After having received much praise from critics and fans worldwide and following several live appearances on their native soil, the UK psychedelic black metal ensemble A FOREST OF STARSgathered around a few cups of tea to lay down the foundations of what would be their second full-length album. Several séances in Rob Hobson’s Silent City Studio during winter of 2009 led to the recording of the fittingly titled Opportunistic Thieves of Spring, a work of magic and alchemy in the tradition of their Victorian contemporaries.
Released via Transcendental Creations earlier this summer, the now quintuplet -- having added drummer John Bishop to the fold -- took the elements brought fourth on their dramatic The Corpse Of Rebirth offering, to a whole new level, adding new sound textures with oriental percussion and peculiar string arrangements. Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring will carry the listener through a vast musical landscape; an unearthly journey from the rise of mankind to the Golden Age to its decline in the Kali Yuga.
Check out "Sorrow's Impetus," the opening track from Opportunistic Thieves of Spring at Stereogum here:
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A Forest of Stars - Raven's Eye View (Louis Le Prince Edit)
Hyper Dynamical Super Vision
"...it’s still black metal as art, not as blasphemous brutality, and there aren’t many acts out there that can manipulate those dark forces as well as A Forest Of Stars." -- The Big Takeover
"A Forest Of Stars is its own entity, one that is easily recognizable among the crop of bands in the genre. When you hear a song from A Forest of Stars, you are hearing something distinct and fresh; a twist on an ancient formula." -- Metal Underground
"A Forest Of Stars’ music is filled with distinctive individual elements, but it’s the overall tone and feel of their songs that really sets the band apart. Each track on Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring offers a plethora of varying musical ideas that somehow come together into a singular whole..." -- Metal Review
"...they’ve managed to create a sound that’s unsettling in not only its tonality, but its instrumentation as well, with micro-tonal keyboard sweeps and violin slides that blow away traditional Western approaches to melody and harmony, and leave the listener awash in a wave of paranoia and claustrophobia." -- Stonerrock.com
A FOREST OF STARS will be available for a limited number of phone interviews next week (exact dates and times TBA). Beckon us with your requests ASAP.
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