Tir and Thomas Helm's "C'Est La Fin (Part I)" Recalls A Bygone Era (Early Song Debut)

There was something so magical about the dark folk and neoclassical guitar music movement of the mid-to-late ’90s and the first half of the aughts. Artists like Ulver, whose Kveldssanger was a paradigm shift in romanticized and nature-forward music, and Byronic tragedians Empyrium, whose mid-era recalled composers like Mertz’s adventures into folklore and literary references. Even mysterious contemporary Vàli’s two albums stretched this idea of the “metal acoustic interlude” into its own, defined style. Following in such massive footsteps is Turkish solo artist Tir, otherwise known as multi-instrumentalist Oytun Bektaş, whose fifth album Awaiting the Dawn mostly shies away from his first handful of albums’ primarily dungeon synth approach in favor of the classical guitar (with, of course, keyboards for added effect). A fitting tribute to the artists who came before him, Bektaş goes so far as to have Empyrium singer Thomas Helm guest on album opener “C’Est La Fin (Part I)” (and the rest of the album, too), which is streaming ahead of Awaiting the Dawn‘s April 7th release. There isn’t much music like this anymore now that bands like Agalloch have become legacy acts, and I’ve honestly been waiting for a resurgence. Maybe Tir will bring one about!

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Awaiting the Dawn releases April 7th via Brilliant Emperor Records.