Published: April 3, 2020 

Bay area trio Forlesen are gearing up to release their debut record, Hierophant Violent, on April 18th. The band are no strangers to the scene, being comprised of members from Lotus Thief, Kayo Dot and Botanist. The attitude that is presented upon this record, however, is entirely brand new.

The record is extremely daunting, with only two tracks on it yet STILL clocking in at 36 minutes of play time! The hypnotic drone/epic doom like style covers a large range of emotions that had myself enthralled the whole time. The band stated about the record, "Forlesen's "Hierophant Violent" is an immersive, lush, psychedelic blend of dark ambient, epic doom, slowcore and shadowy black metal. It was conceived during a time of immense personal loss and emerged as something both beautiful and terrifying to us. We hope it will give the same feelings of shadow exploration to our Listeners."

The album has a cinematic quality to it, creating lush psychedelic soundscapes that wash over you as you delve in deeper. Hierophant Violent has beautiful and dark passages that reward the listener, all they ask is for you to let the music take full control for a while. I'd recommend sitting down on a comfy couch or, perhaps, a recliner while listening - because you're going to want to settle in for it.