Window of the Eye

Falls of Rauros is "North Appalachian Heathen Black Folk Metal" if you need a
description, and the music is experimental ambient melodic nature-
worshipping fare much in the vein of Agalloch, Opeth, Nest, Ulver, and in its
blacker moments, Satanic Warmaster or Taake.
The experimentation here keeps this cd fresh, like a breeze going through a
lush forest, collecting the various scents of the plants and animals within,
there are elements of emo/post-hardcore (!) here in the first track "Retracing
Our Lineage" and the vocals vary from whispered rasps to bitter growls and
world-weary "Burzumic" howls, and a few scattered viking metal chants, all
interlaced at random moments, sometimes seeming out of place with the
improvisational jam mood of the music, most markedly on "To Witness
Existence as a Subserviant Entity"'s "Laye-Daye-Dae-Daye" chant, which sort
of catches you off-guard, as well as the blackened screams which come in
over the slow-melodic-acoustic parts throughout. The guitars basically keep a
low profile for the most part but are very well-played and even come out with
some weird solos and power/prog-style riffing which just has to be heard.

For those enraptured with Opeth and the other previously-mentioned bands,
I'm sure you're already interested, and indeed Falls of Rauros is worth
checking out, but if you're a staunch "grim cold evil" black metaller, turned-
off by any deviation or experimentalism, you really would be missing out by
not giving this al isten, as once "The Winter Harvest" rolls in, the focus is
strictly on the black nocturnal essence found in the nordic greats such as
Forest of Fog, Vinterriket (though sans-keys), Pest, and Wigrid... this is only
an ep, and so there is only a small sample of FoR's potential here but it's a
great place to start, and if you reside in or near the Maine are these guys are
from, check their website and look for one of their upcoming live shows, sure
to be an intense experience.

(originally posted for darksoul7.com)