This is the début album from US Melodic Doom/Black/Death Metallers Forlorn Path.
For a début this is well-written, ambitious and implemented with a skill a lot of bands would envy.
Melodic and orchastrated, yet still having an intensity born of pure Metal this is more aggressive and outright better than I was expecting. From the name and album cover I thought I would be hearing a second-rate Gothic Death Metal Paradise Lost clone, but thankfully my hasty pre-judgement was incorrect, and instead we get epic, expansive, symphonic and melodic Blackened Doom of the highest quality.
At just over an hour in length a lot of passion and work has gone into this album to create a journey that you can get your teeth into.
The vocals alternate between a Black Metal rasp and an ultra-deep growl that is just a pure pleasure to experience.
The forlorn atmosphere and rich melodic melancholy combined with an more aggressive assault than a lot of bands of this genre attempt means that the album always entertains and for me is up there with recent melodic Metal greats like Amiensus.
A refreshing and surprising album; I’ve had my expectations completely surpassed and it’s an abject lesson to me that you can’t judge a band by their name or their artwork. What matters, all that matters, is what they sound like, and Forlorn Path sound very good indeed. Highly recommended.
