco orecchiabile in senso stretto — riesce ad ammaliare con una facilità impressionante, tanto da rimanere impressa fin da subito non tanto per le melodie e gli aspetti prettamente musicali, quanto per le sensazioni e le emozioni che riesce a evocare. Sembra quasi un’opera fuoriuscita spontaneamente dall’anima dei Forlesen per arrivare direttamente a quella dei loro ascoltatori, e tenendo conto del fatto che è nata in un momento di profondo dolore, l’ipotesi potrebbe non essere così campata per aria.

Review from Hellfire Magazine

Fri, 15 May 2020 23:30:45 +0100

From: Hellfire Magazine

Published: May 13, 2020

Original Link

Den Preis für das hübscheste Cover des Jahres 2020 dürften FORLESEN bereits sicher haben. Doch wie hört sich die Band an, welche Musik macht sie?

Das waren eins zu eins meine Gedanken, als mich ein Freund auf das Cover hingewiesen hatte. Für mich war es direkt ein klarer Fall: Diese Band wird gehört. Wer seine Musik in ein so wunderschönes Cover verpackt, hat nicht weniger verdient. Und eh ich mich versah, trudelte HIEROPHANT VIOLENT beim HELLFIRE-Webzine ein – und ich schlug natürlich zu.

Zwei knapp zwanzigminütige Stücke hat uns das Trio aus Kalifornien beschert – und diese mit sage und schreibe 13 stilistischen Tags auf seiner Bandcamp-Seite versehen. Sechsmal kommt dabei das Wort „Doom“ vor, viermal „Black“, nur je einmal „Atmospheric“ und „Drone“, und ansonsten weder „Pink“ noch „Floyd“. Doch sind es neben „Atmospheric“ und „Drone“ eben diese zwei Wörter, die mir beim Hochgenuss der Musik von Forlesen immer wieder durch den Kopf spuken. Richtig gelesen: Pink Floyd. Und Hochgenuss.

Zur Sache: HIEROPHANT VIOLENT ist ein Fest für die Sinne. Man hört es am besten nachts oder mit geschlossenen Augen, oder – noch besser – nachts mit geschlossenen Augen. Denn alles, was man währenddessen sehen könnte, lenkt nur davon ab, was einem FORLSESEN sehen lassen. In meinem Fall: Nebelschwaden, Berge, Seen, Wälder, Flüsse, vereinzelte Burgen, keine Menschenseele, das Wetter, die Temperatur (ja, die Temperatur) – und zwar alles aus der Vogelperspektive.

Kurzum: HIEROPHANT VIOLENT ist genau das, was man einen „Trip“ nennt.

Rating: 10/10

Reviewed by: Mathias Keiber

Review from Dissecting the Euphony

Sat, 09 May 2020 00:38:29 +0100

From: Dissecting the Euphony

Published: May 8, 2020

Original Link

Forlesen merupakan band Psychedelic Doom Metal dari Bay Area, AS. Hierophant Violent adalah terbitan pertama mereka yang dikeluarkan oleh Hypnotic Dirge Records pada 18 April 2020.

Walaupun Forlesen sebagai formasi band adalah baru tetapi line-up mereka terdiri daripada pemuzik berpengalaman dan established seperti daripada Kayo Dot, Botanist dan Maudlin the Well. Jadi anda boleh expect terbitan ini sebagai well made dan bukan separuh masak.

Hierophant Violent hanya menawarkan 2 trek yang memakan durasi hampir setengah jam, sesuatu yang boleh dijangka dengan keluaran Doom Metal. Saya bukan jenis yang boleh fokus dengan lagu panjang-panjang ni tapi Hierophant Violent buat saya terpaku sehingga habis. Saya mendapati gabungan pelbagai stailnya daripada Post-Metal, Ambient, Psychedelic, Doom dan sedikit gaya Epic serta Black Metal berjaya disatukan menjadikan ia tidak bosan.

Saya juga menyukai mood yang ditampilkan dalam terbitan ini yang nyata bukan hentam keromo. Setiap trek diberi build-up sewajarnya, dan transition mood terasa natural, daripada build-up yang brooding kepada crescendo Post-Metal bersalut Black Metal hinggalah kepada synth yang terasa ala Burzum era Varg dipenjarakan (atau sebenarnya macam Pink Floyd? Entahlah). Kedua-dua trek ini terasa padat, grand, beautiful dan puas didengari membuatkan saya agak terbuai melayan Hierophant Violent.

Ini adalah terbitan untuk pendengar Metal yanng sukakan muzik mereka bertekstur dan detailed serta inginkan mood yang build-up sebelum meletus di kemuncak. Hierophant Violent terdapat dalam format CD dan muat turun digital.

FFO: Low, Leviathan, Skepticism

Review from Valley of Steel

Sat, 09 May 2020 00:23:15 +0100

From: Valley of Steel

Published: May 8, 2020

Original Link

Well, seems like it’s about time to check in on what’s happening with our northern neighbors at Hypnotic Dirge. Here’s a new record they came out with within the past month — and if their history of quality releases wasn’t enough to recommend checking it out, surely that gorgeous artwork (produced by Benjamin A. Vierling) will draw you right in.

It turns out Hierophant Violent is the debut offering from a new ensemble from the San Francisco Bay area, consisting of members who’ve worked in various other local groups — such as Botanist, Lotus Thief, and Kayo Dot.

The album includes a total of two tracks, each right around eighteen minutes in length, and each one is practically a mirror image of the other in terms of overall mood and vibe.

“Following Light,” chanty and droney, has an aura of mysticism. It takes practically seven whole minutes to really start ramping up, but then the layers of drone notes and crashing cymbals very quickly build to an almost overwhelming din, only to subside just as quickly. From there, proceeding gently with soft melodic vocals, more and more layers again start to build up like piles of soft cozy blankets, but as they do so we find more layers of vocals as well, some harmonized parts but also a disturbed howling coming from somewhere extremely far away (or perhaps from very deep within…).

On the other hand, “Nightbridge” is much more intense throughout, much more guitar-centered, and much darker. While the song starts out kind of psychedelic-flavored in a bad-trip-flashback way, soon a series of throbbing percussive explosions usher in an epic guitar and choral-vocal section; as this undergoes myriad progressions and variations, it ultimately leads into an atmospheric-black-metal-flavored excursion that continues throughout the remainder of our journey.

This is not music that will appeal to the impatient, but those willing to invest a bit of time and attention will likely find the trip Forlesen leads them on to be a rewarding one, indeed.

Head on over to the Hypnotic Dirge Bandcamp page for NYP downloads of Hierophant Violent in addition to various physical editions as well as a rather extensive merch bundle!

Review from The Sound Not The Word

Fri, 01 May 2020 19:39:07 +0100

From: The Sound Not The Word

Published: April 30, 2020

Original Link

Given that it contains members of Lotus Thief, Kayo Dot, Botanist, and TSNTW favourites Palace of Worms, there’s high hopes for Hierophant Violent, the debut album from Forlesen. Such background means that expectations for a challenging, adventurous listen are probably fair, and Hierophant Violent meets them in superb style. Consisting of two lengthy tracks (each is almost twenty minutes long), the album is not afraid to takes its time, building up glorious psychedelic soundscapes before upending them with crushing, cathartic post-black metal. There’s as much Dead Can Dance as there is anything traditionally metal here, with all the emotional power that might imply. It is as nightmarish as it is beautiful, an album full of challenge in the an almost spiritual sense but also the promise of catharsis, that is practically flawless. When year-end lists come to be written, Hierophant Violent will surely deserve to be up there with the best of them. Incredible.