Rating - 8.
I suppose that not many of our readers are maintaining long-term relationship with doomsters around Moscow. I am also one of the new fans, though the band's anonymity is kind of justified, as the band, that is in its 14th year of existence is over a rather long but not so fertile term of their career. Speaking in terms of numbers, it means that they are over two demos and two full-lengths; including the one my review is about. As some sort of appendix to these, they have also been covering Katatonias Without God on a tribute in 2006. Reading over the biography, it turns out that they have been through some pretty inconvenient incidents, so this lack of records is a forgivable guilt, even more so, if we take the fact that they are presenting some quality work with their recent effort into consideration. So here's Candlelight's new star.
If I only said that the songs are characterized by an abstract and beckoningly depressive mood, and a sense of loneliness, everyone was to realize that doom music is responsible for this, standing in the background in its usual, ragged funeral gowns, presenting the feelings of introversion and isolation authentically However, their style is impregnated with raw aggression, letting the listener know, that she won't only face depressive, gloomy atmosphere here. Thus the overwhelming atmosphere is strengthened by the diversity of the drums: we get some double bass segments, complemented by some fast and some more laid-back blastbeats. On the other hand, we shouldn't expect a hyperactive flux of riffs , in spite of the guitar players (Omin and Berserk) are playing rather skilfully, and they can give birth to painful melodies whenever they feel need for it. Accompanying the pushed-forward keyboards, Elhella, the only female band member takes an important role in the process of laying the album's mood. The vocalist, Sonm provides emotional clean vocals just as good as the combination of growling and shrieking, saving us from the lengthy, well-known deep-pitched growls. To put it short, the guys present us with fine compositions, saving their work from the curses of the genre, the monotonity and having the listeners bored too long. Forest Streams effort isolates itself from these weak points of the genre.
They have also broken up with the stereotypes regarding the sound: they have tried another aspect, which, in this case is not a positive achievement. I don't know, whether it's the consequence of the financial state of the band or it's intentional, but this 'echoed' sound is disturbing. In spite of this, the album's artwork reflects the band's message flawlessly. The ship, wrecked on a reef, locked in ice is meant to confront us with the flight of our life diving nose down. As the genre is doom, the one hour long record stays within the bounds of endurance, though by chopping off some of the theatrical parts the output would have been swifter. I could also have got used to more female vocals, as in the case of the title track.
Though we still have no reason to complain. This effort is rather strong. It's as much entertaining as background music, as it is when listened paying attention. The song titles reflect the bands view of the world truthfully - no affection, no deception, but bare emotions. This sympatric view gets the honesty of the whole production raised to another level. It's difficult to write about the tracks one by one, for they are illustrating a cohesive concept. However, for the sake of readers, I give it a try.
It's obvious, that songs like these are not easy to grasp. You'll need a whole lot of patience. At first, The Crown of Winter stirs up the still waters. The peaceful waves are strengthened to be some sort of flowing deluge; with the lost boat of our lives drifting on it towards the open sea. After 20 minutes, by the end of Mired we are but struggling with the water, trying to swim towards a happy existence. Track number four, Bless You to Die witnesses as bitterness turns to unleashed rage, bringing the drums into the play. For a few moments, the song shifts into pure black grinding, the hidden, anguished face of the poisoned world is painted in front of our eyes. As the continuation of our decline, The Autumn Dancers goes on in a more moderate manner, though The Seventh Symphony of Satan is all based on destruction again. This part is rather refreshing. Cutting the waves further on, we can hear Beautiful Nature, opening with a creative verse, and we can witness its full development. The last two minutes are simply great, the finest move of the whole album: the sound of church bells, then a melody, that is impossible to describe it's an elevating experience. We arrived at the end of our voyage. At the end of the journey, that is our life. We drown into the haze along with the wrecked piece of wood. The destruction of being is surrounded by deep mourning. By the end of the album, our instinctively shed tears fall into the dust, together with our bodies, and get lost in the dark eternity...
http://www.kronosmortus.hu/node/17861