Heralded British traditional metallers DARK FOREST will release the five-song “Ridge & Furrow” EP this October via Cruz Del Sur Music. The follow-up to 2020’s “Oak, Ash & Thorn” was recorded at Hellfire Studios in the Midlands of England with producer Ajeet Gill.
Founding DARK FOREST member, guitarist and primary songwriter Christian Horton used his pandemic downtime wisely. The extra, unexpected free time allowed him to craft new DARK FOREST material between full-length releases. Horton’s burst of creativity coincided with the eventual (and much-needed) re-opening of pubs across England that led to the band resuming live activity. But the immediate future brings “Ridge & Furrow”, a project that has taken on special meaning for Horton that offers the perfect segue to the band’s next full-length album.
“As I began to write new material during 2020, it occurred to me that if we could get enough songs to form an EP and have it recorded and released by 2022, it would be the perfect thing to mark the occasion of the band’s 20th anniversary,” says Horton. “This is one reason why the project began to take on a personal significance. As the founder of DARK FOREST, it would serve as a milestone on the band’s journey and is why I decided to handle a lot of aspects of the record myself, including the artwork. The EP became a project that was close to my heart and I also wanted to bring back something of the early DARK FOREST atmosphere, as I used to do the art back then too, to create a kind of symmetry between points in time.”
The five songs contained herein are classic DARK FOREST. Josh Winnard’s effortless vocal delivery rouses the band’s impenetrable wall of melody and might. The EP format also allowed Horton and the rest of DARK FOREST (completed by second guitarist Patrick Jenkins and drummer Adam Sidaway) to spread the creative wings a bit — and include a fan favorite from their past.
“The music is still very melodic and lead guitar-driven, but there’s a good mixture of material for a short record,” says Horton. “Each song has a different mood and feeling. There’s high-octane, up-tempo and there’s stoic and reflective. We also decided to include a re-recording of an old DARK FOREST classic ‘Under The Greenwood Tree’, which was always a live favorite and befitting an EP that marks an anniversary. It felt like the song which truly encapsulates the spirit of DARK FOREST.”
“Ridge & Furrow” track listing:
- Skylark
- The Golden Acre
- Ridge & Furrow
- Meadowland
- Under The Greenwood Tree
