Forlet Sires – Holy (Review)

Forlet Sires are a Swiss post-black metal band. This is their second album.

2016’s Journey Towards Ruin was a definite highlight of that year, so as soon as I was told about this new release, I was quite excited.

The sheer apocalyptic weight of Forlet Sires’ earlier work has been built on and expanded, magnifying the darkness and further ranging into doom, and post-metal. Across four longer-than-previously songs the band create music that’s highly atmospheric in scope and bleak in nature.

The band sound the same, but different. What I mean by this is that the essential components that I enjoyed so much on Journey Towards Ruin are still here, but have been developed further. This amalgamation of black, doom, and post-metal is a still-developing journey, one which the band’s latest work has taken a snapshot of at a very compelling and enjoyable stage.

These new songs embrace a multitude of different speeds, feels, and atmospheres. Sometimes they’re reflective and calm, while at others they’re melodic and energetic. Frequently darkness reigns supreme, while on occasion shards of light are allowed to briefly pierce the gloom. Scything aggression and emotive texture are easy bedfellows here, and the band’s post-black metal is well-realised, structured, performed, and delivered.

The return of Forlet Sires is most welcome. Holy has managed to somehow improve on their sterling debut album, and I’ll be listening to this heavily for many years to come.

At the moment Forlet Sires remain a criminally underrated underground band. Don’t let this put you off – seek out Holy today and absorb its dark delights. It’s absolutely worth it in every way.