The proud Englishmen of Dark Forest
are back with their third album, and three is also the amount of
vocalists that they've had on their albums. The new guy this time is
none other than Josh Winnard, ex- Wytch Hazel. I must say that I
wouldn't like to have been in his position before the recording of
this album, since the vocal performance on their previous album Dawn
Of Infinity, by Will Lowry-Scott, was as good as flawless. Pretty
much in league with guys like Russ North on A Sultan's Ransom or
Bruce Dickinson on Number Of The Beast. I also consider the rest of
the Dawn Of Infinity just as fantastic as its vocals, I'd even like
to call it a modern classic.
So, in other words, following it up in
a worthy way must be regarded as one of the most difficult tasks a
band ever have had to face, but Dark Forest have gathered their
forces and come up with the highly expected successor that is The
Awakening. The biggest question is of course however they've found a
vocalist that's able to fill the void that Lowry-Scott left because
of his departure. Josh Winnard's voice may not be as powerful, but
still he uses his more sort of calm and laid back voice in a
remarkable way. It's definitely most clear in Turning The Tides,
where his vocals takes over after an intro I'd almost consider as
brutal, and sways away in an almost hypnotizing way. He has simply
found his place, and managed to give the band a brand new expression,
which was just what I hoped that he would do. It's not like they
sounds totally different now though, actually I think it sounds quite
a lot like their first album, just adding a more secure vocalist and
a better production. I'm convinced that songs like The Wizard Of Alderley Edge would be taken to stunning heights played live by this
line-up of the band.
Musically then, the song writing is
far away from a flaw in their otherwise great discography. The hit
potential might not be as high in each and everyone of the songs as
their earlier work, I must admit that I didn't felt as knocked out as
I expected to feel when I heard the first samples. When the album is
experienced in it's entirety though, it all unfolds, and the order is
restored. I've got to have a few more rounds with it to decide
whether it's as good as Dawn Of Infinity or not (or maybe even
better?), but it keeps growing every time I listen to it. Dark Forest
have surely set the bar very high for 2014-releases. 9/10 /H
PS: Could it might be possible that we've even heard the song of the year already? Judge yourselves:
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