The beauty of metal is that it can be combined with many forms of music, and work just as well as it would on its own. Folk metal, especially, is a common crossover that when done well, is beautiful. A band that recently released a folk metal album that shows the beauty off pretty well is Onirism. The French based project combines black metal and somber folk into a great crossover. Their recent album, “Falling Moon”, shows off the beauty well, but at times feels like the runtime makes it stay past its welcome. “Night Sky Above the Desert (Intro)” is the intro to the album, and has a soft opening, and slowly builds up into this amazing folk instrumental that shows off that side of the band’s sound. “See the End of the World” has another soft opening, and is a very folky track with a nice metal backbone.
The shriek vocals are really well done throughout the whole album, as is the production. The writing is solid. The use of clean vocals is also good, and the writing is very good. The title track, “Falling Moon”, is next. This song has a folky opening, before launching into a faster paced song that has more of a somber tone. The writing is solid, as is the mix of the two sides of a band’s sound. This leads into “Under the Stars”, which has a great opening riff. The metal side is utilized here more. This song is heavier than the previous few, however it doesn’t ignore the folk metal, which is sprinkled into the heavier aspects of the song. “I’m Dying Again” is next is a shorter, folk track with a nice metal backbone. The writing is solid, and the pace is fairly fast. This song is a great example of the band mixing both sides of their sound, and is really well done.
“The Endless Ride of Heavens” has a fast-paced opening. This one is very folky, with some really nice writing. The mid-section is soft, and allows the folk to take over completely. Next is the first interlude, “Summoned by the Astral Side (interlude). This one is soft and pretty much entirely folk. This is a nice break from the metal, and very well-written. “When Titans Awake” has a symphonic opening with a lot of folk influence. This one has slower pace with solid writing, and really nice riffs. The ending section has a dark vibe, and the folk side takes over. Up next is “The Cosmic Whale”. After a drum focused intro, before launching into a faster paced main body. The dark vibe continues, and the guitar work on this album is definitely worth mentioning. Next is the last interlude, “Meteor Shower (Interlude)”, this one has a more upbeat vibe, and is more ambient.
We end on the “The Celestial Calling”, which begins with a soft opening with chorus vocals and a nice opening riff. The overall song has faster paced with a nice lead guitar. The folk takes over on this one, but the metal isn’t ignored. This song ends the album on a good note, and one that feels like a satisfying conclusion. This is a very solid album. If you like folk metal, this is not one to sleep on. The one complaint is that the album has a very long runtime, and by the end it seems to overstay its welcome. However, the material here is very solid and not worth missing out on.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Review by Sam Hookom
