Band: A Forest of Stars | Album: Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface | Genre: Progressive metal, Post-metal | Year: 2026
From: Manchester, UK | Label: Prophecy
For fans of: Arcturus, Ashenspire, Primordial
A Forest of Stars has been around for nearly 20 years, but this record is my first exposure to them. It is their first release in eight years, so, in my defense, they have been quiet lately. Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface is their sixth full-length release, and it’s full of theatrical, abstract, and highly emotive music that draws from classic prog, folk metal, folk, and avant-garde music. It’s a demanding record: the six songs range between nine and 17 minutes in length, and all the compositions are dense as hell. But it’s well worth your time and attention.
The album opens with its shortest song, the nine-minute “Ascension of the Clowns”. Woozy guitar and piercing violin set a somber, downcast mood. The vocals are snarled and half-spoken, giving this piece a sinister, frenzied feel. The music is raw and desperate-sounding, and gothic flourishes here and there help to keep things interesting. In particular, the quiet moments near this song’s end, punctuated with violin and flute, are beautiful and melancholy. The riffs during the verses are hypnotic, and I love the folky flavors that the violin brings.
“Street Level Vertigo” opens with a stripped-back passage topped with impassioned, furious vocals. As this piece progresses, there’s a nearly-ritualistic feel that builds, with thumping drums and chanted backing vocals. Reedy organ and tinkling vibraphone (or maybe glockenspiel?) add fascinating textural variation. There’s an incredible sense of gravity, and the band sells it with absolute sincerity.
Disorienting, discordant guitar lines kick off “Mechanically Separated Logic”. Vibraphone and violin add an ethereal quality as this piece slowly but steady marches along. I love the band’s jazzy and avant-garde chord choices. They’re weird and ugly, but they feel so natural. This song features moments that are haunting and restrained, playing with contrasts between minimalist arrangements and massive, oppressive soundscapes. Warm, rounded bass tones offer a squishy contrast to the usual avalanche of biting, icy guitars and mournful violin.
“Roots Circle Usurpers” is calmer and quieter in its opening, with some languid, Gilmourian guitar lines echoing distantly. Folk elements are rather forward here, as well, thanks to jangly guitar and prominent violin. The shift to metal is sudden, jolting the listener. As elsewhere on this album, the riffs are somewhat abstract, but there’s a lot of punch on this song. Keyboards and violin, while rarely in the lead, augment the sound beautifully with eerie and emotive touches. The metal moments of this song are incredibly powerful, and the non-metal moments are beautiful and the perfect counterbalance.
The longest song on this record is the 17-minute “Sway, Draped in Vague”. Jangly alt-rock influences are clear in this song’s opening passage, and this extended quiet passage is a nice bit of breathing space. The transition of swelling, gothic black metal is gradual and natural, and there’s a sense of inevitable forward momentum.
A Forest of Stars fully embraces the “Vague” in this song’s title during instrumental passages, with arrangements paring back to minimal, echoing keyboards before suddenly storming back for a moment. There are also some surprising funk elements that briefly pop up, for a fun twist. The conclusion to this epic is scouring and propulsive, drawing from both black metal and less-extreme forms of prog metal.
The final song here is “Not Drinking Water”. Violin warbles over the sounds of running water in the intro. The first verse smoothly pours forth, supported with ample piano and violin alongside buzzsaw guitars. This 15-minute epic features some of the boldest and most beautiful experiments with tone and color on the album. Clean guitar, piano, synth, and other such tones provide lovely auditory refreshment amidst the polar winds that black metal often brings.
Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface is an astounding accomplishment. A Forest of Stars’ striking brand of avant-garde black metal is emotional and powerful, and never do these compositions feel inappropriately long This is a powerful musical experience that fully envelops the listener, providing a rewarding experience.
Score: 96/100
The Elite Extremophile 