In the fading light of evening you stand alone beneath the trees as a gentle wind plucks the dying leaves from the branches above. They tumble around you in their muted reds and yellows, ochres and ambers, like discarded memories. Each one that catches your unblinking stare stirs the embers of an ash covered moment in your mind. Loss and regrets swell and subside inside you like a moon ruled tide, as the pieces of your life settle at your feet. And still you stand motionless in the waves of remembered emotion as the pale colours of autumn drain away into the darkness of the quietly encroaching night.
While there is no single English word to capture the meaning of "waldeinsamkeit", there is Waldeinsamkeit, the second album from Sylvan Realm that grasps that essence of bittersweet, melancholic isolation. Guitarist/vocalist Sylvan formed Sylvan Realm in 2010, after the dissolution of his solo project Reverie, recruiting drummer Evan Madden (Woe, Woods Of Ypres) and bassist Jason Ian-Vaughn Eckert (Aurora Borealis) to help him breathe life into his sounds of dusk and twilight. 2011 saw the release of debut album The Lodge Of Transcendence, which Nocturnal Hall ‘zine described as a “magical journey”. The band then began work on Waldeinsamkeit in 2012, only for personal circumstances to force the project into hibernation until 2019. The album was completed in 2020, with a release planned for September of 2020, but all the planning and strategies were once again laid low as the Covid-19 pandemic raged around the globe.
With Sylvan working in the frontline of mental health care there was simply no time to give Waldeinsamkeit the launch it deserved, so it has stood silently in the shadows, largely unnoticed until now; but now it is finally time for this exquisite album that blends the mysteries of dark rock, neo-folk and black metal to step forth. The ruminative sounds of enthralling tracks like "On The Wings Of The Spiritual Dragon" will prompt personal, individual reflections and reactions from all who hear them – but none will be left unmoved by the warp, weft and dream weaving of Sylvan Realm.
Engineered by Augustine Oritz (Fields Of Elysium, Martorn) and Ron Vento (Aurora Borealis, Rumplestiltskin Grinder) and mixed and mastered by Mell Dettmer (Acid King, Witch Mountain, Wolves In The Throne Room), Waldeinsamkeit is blessed with a rich, organic sound that illuminates each shadowy layer of the music, giving life and vibrancy to the immaculately crafted songs. At last it is time for these beautifully singing solos to be heard, the thrilling interplay between gifted musicians to be uncovered and the atmosphere of mist and dew to be embraced. Waldeinsamkeit in name, waldeinsamkeit in nature, open your heart to this album and step into the Sylvan Realm.
Tracklist:
"Monumental Abandonment"
"On The Wings Of The Spiritual Dragon"
"A Dirge For The Lost"
"Quietus"
"Twilight Kingdom"
"Waldeinsamkeit"
Line-up:
Sylvan – guitar / vocals
Jason Ian-Vaughn Eckert - bass
Evan Madden - drums
