If there is one release I have been looking forward to this year, it is this one. It took eight years to get a follow-up to the previous record by the British ensemble A Forest of Stars. Anyone unfamiliar with the band should sit down and dive into their impressive discography, because this is far from your average progressive black metal band. I have followed them almost from the very beginning, since the highly impressive Opportunistic Thieves of Spring (2010), although the debut album was already remarkable as well. The band underwent an immense evolution, ranging from visual pearls such as Gatherer of the Pure on A Shadowplay for Yesterdays (2012), over the magnum opus Pawn of the Universal Chessboard on Beware the Sword You Cannot See (2015), to the latest masterwork Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes (2018).
Often, when you have to wait so long for an album, you end up disappointed. You assume the band had plenty of time to work on it and therefore expect a lot, only to discover it was hastily put together after all. That is certainly not the case with Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface, because this album genuinely has been carefully crafted. Six songs that immediately captivate you for one hour and thirteen minutes, and not a single minute feels wasted. The group still features the same line-up and continues to embrace its distinctly Victorian appearance. There is, however, suddenly a mask involved in The Gentleman’s attire. The album artwork has become rather psychedelic as well, perfectly matching the overwhelming experience that awaits you.
The band had already released a few tracks beforehand, but to me this is the kind of album that truly functions as a complete experience. The band opens with Ascension of the Clowns, where Mister Curse immediately delivers one of his most inspired performances. Could it be that his lyrics and melancholy sound even more powerful than before? It is wonderful how, amid the entire psychedelic whirlwind of guitars, a vocal “toot toot” suddenly appears while the train keeps relentlessly charging forward. Deep, repetitive guitar lines are, as usual, delivered in a complex arrangement filled with violin melodies, bass runs, and waves of synths. Here, every musician truly continues to contribute their own distinct impact to the whole, and that remains one of the trademarks of this outstanding band. Street Level Vertigo begins like a melancholic swamp: gloomy and murky, a setting in which the vocalist finds his way perfectly. The band then shifts into a beautifully executed interplay in which the violin and synth sections take center stage, while we also hear vocalist Katheryne for the first time. By the end of the track, I even notice some Pink Floyd-style guitars, a reference I had never before associated with A Forest of Stars, and certainly a welcome innovation.
Mechanically Separated Logic is once again a ten-minute colossus, yet never do these songs actually feel long. The band presents a psychedelic flow that changes dramatically every few minutes, ensuring it never becomes dull. After several minutes, a touch of dark ambient emerges, after which the band continues improvising on the track’s original foundation before building toward a fiery and venomous climax. The previous album already carried a heavy atmosphere, but this entire work sounds psychologically more challenging, without losing the characteristic explosions in the music.
With Roots Circle Usurpers, the band briefly breaks away from the intensity to provide a beautiful instrumental intermezzo that, after several minutes, develops into a magnificent build-up: dark guitar lines carried by a compelling rhythm, a moment of calm that nostalgically reminds me somewhat of Gatherer of the Pure, though followed by merciless heaviness. In a similar fashion, the band introduces a calmer atmosphere at the start of Sway, Draped in Vague, interacting with dramatic organ sounds and later perhaps presenting the finest build-up on the entire album. An intense interplay of rolling bass layers, acoustic guitar notes, and dreamy synths unfolds, and halfway through the track it does not suddenly erupt into crushing force for once. Fueled by psychedelic power from the 1970s, you are treated to a wonderfully progressive, dark vibe that steadily accumulates before finally exploding after the twelve-minute mark.
Closing track …Not Drinking Water also deserves special mention. Once again spanning fifteen minutes, this song carries more the atmosphere of a masterful jam session. The vocalist still plays an important role, ensuring it never feels like a mere outro and emphasizing that it truly belongs to the album’s narrative. Halfway through, the band once again launches into one of the highlights of its career: a dark, repetitive mass that steamrolls over you while the musicians respond and interact with one another. A masterful conclusion to yet another masterful album.
Score:
90/100
Label:
Prophecy Productions, 2026
Tracklisting:
Ascension of the Clowns
Street Level Vertigo
Mechanically Separated Logic
Roots Circle Usurpers
Sway, Draped In Vague
… Not Drinking Water
Line-up:
Mr. T.S. Kettleburner – Vocals, guitar
The Gentleman – Synth, pianoforte, percussion
Mister Curse – Vocals
Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts – Vocals, violin, flute
Mr. John ‘The Resurrectionist’ Bishop – Drums, percussion
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