Trees_of_Eternity_hour_of_the_nightengale

Trees of Eternity - 'Hour of the Nightingale' (Album Premiere)

November 9, 2016

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What music do you want to listen to while you die?

Morbid question, I know. And I’m not sure why I’m asking it. Maybe because the seasons are changing from autumn to winter, and that always reminds me of death. Maybe it’s fallout from election anxiety. Regardless, the question has been posed, and while I don’t have a definite answer, I have a few ideas.

For example, Hour of the Nightingale by Trees of Eternity, which will be released this Friday, 11/11 by Svart Records, is a good choice. I imagine myself dying comfortably in my bed, and the sort of melancholic gothic doom is comfort food for me. Sure I could pick a record that I have more attachment to, but Trees of Eternity features former members of Katatonia and current members of Swallow the Sun, October Tide, Wintersun and Nightwish, each bands I already feel strong attachment toward. Guest vocal spots by Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost and Mick Moss from Antimatter check further sadsack melodic rock, nostalgic attachment and comfort food boxes.

More than a who’s-who of gothic doom retread, though, the album serves as a showcase for vocalist Aleah Starbridge’s whispering croon, which often sounds like a compassionate lullaby. Starbridge, maybe, is the source of my own death-centric contemplation. She passed away in April. Her parting work, gorgeous and soothing, makes for an amazing parting gift. The world is a dimmer place for lack of her voice, but Hour of the Nightingale makes it a little bit brighter when I listen to it.

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