Old Forest (UK): “Dagian”

​Old Forest, from London, England, were formed as early as in 1998 and debuted in 1999 with the album Into the Old Forest, but they were already disbanded in 2001. The London band was reformed in 2007 and has been very active since then with two albums and several EP's, demos and compilations. Their latest album Dagian seems however to be very unpretentious; it is essentially atmospheric black metal with a strong presence of synths and dark clean vocals. Nevertheless the album is based essentially on clichés and stereotypes, and to my ear it sounds honeyed and mawkish; the theme of the forest, then, is obsolete and commonplace by now. In the end, an uninteresting album, but it could be a pearl for those who love atmospheric black metal.
 
Notes:
Dagian was released on December 5 2015 through Avantgarde Music.
 
Ppersonnel:
Beleth: guitars, bass
Kobold: vocals, chants, synthesizers
 
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com