By Bona Pjarren
Begun in 2014 and helmed by the prolific The Pilgrim – whose prior bands include the cult Hierophant’s Descent and Angstridden, and currently The Seal of R’Lyeh and Barak Tor – Greece’s A Diadem Of Dead Stars play what they describe as “misty lowlands black metal”, a a sound rooted in a (misty) past; whether it’s precisely the mid ’90s or the mid-2000s matters not. The full-length ‘The Mist Bearer’ began the journey in 2014, and continued across a demo, two EPs, and then second album, ‘Kingdoms Bathed in Golden Light’, in 2016. A recording hiatus ensued until that cursed year of 2020, but that curse proved fruitful for The Pilgrim: a single, a demo, and EP followed in quick succession. And that’s where we arrive with ‘Emerald Sunsets’. Totaling four tracks across 28 minutes, this compilation includes that previously digital-only material from ADODS, namely, 2020’s ‘…Of Green Pastures…’ single and ‘The Light That Burns’ demo and 2021’s ‘The Furrow of Woes’ EP.
With that covered let’s get on with the review…
‘The Furrow of Woes’ launches straight into the action with a deluge of chords over a driving drum section. Guitars weave a subtle pattern while atmospherically lifted with ethereal male vocals. The breakdown introduces picked guitar while retaining the chordal waves. While intriguing I would have liked a bit more substance in this a seven minute track.
‘And Swallows Flew Away From This’ starts again straight into the main body of the song, driving pace and some nice chord patterns ebb and flow. There are subtle changes of pattern that really help the song progress. It is another primarily instrumental track with some nice vocal washes. The final section of the song brings some lovely acoustic guitar work with a spoken word section that is very atmospheric and leads to a fade out.
‘The Light That Burns’ is another full on track, launching straight into the main body of the song without any preamble. The style is black metal post rock and is effective and easy on the ear while not particularly taking the listener on much of a journey. It does however have a certain atmospheric quality to it and some nice changes of pace. An orchestral ambient fade out is a nice touch at the end of this track.
‘…Of Green Pastures…’ is the final track and introduces itself with sounds of nature and birdsong before medieval acoustic guitar takes over. It is a very different track compared to the rest of the album and has a dreamlike quality to it. As it builds it is accentuated by the introduction of flute and sonorous male harmonized vocal. I really like the feel of this song as it has a hypnotic quality to it and is probably the standout piece of the album.
In conclusion, ‘Emerald Sunsets’, as an album, is a mixed bag; some of the initial tracks could have been developed more, but were okay and certainly kept me engaged. The album has a pleasing atmospheric vibe to it. The standout song has to be ‘…Of Green Pastures…’ and it is worth getting just for this track.
- ‘Eternal Sunsets’ is released on 3 February.
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