Forefather – Curse of the Cwelled
One of the finest representatives of the Anglo Saxon Extreme Metal scene, Forefather returns now, in 2015, with a new album titled “Curse of the Cwelled”. This album was released after four years since “Last of the Line” as, in the words of Wulfstan in an interview for this website, we get more critical the older we get, and it gets harder to write stuff that feels as exciting as what’s come before. Quite frankly, when it comes to the musical aspect of life, this has been a very prolific and exciting year, as many of the bands I admire its works have been releasing new albums and, so far, none of them has disappointed me, not even slightly.
Referring to the same interview, for those that still aren’t familiar with the outstanding work crafted by Forefather, talking about the sound itself, stylistically, the band incorporates elements of Black/ Folk/ Pagan/ Heavy Metal. And I have to say that it must be very, very hard to be able to release seven albums and all of them be considered magnificent artifacts of extreme metal art, or better, as the band prefers, Anglo-Saxon Metal. As you can see, yes, I highly enjoyed “Curse of the Cwelled”, a continuation of the elegant, dominant and influential Forefather’s accomplishments, but at the same time, not repeating themselves.
As the readers of this website are aware, I prefer to let you, my cherished readers, to know how the album feels, how it “tastes”, instead of commenting the very technical details of the music, and I might sound a bit repetitive comparing to other articles, since the moods of Forefather music are quite clear. This is an epic, proud, commanding album. You can clearly sense combative and antagonist atmosphere that exudes from “Curse of the Cwelled”. Being quite aggressive, but not to the point that the sound becomes simply noise, the music is also beautiful and exquisite.
Not that this is hard to say or anything like that, I’m not one of those persons that are simply looking for mistakes, flaws, in fact the opposite, but I am amazed how everything flows absolutely strong, well-balanced and composed. Most of the album is mid-paced, with atmospheric passages, some clean chants and vocals and amazing harsh vocals and I say amazing in a way that they fit so well the instrumental part, it’s hard to explain, you have to listen for yourself, with no fanboyism whatsoever, this is simply extraordinary. And one more time I must say that I am indeed astonished how in this year we are delighted by musical masterpieces. But I wouldn’t expect less from Forefather no matter what.
Another important aspect of Forefather is the lyrics; filled with history, poems as well as literature inspired words, they are definitely appealing, interesting and a freshly different from the regular lyrics from many other acclaimed bands. And back to the instrumental side, my friends, this feels so heroic and gallant that it’s truly a journey to the past. This is the type of album you need to lay down somewhere calm and let yourself be taken by it, in order to be able to enjoy all the intricate details of “Curse of the Cwelled”.
It is always needed to mention a few words about the production as well. In my modest view, here we also have a fine work, not too clean, not too “dirty”, but rather well-balanced in all aspects. All in all, this is indeed another splendid creation from Forefather that deserves a very high score. And so, my good friends, these are some words, some thoughts about “Curse of the Cwelled”. I invite you all to listen to it legally on the official Forefather Bandcamp page and, if you enjoy it, please, support and/ or the band in any way that is possible for you.
Take care.
Grade: 9,8/10
Band: Forefather
Album: Curse of the Cwelled (2015)
Label: Seven Kingdoms
Tracklist:
- Havoc on Holy Island
- The Anvil
- By My Lord I Will Lie
- Fire of Baited Blood
- Curse of the Cwelled
- Awakened Hate
- Painted with Blood
- Rustics to Remain
- Edge of Oblivion
- Masters of Fate
- The River-Maid’s Fairwell
Forefather is:
Athelstan – Bass, Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals (backing)
Wulfstan – Bass, Guitars, Vocals (lead, backing)
Official Bandcamp: https://forefather.bandcamp.com
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forefatherofficial
Seven Kingdoms Website: https://www.seven-kingdoms.com
All photos belong to their rightful owners.
April 30, 2015