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Demo Review
The Forest Nightmare Powpowpow Records
Article written by
James S - Apr 4, 2005
There are reasons to be terrified of this Nightmare before you even begin. The words ‘started by accident at an open-mic art event in Stroud’ are enough to strike fear into the heart of any human, but when you then read of ‘the band’s approach to experimenting with loose song structure’, you can only fear the worst. Add song titles like I Am King (A Forest Nightmare) Including The Tale Of Simian and Lake Of The Hydra’s Head and you have to be afraid. Very afraid.
Like all good horror though, the anticipation is scarier than the actuality. Whilst the titles suggest prog-rock, the reality proves to be grinding swirls of post-rock, full of menace and foreboding to make up for their lack of direction or purpose. The vocals are thankfully brief throughout, which just about alleviates how awful they are. Monotone singing, shouting and narration all appear in the first two songs alone and the less said about the ‘hilarious’ stoned student rendition of Syd Barrett’s The Gnome, the better. Despite the plethora of minuses , this EP is surprisingly listenable overall, despite the nagging feeling that the band didn’t really want it to be.