Both the Russian and English lyrics and titles are presented at the insert and the back of the jacket.
These are an overproduction of the colored vinyl edition, unknown quantity. All colors are mixed marble between grey and purple.
The first Forest album as a vinyl re-release by Ragnarok Records with the official permission of
Dagorath.
The four songs from the Forest - Forest album from 1996 are on the A side. On the B side is the song "Above The Raging Sea - Ratiyar" in its original version with 7.11 minutes playing time and the two previously unreleased bonus tracks: "Calling with the Furiously Howling Blizzards" and "Song to the Hall of Fights" from "Demonized the Forest" rehearsal demo.
Both the Russian and English lyrics and titles are presented at the insert and the back of the jacket.
This demo does not fall into a single category: There is a definitive black metal, some folkish, melancholic, and even an avant-garde vibe to it. The guitar tone is metallic, with hints of punk, yielding a sound that is gritty and dirty, but also reasonably heavy. Production is good, and more reminiscent of an album than a demo.
Riffs are repetitive to the point that they seem to drag on forever, but they are not losing their grip on the listener's attention, thanks to an awake compositional mind behind them that knows how to inject addicting doses of harmonic shifts. These are effectively accompanied by the vocals, which are not typical black metal shrieks throughout. While raspy, they are also vigorous and somber, and can back melodies with clean or half-clean sung passages. The overall vocal performance is excellent.
Metal wisdom from all eras combined with Burzum, Graveland and especially Darkthrone influences is in full bloom here, as songs are progressions to conquer pivotal points, while song endings remain resolutionless; drumming is ambient and sparsely accentuated, but still varied compared to the band's later, even more reductionist output. The album starts off with the most primitive riff and largely devoid of variation, but it gradually adds layers and facets to the songs, and develops its theory as the album progresses. The culmination of this effort is the fourth track, which from elements scattered throughout the album's first half builds something greater: A Graveland-esque galloping rhythm and an infectious riff, with a tone heavy as fuck, but almost too primitive to sustain even a black metal song, all of a sudden (and not a second too early) breaks out into unearthly sinister and atmospheric variations, which resolve hints not only in the precursory sections, but give the entire first half of this album gravity and meaning.
While this song is climactic, it does not end the album. The final track transcends the black metal form and wanders in almost improvisational territory, remotely evocative of Esoteric and John Zorn. Unlike Burzum, Forest use no synthesizers in their concluding track and stick to their regular instrumentarium, and with this achieve a less isolationist and more organic effect.
This demo is a highly developed work, which absorbs influences ranging from classics like Slayer and Celtic Frost to contemporaries such as Burzum and Ildjarn, and is even pioneering pagan and depressive acts. And while its ingredients were not entirely new, it demonstrates a distinct take on black metal, and is not hesitant to draw strength from its own folkish influences and melancholic leanings. It ranks among the greater works of black metal.
Sample:
youtube.com/watch?v=pvq2MWIo2Qc&list=RDpvq2MWIo2Qc&start_radio=1
