Review Summary: Welcome home, we missed you.
Back in the second half of the '90s, a number of synth-based, medieval-flavoured dark ambient projects sprouted from the European and US black metal scenes, following in the footsteps of early black metal/synth music crossbreed pioneers like
Mortiis and
Wongraven, and setting foundations for what is today known as dungeon synth music. Many of these one-man-with-synth bands never got past the release of a single demo cassette; this is what happened to German project Forgotten Pathways.
Until today.
Having released a demo tape titled "Shrouded in Mystery" in 1998, composer Cedric Hommel put his project to sleep soon afterwards, only to revive it almost twenty years in the future and release a full-length album, aptly named "A long way home".
Inspired by German fairytales, Forgotten Pathways' long-distance debut showcases a very personal and unique approach to dark ambient and dungeon synth aesthetics: by the time proper album opener "Bury me under the juniper tree" kicks in, what immediately strikes the listener is the music's bewildering, psychedelic quality, characterized by an underlying dreamy and nostalgic feel while conveying a constant, unsettling sense of flowing motion. This effect is achieved through the juxtaposition of unconventional song structures, uncommon compositional techniques, such as the frequent use of chromatisms, and lush arrangements built upon layers of both synthesized and real instruments; the resulting sound is very eclectic and busy, incorporating hints of progressive and ethnic elements while mantaining a strong focus on atmosphere and feel rather than melodic hooks. The latter aspect could both qualify as this album's greatest asset and issue: while each track is easily distinguishable from others thanks to the tastefully rich and varied arrangements, in the long run what comes off is somewhat a lack of dynamics and real standout moments to catch on the casual listener's attention; committed listeners, however, will be rewarded with an outstandingly creative, demanding yet delightful listen.
In short, while "A long way home" leaves some room for improvement, it qualifies as an excellent, masterfully crafted and consistently solid album, a very welcome comeback for a veteran act of the scene.
The handmade, linocut-printed artwork beautifully adorning the CD and cassette versions, crafted by the artist himself, also deserves a special mention.
