Massachusetts forest-dweller Autumn Ni Dubhghaill emerged from the cocoon years of 2004-’08 by, against expectation, harkening back to an older, more ancient time with her art. Rustic, simpler, almost agrarian in execution, Waiting For Öktober was sparse, that new-formed, black-winged butterfly clawing through and out of an enclosure, unsure but committed.

Three albums and an EP have followed – including 2021’s black metal scorcher Hail The Forest Dark – to today, where FOREVER AUTUMN returns to folk-seasoned doom (or is it doom-seasoned folk?) with Crowned In Skulls. Assisted by mainstay cellist/foil Jon McGrath throughout and revisited by Aaron Stainthorpe of MY DYING BRIDE, Autumn ushers us into ‘The Forest And The Nyght’ with stark balalaika, cello and vocals as the sound of iron twigs and branches dragged ‘cross the eardrums and soul. Stainthorpe’s instantly recognizable tone has, if anything, improved over time, wizened and plaintive now, and serving the song above all. I would’ve liked this opening track to have been extended in the beginning, building anticipation, but that’s one of the few things I’d change after repeated listens.

Abbreviated, and frantic, ‘Death Folk’ is more interlude than anything, but fits ideally in its space, jarring and harsh, rhythmic and primitive. It’s with ‘Incense And Deer Skulls’, however, that we sense something special in thee witch’s cauldron, powdered bone and smoke, blood and grain, mortar and pestle. She’s crafting something, is Autumn, and the tranced-out vibe of the instrumental pours us smoothly, ‘Dried Herbs In Water’.

Rattle, cello, grave-breath and incant begin this spell. Doom drum and tender, wistful voice beckon and call forth, spirits move alongside, then through us. This is, simply put, FOREVER AUTUMN as we have never heard before, near-psychedelic in the vein of the ‘60s British folk revival as it was beginning to take on elements from the hippie culture that was soon to sweep the continent. Bits of RENAISSANCE, an acid-tinged PENTANGLE in the vocals, drone and shadows in a palette of greys, blues, purples, deep maroons. Roughly 1/3 of the way through, once we’re too far in the woods to safely return, the crone screech taunts, the ritual taking a darker bent, but we’re enraptured all the same.

Anchored by acoustic strings, guitar and cello, ‘Under Shadows Of Annwn’ concludes the proceedings, the more soft side of ALICE IN CHAINS conjured admirably, the lyric “I cannot help but sing out doom forever and a day” an affirmation of continuation, a resolution. For those of us who’ve been in the forest with FOREVER AUTUMN, Crowned In Skulls is a true watershed release.
Review By: Lord Randall

FOREVER AUTUMN
Crowned In Skulls [EP]
Independent