FORLORN - The Crystal Palace LP (Black Vinyl)

180gr LP, 3.5mm spine printed on 350gsm cardstock jacket with special SILVER FLOOD , special SILVER HOTFOIL and thick INSERT.

I must say that I’m quite surprised as to how overlooked this album seems to be. It’s nigh impeccable atmosphere and melodies are quite unrivaled, in my opinion. Many bands have tried to make albums with a medieval or Viking mood and atmosphere, and many have succeeded, however none quite like this album; this album has its own unique interpretation of medieval black metal, and executes this interpretation quite flawlessly.

The album relies heavily on atmosphere; it sounds medieval, orchestral, and epic, and sounds fairly nostalgic as well. It's one of those albums really made for cold winter days. The synth is what truly makes the atmosphere and sound. The riffs themselves are good, however it's the synth that really shines on this album, creating somber and simplistic melodies, and makes the whole album sound huge, in a sense. As for the riffs, they pretty much consist on power chords played fairly slow. The whole album just feels so medieval; whenever I listen to ‘The Crystal Palace’, I get the starkest urge to play ‘TES: Oblivion’, and can’t help but imagining castles and medieval cities and so forth.