From the Dark Times to the Black Metal Legions

It only took 15 years for this band to put out the follow-up to their little-heard debut Battletales and Songs of Steel. I was pretty sure this band, like so many other obscure bands, would simply slip beneath the surface and vanish. But after a long wait that saw only the release of an EP and a demo compilation, we finally have the grandly-titled second album.

Great Vast Forest are primitive in a way that few black metal bands are any longer. Rather than the low-fi grinding of the endless Darkthrone wannabes, Great Vast Forest chose to plant their flag in the early-2000s era of Emperor worship, plotting a course somewhere in the vicinity of In the Nightside Eclipse. The guitars are a bit too smooth, there are keys all over the place, and the songs make a lot of room for battle sound clips and howling winds.

As on their debut, there is not really anything here to argue that Great Vast Forest are a great band, but I just like them anyway, as they hit a spot not many modern bands are hitting. If you miss bands like Berserk, Argath, and Sigma Draconis, then this is one to check out, as it is a kind of nostalgia hit by this point. I should also mention that the cover art for this is one of the most bad-ass illustrations I have ever seen on an album cover. Awesome.