The gnarled roots of Forever Autumn reach back to the turn of the century. In 2000, Autumn Ni Dubhghaill started composing for an avant-garde acoustic doom and pagan folk project. Cellist Jon McGrath started collaborating in 2008, and the duo have released several albums of woodland sorcery since. After covering My Dying Bride’s “The Crown of Sympathy” for a tribute album in 2017, Forever Autumn recruited MDB vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe for a guest performance on the 2021 EP Hail the Forest Dark. Now Forever Autumn returns on the winter solstice to share a new single featuring Stainthorpe from their upcoming album, Crowned in Skulls.
“The Forest and the Nyght” begins with a somber acoustic funeral procession. The spare percussion lends morose gravity to each note moaning from McGrath’s cello. Meanwhile, Autumn Ni Dubhghaill summons power from the Massachusetts woodlands to imbue the song with a rich darkness. Along with vocals—which are usually varied but appear as dry rasps here—Ni Dubhghaill also contributes guitar, balalaika, bodhran, rattle, and the perfectly named doom drum. Stainthorpe’s vocals are immediately recognizable and clean in the song’s rustic spell. They appear like a white swan landing in a midnight swamp. “The Forest and the Nyght” is a perfect sample from Crowned in Skulls ahead of the February 3rd release date.
“”The Forest and the Nyght” is a very important song filled with layers of hidden messages and meaning,” shares Autumn Ni Dubhghaill. “It was an honor to work with Aaron agayne. His parts perfectly compliment the mood and mystery of the piece. This, the first single, guides the listener through the wandered wood with ritual and primal magick.”
Enter the moonlit woodlands and press play below.
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