by John Kindred
– Publisher —
Trees of Eternity was formed in 2009 by singer-songwriter Aleah Starbridge and guitarist-composer Juha Raivio. In 2012, the band signed a publishing deal with AMF Publishing. After three years, the long, arduous road to the release of its debut studio album, Hour of the Nightingale, finally has arrived. While the duo of vocalist Aleah Starbridge and guitarist-composer Juha Raivio began this musical journey together, it is Raivio who continues on, as Starbridge died April 16, 2016.
Sadly, Starbridge died while the band was in its final post-production phase of the debut release. Fortunately for fans, the album was completed and only needed the final touches to send off for final mastering and ultimately garnering a release date.
On Hour of the Nightingale, Starbridge and Raivio are joined by Fredrik Norrman (October Tide, ex-Katatonia), Mattias Norrman (October Tide, ex-Katatonia) and Kai Hahto (Wintersun, Swallow the Sun). The 10-song album is described by the band as dark and ambient Doom Metal. Instead of chasing the group’s peers, who feature prominent female vocals that typically fall into the realm of brutal Metal, Symphonic, Operatic or Power Metal, Starbridge offers listeners her beautiful voice, which is highlighted by cleanly sung vocal melodies that are calming and tranquil, placing you into a dream-like state.
Alongside producer Jens Bogren, whose recording, mixing and mastering skills are well known, the voice of Starbridge is bound to the music with a delicate balance, offering a perfect listening experience.
Starbridge lyrically hovers between light and darkness, creating a bridge that allows life to pass to death, with a sense of a peaceful introspective look at the living and one’s own experiences, as we are separated and either come to an end or begin a new journey. It’s not hard to speculate that Starbridge’s own struggles in recent years are laid out before us within the words that grace each song. Vocally, her voice captivates, seemingly weaving an enchantment over the listener. Her crisply sung, impassioned vocals emphasize her emotional delivery and are the building blocks for the atmospheric music.
Trees of Eternity – Sinking Ships:
Hour of the Nightingale features 10 songs and two guests; Paradise Lost’s Nick Holmes performs on the closer “Gallows Bird” and Mick Moss of Antimatter on “Condemned to Silence.”
The music can best be described as Melodic Metal, pulling elements from several genres of Metal. Building songs using different elements from those genres creates the mood, setting up what could be a spiritual experience for some. Others may find themselves encapsulated by escapism as the complete musical experience envelops their senses.
One would think the soft and elegant vocals would clash the Metallic distortion of electric guitars, but Starbridge and Raivio construct an album’s worth of finely crafted songs that are quite compelling. From the opening song “Requiem” and throughout the majestic Hour of the Nightingale, the musicianship and vocal melodies are a brilliant and shining example of two songwriters melding together to perfection. The production and performances highlight the strengths of each musician, and when joined together, they create an ambient and atmospheric experience, drawing the listener into Trees of Eternity’s musical world.
Whether or not Juha Raivio’s Trees of Eternity continues on as a band the spirit of Starbridge firmly is alive in the material they wrote and recorded together.
Genre: Doom Metal, Dark Ambient, Melodic Metal
Band:
Aleah Starbridge: vocals
Juha Raivio (Swallow The Sun) : guitar
Kai Hahto (Nightwish, Wintersun) : drums
Mattias Norrman (ex-Katatonia, October Tide): bass
Fredrik Norrman (ex-Katatonia, October Tide) : guitar
Track Listing:
1. My Requiem
2. Eye of Night
3. Condemned to Silence (feat. Mick Moss of Antimatter)
4. A Million Tears
5. Hour of the Nightingale
6. The Passage
7. Broken Mirror
8. Black Ocean
9. Sinking Ships
10. Gallows Bird (feat. Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost)
Label: Svart Records
Web: https://www.facebook.com/treesofeternity/ – https://treesofeternity.bandcamp.com/album/hour-of-the-nightingale
Hardrock Haven rating: 9/10
Brilliant