PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Firstly, I have to say that this is an album I very nearly couldn’t bring myself to review, such is the raw emotion and sorrow that still courses through my veins following the tragic, untimely and unforeseen passing of Aleah back in April. I remember being sat at the computer, searching through various Trees Of Eternity videos on You Tube, trying to decide which one to choose for a Doom Metal playlist I was compiling for Planetmosh, when I noticed a new comment offering condolences. Upon checking, it transpired she had left us a mere 24 hours earlier, I was broken, heartbroken even, although I had never met her, she had a vocal style and aura that crossed borders and oceans, an ability to soothe the most furrowed of brows in the blink of an eye, through the medium of music, a medium she lived and breathed to the very end
To call ‘Hour Of The Nightingale’ an album, sounds and feels a little strange. I view this release as an epitaph, a statement of achievement, a tribute to a life no more, and a finer tribute would have been near impossible to produce. I honestly cannot begin to imagine how difficult a process putting this record together must have been for Juha and the band but they did it , and did it superbly well.
Opening with ‘My Requiem’, the mood is instantly set, a mesmeric, slow riff guiding us through a field of sorrow, backed by strings and led by the haunting beauty of a vocal that is as hard hitting and direct as it is soft and distant. ‘Eye Of Night’ follows with a more Doom Metal feel to it, again providing a perfect balance between vocal and music. ‘Condemned To Silence’ (featuring Mick Moss of Antimatter), is the first of two duets on the album, and is simply immense, a song that just builds and builds, weaving through dreamy landscapes before leaving us at the doorstep of possibly my favourite track on the album, ‘A Million Tears’. I guess if I had to pick one song on offer that would encapsulate all that I love and cherish about this band, then this would be it. Just one of those songs that you can close your eyes to and drift away, as spiritually uplifting as it is dark, seven minutes of musical perfection. The title track has a much more acoustic vibe to it but packs just as big a punch as any of the heavier tracks on the album. Indeed, all the songs on show have a great balance of out and out Metal, combined with beautifully soft and emotional passages that just melt the coldest heart. The single ‘Broken Mirror’, was I guess, a perfect choice for a single, an incredibly catchy riff and chorus make it a song that sticks in the mind from the first listen. The album closes with the second duet, this time with none other than Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost, ‘Gallows Bird’ is a nine and half minute musical journey through so many emotional landscapes that the listener cannot help but be totally fulfilled when the journey ends
It is painfully obvious that all concerned with the making of ‘Hour Of The Nightingale’ have poured their heart and soul into each and every note, making it one of the finest albums the Doom genre has ever, and will ever see. Even if you are not a fan, you cannot deny how incredibly powerful this record is on so many levels. The incredibly sad fact is of course, that there can be no follow up, no continuation of what this album achieves but what a monumental tribute it is. To leave your music imprinted in the hearts and spirits of so many is surely a gift that so few of us will ever accomplish. I still cannot listen to the whole album without becoming misty eyed , and to be able to stir so much feeling and emotion in a listener is an incredible talent
Recommended track – ‘Broken Mirror’
Track Listing ;
My Requiem
Eye Of Night
Condemned To Silence (featuring Mick Moss of Antimatter)
A Million Tears
Hour Of The Nightingale
The Passage
Broken Mirror
Black Ocean
Sinking Ships
Gallows Bird (featuring Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost)
Trees Of Eternity are ;
Aleah Starbridge – Vocals
Juha Raivio – Guitar
Frederik Norrman – Guitar
Mattias Norrman – Bass
Kai Hahto – Drums
‘Hour Of The Nightingale’ is released through Svart Records on November the 11th
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