Fabled Lore

I first heard about this band by way of browsing Agalloch's catalogue and noticing the split CD they did with a two-man neofolk/ambient project from Finland going by the name of Nest. Unfamiliar with the genre, I decided to look them up and experience it first-hand (also my first experience with a kantele).

At the time I write this, the entire demo is available at Nest's Mikseri page as a free mp3 download. Upon first listen, I was intrigued by the gentle, clear ringing of the kantele strings, low basslines and atmospheric use of keyboards, but it didn't make a real big impression on me. Upon further listenings at a later date (probably a week), it became more and more appealing. Nest are great at writing very relaxing compositions that, while not being incredibly varied (particularly on their demo material, I must note), provide a lot of atmosphere that brings to mind vast forests and the creatures that dwell in them.

Over time, these four simple tracks have grown on me quite a lot, and "An Oaken Citadel" and "Land Behind the Mist" remain among my absolute Nest favorites.

While not the best material Nest have written, Fabled Lore lays the foundation for Nest's future work, which I consider to be nothing short of brilliant. A humble start.

Best moments:
- "Land Behind th Mist" and its kantele work
- The opening of "An Oaken Citadel" and how smoothly it moves into the main section