Three years after their fascinating debut, Suicide Forest is back with Reluctantly, a sophomore album which further develops their art. Taking their name from the Japanese Aokigahara forest, where many troubled people travel to end their life, the one-man band from Tucson, Az., moves from classic depressive black metal coordinates and expands their sound palette. As a result, Reluctantly settles somewhere in between DSBM, atmospheric black metal and post-black/blackgaze.
The perfect company for restless souls, Reluctantly reminds of the eerie keyboard patterns of Burzum and the dilated atmospheres of contemporary US black metal pillars like Ash Borer, mixed with some unpredictable twists such as dissonant riffs and solos. Suicide Forest will please both those looking for furious up-tempos and the more introvert blacksters, looking for a sanctuary from the outside world.
Multi-instrumentalist and mastermind A.Kruger wrote Reluctantly in the second half of 2019, before the pandemic struck us all, but began tracking the album at his home studio in early 2020. About the lyrics, when asked what themes inform his work, he plainly replied: The whole album focuses on the themes of resent and isolation, feelings that were only compounded considering the entirety of Reluctanlty was recorded during the covid-19 lockdown”.
If you feel lonely and secluded, be sure to take a trip to the Suicide Forest. You’ll find many akin wanderers, waiting for the end to bring them solace.
