Double red vinyl LP pressing housed in gatefold jacket. Whereas A Shadowplay… depicted moral decay based on an individual fate, Beware The Sword… transfers the topics of demise and insanity into metaphysical spheres. Accordingly, the sound alchemists’ music becomes more universal. The effect of A Forest of Stars’ album is similar to what the first mechanical reproductions of music at the end of the 19th century achieved: The aural experience leaves the audience equally stumped and euphoric. Be it the compelling nine minutes of opener “Drawing Down The Rain” (which is accompanied by an animated music video that considerably dwarfs even the impressive clip for “Gatherer Of The Pure”), the sprawling “Virtus Sola Invicta”, which comes close to Scandinavian progressive rock’s finest moments due to it’s folkloristic-acoustic interludes, or the sexpartite “Pawn On The Universal Chessboard”, which sums up and transcends the group’s contextual essence – “Beware The Sword You Cannot See” both maintains tradition and innovates, elaborating on an unmistakable style in the light of a complex yet still approachable concept… and eventually a new yardstick for other purveyors of allegedly visionary, extreme Metal to be measured by.
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