The Eternal Winter

Third of a dark ambient trilogy of demos on the subject of ... winter, nature and solitude, "The Eternal Winter" sees off the early stage of Forest Silence's musical development before the act became more BM-oriented. The transition to BM begins with the title track which is dominated by rhythmic tremolo BM guitars in the foreground, highlighted with squealing lead guitar wash and licks as a backdrop. The texture of the riffing is crisp and crackly which contrasts with the smooth if mournful synthesiser ambience which at times appears as a heaving subterranean presence. Percussion is muted and nothing special but at this point guitars and synths need no competition. The music has a strong epic feel and is very majestic at times: if the drumming was better, sharper or eliminated entirely, this piece would be magnificent indeed. Listeners might feel themselves to be in the presence of something very special and deserving of much more than a 21-minute EP.

The momentum and scale created continue in "I Feel the Claws of Darkness", a mysterious shadow entity that seems much more than what is heard here with 7/8-ths buried beneath the sinister cavernous wash, crisp guitars and sighing voices. This is quite a repetitive piece that coasts along for the most part, building up dark and malevolent atmosphere and generally filling in the gaps in the blackened labyrinth universe created so far. The final track "Silence" is a mostly acoustic all-ambient piece of darkling solo piano embellished by a bass melody, sonic wash and various exotic effects.

This EP has the makings of something much greater and magnificent in the manner of a soundtrack to a dark experimental film meditating on solitude and the spiritual transformation and enlightenment that might come with contact with the darkest depths of a black hellish universe. As it is, it seems top-heavy: the third track is not enough to balance the preceding two and to bring the tension generated in those BM-oriented tracks to a satisfying conclusion. The recording could be reworked into a grander meditation on darkness, winter and solitude at some later date, it deserves a grander treatment.