| Drone Doom | Free-Prog | Doom Metal |Forgotten Mountains is the enhancement of everything Stjerneheimen were up to. Now a two-man band - with the addition of a guitarrist - Stjern grows strong from the simple lo-fi free-prog into a whole new dimension of Drone and Doom Metal. Heavy as fuck, the band manages to gather the most important elements in each of these genres. The album is influenced by Noise and Stoner Rock as well, but the Drone Doom and Progressive elements always prevail. With 35min, Forgotten Mountains keeps the heavy and giant atmosphere from beginning to end and rarely drags itself or becomes boring - as only a few of Doom records do. A wondrous listening for fans of the style or of extreme music, and an astonishing journey for even the ones who never listened to Drone music.
The album starts off with two of its bests songs. Water Realms is maybe the album's hugest song - and the longest too, with 7:30min. The droning is so intense that it can be felt at even low volumes, and the improvisation is sharp as a razorblade. Alluvium calls more the free-prog side, and, while it feels strange sometimes, it is stunning. The fast solo contrasts with the low-walk drone, making this song a big blend of dimensions. Blue Sphere - Journey of Berzerker and Unutterable Onslaught are another examples of this perfect mix of prog and drone. Rise of Poseidon drives the same road of the opening track, by huge waves of sound. The guitar maintains the loud barrage of droning chords while the bass dives into a dimension of thunder-like improvisation. Irrevocable Thoughts sounds like a war on slowmotion and the albums closer - Veil of Tears - recalls everything on the album and rushes as an whole and huge impetuous army. Put your best headphone on and the volume on maximum and prepare yourself to confront this tremendous album.
Catalog: VB-08 (Velvet Blue Records)
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10/10.
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