Released By : Seven Kingdoms Records
Genre : Anglo-Saxon Folk Metal
Link : http://www.forefather.net/
Lineup:
Wulfstan – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Athelstan – Guitar, Bass, Keys
Tracklist:
01. Cometh The King
02. Last Of The Line
03. Chorus Of Steel
04. By The Deeds
05. Up High
06. Wolves Of Prayer
07. Wyrda Gesceaft
08. Doomsday Dawns
09. Shadows Of The Dead
10. Spears Of Faith
11. The Downfallen
12. Into The Rising Sun
As this album was originally released back in December of 2011, I’m a little bit late with this one, but stay with me folks as it’s definitely worth going back a little bit, just in case you missed out on this gem.
If you haven’t heard of FOREFATHER before fear not, while critical acclaim may have passed them by thus far, this is one of those bands that people discover and very quickly become extremely passionate about, as I did with the bands previous album from 2008, STEADFAST. The band itself is actually the creation of two brothers who base their lyrical content and their overall sound to a degree on the English Anglo-Saxon period of history. This already puts the band at a distinct advantage as they really are in a small, small minority as far as bands based around that particular subject matter goes. What’s more though, musically these guys really have their shit together. Pagan/Viking style Metal with some Black Metal influences is the base of the sound, but I also get an occasional Power Metal vibe and the English influence also shines through with some real NWOBHM feeling passages thrown in also. Imagine if you will a half-way point between CRADLE OF FILTH and IRON MAIDEN singing lyrics about kings, great battles and epic sea-storms…But that doesn’t totally do them justice, you really have to hear it for yourself.
This new album, their sixth full-length release in all (seventh if you count their 2000 release which was a collection of previous demos), is maybe a tiny, tiny bit down on their masterful previous album STEADFAST, but it’s still an excellent album that deserves plenty more attention than it initially received. The more aggressive moments like the unrelenting SHADOWS OF THE DEAD and the rumble & tumble WOLVES OF PRAYER are more along the lines of your standard Blackened Viking Metal, they’re both very good tracks but it’s the more interesting moments where the album truly shines. Take for example the Traditional Metal based DOOMSDAY DAWNS, or the epic, and cinematic feeling of the Power Metal instrumental outro track INTO THE RISING SUN, or even BY THE DEEDS, a song which I can best describe as Blackened Progressive NWOBHM!
One again FOREFATHER have shown why those that discover them stick with them, they are a great band with a unique sound, LAST OF THE LINE is well produced, well written, lyrically interesting and above all a very enjoyable album that will demand multiple listens no matter how much you try and put it away to move onto something else.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 8/10
About Author
