Peaks and valleys. If Beware the Sword You Cannot See is a landscape, it is a goddam treacherous one. A Forest of Stars crafts a brand of atmospheric black metal that champions effective use of crescendo. Fusing passages not far removed from mewithoutyou with equal parts Rush, Panopticon, and gothic prose; A Forest of Stars is unlike anything else from the genre. It’s a black metal opera without any sense of irony. Furthermore, Beware the Sword You Cannot See is a giant leap forward for the group in both production and songwriting maturity from their 2012 effort.
The proclamation-style vocals took some getting used to at first. Far from your standard growls and shrieks, it wasn’t until maybe my third listen that I began to realize their genius. Not only do they help separate the group from the myriad of contenders: they add to a sense of gravity. The lyrics and their presentation will make you ponder, rage, and even smirk; sometimes all at the same time with gems like “fuck you and the worms you rode in on.” Then, there are moments where the one-man show devolves into some really cool, evil sounding distorted growls like on "A Blaze of Hammers" and "An Automaton Adrift." But it is the constant rising and falling of these emotions that helps each peak make that much of an impression.
It is also pleasing to hear some more female vocals in black metal. While we hear them cloned time and time again in gothic and power metal, strong female performances tend to be under-utilized in the more extreme genres. Katheryne’s contributions add to the already-present beauty of each composition, and often create a similar dynamic as heard on the Triptykon albums.
While the guitar work and drumming are fairly average for BM, it is in the strings, synths, and other instrumentation where songs truly shine. The hearty fiddles and flutes create a sense of folklore while other string arrangements offer a sense of class to certain movements. Various effects on the keyboards recall everything from 70’s prog rock to Beethoven. Then there is "Proboscis:" the combination of the stage-worthy vocal performance, indie-rock bass, and reverse-track synth produces something totally hypnotic. This was by far my favorite track.
Speaking of classical, the last part of the album is a single oeuvre broken into multiple movements. I was pleased with this approach as someone who likes to pick and choose certain parts for playlist shuffling in addition to full listens. More importantly, each movement offers a completely different flavor while maintaining theme and engagement.
Final word: required listening for 2015. Whether you are into black metal or any other subgenre, there is undoubtedly something here for you. I would wager even the most Wilco-listening, Dave Matthews concert-attending light-rocker may at least find something of interest. While it may not make sense at first pass, repeat attempts reveal layers of masterful songwriting and refusal to adhere to the norm. At $6.99 on bandcamp, it's a steal.