_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Stellar Forest ::\ :: Album :: Stellar Forest :: :: Year :: 2025 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: MCD . :: :: Label :: Transcendance R.date :: 2025-02-28 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: S.date :: 2025-01-10 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 260kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 57.54 MB . . . https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Stellar_Forest __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: :: :: 1. I 4:24 :: :: 2. II 3:34 :: :: 3. III 4:57 :: :: 4. IV 5:44 :: :: 5. V 6:29 :: :: 6. VI 4:09 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 29:17 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: blast beats and break beats meet in this realm of black metal / :: :: trance techno sound. :: :: :: :: Stellar Forest may be new but members Erroiak (vocals) and :: :: Septev (all instruments) come with a lot of experience in black :: :: metal, atmospheric black metal and dark ambient, and various :: :: combinations of these genres. It's no surprise then that this :: :: EP merges elements of these aforementioned styles into a hybrid :: :: blackened techno / ambient synthesis, and moreover one that :: :: manages to be savage and hard-hitting, noisy and cold, and at :: :: the same time icy-glossy and polished, and trance-inducing, in :: :: a way that electronic pop can be. Searing, burning tremolo BM :: :: guitars, furious blast-beat percussion and spidery roaring, :: :: rasping vocals meet a barrage of glacial dark ambient, :: :: minimalist coldwave melody, glitch electronics and breakbeats: :: :: the range of influences and inspirations brought by Erroiak and :: :: Septev are mind-boggling but across all six tracks of the EP :: :: the black metal elements are clearly defined and help to anchor :: :: the varieties of non-metal music that pass through. :: :: :: :: Tracks are numbered I to VI and can be treated as being mostly :: :: instrumental, as Erroiak's screaming, wailing vocals tend more :: :: to be one of various layers of sonic texture in each and every :: :: track. At just under 30 minutes, the EP plays as a soundtrack :: :: to a futuristic science fiction film just waiting to be made, :: :: once the Stellar Forest men give their thumbs up to such a :: :: project. The noisy scourging BM guitars and pounding drums may :: :: be upfront across most tracks but the synthesisers and :: :: electronics fill the spaces behind them, presenting a :: :: soundscape made intriguing, mysterious and complex by all the :: :: contrasts of its component musics and their interactions :: :: between and among one another. :: :: :: :: As the EP continues, the music becomes more and more dreamy and :: :: trance-inducing, as breakbeats and ambient drones start :: :: competing for equal attention with the BM elements, sometimes :: :: superseding them altogether (as on track III), and often it :: :: seems as if all the angels in Heaven and the demons in Hell :: :: have come together in one Almighty rave that ranges over the :: :: length and breadth of the known cosmos. While parts of the :: :: music can be ugly and savage, and melancholy can be found :: :: (especially on track 5), the overall impression is of a :: :: sweeping glacial and abstract beauty that can be ethereal and :: :: spiritual, and which is not usually malevolent though neither :: :: is it completely benign. In all of this, Erroiak and Septev do :: :: not forget that melody, riff and proper song composition :: :: matter, and all songs feature these structural constituents, :: :: even if in unusual ways. :: :: :: :: A most singular sound universe of sweeping cold beauty, :: :: terrifying and confronting, yet breathtaking in its scope and :: :: ambition, beckons to all who might dare enter the Stellar :: :: Forest realm. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :