Named after a desolate crossing in the Lake District where the decased were transported en route to the nearest burial ground, Darlington’s Old Corpse Road have been fusing folklore, history and epic, quintessentially English black metal for the past eight years.
Having been brought under the Sauron-eyed purview of Cacophonous Records – the recently resurrected cult label that first unleased Cradle Of Filth across the world – the band’s evocatively titled and druidic rite-immersed second album, Of Campfires And Evening Mists, is due to emerge on May 27 and we have a special preview in the form of a lyric video for the track Herne Of Windsor Forest.
Unfolding over a stately 10 and a half minutes, this take on the spectral, horned hunter brought out of obscurity by William Shakespeare, Herne Of Windsor Forest swirls a heady brew of dark atmospherics, ominous spoken-word passages, and galloping, gothic black metal that takes a tincture of Cradle as it veers, Jeckyll and Hyde-like between the feral and the furrowed.
“We chose to open the song opens with several lines from the Merry Wives Of Windsor by William Shakespeare,” says Old Corpse Road drummer, The Dreamer, “as a nod to our literary heritage. With his antlered head, Herne stands as a strong and identifiable British figure; a prime reason for selecting this legendary tale. We did not want to simply retell his story, but rather take an atmospheric and poetic approach as if spoken from the perspective of Herne himself, painting a serene and ethereal image of a haunted Windsor forest”
Shot amidst the titular hunting grounds Herne Of Windsor Forest is an immersive experience all round, so string your bow, light your torch and embark ye upon a proper olde worlde stag do below!
Seek out Old Corpse Road’s Facebook page here!
Pre-order Of Campfires And Evening Mists inscribed by via the ancient arts onto compact disc here, or summon it out of the aether via the incantation here!
