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Cast your mind back to 2020. The darkest days of the pandemic saw the music scene draw dangerously close last breaths as the subsequent shutdowns nullified any live music and vinyl distribution derailed. However, for all that misery, there were shades of hope. Having made a presence with initial singles Erased and Emotionless (so much so we shone our Introducing lens on the band), UK folk horror outfit FORLORN are poised like the fire of the Funeral Pyre and ignite.
“I think, obviously, the plan was always to have an album,” laughs vocalist Megan Jenkins. “But the way things kind of transpired, it was just a case of pumping out the singles initially. And then, you know, when we kind of realised that we had quite an extensive body of work, or rather, like, you know, a big stack of songs to do something with, we kind of figured it was time to, you know, find sort of a producer—a new producer—and see what happened.”
What happened is Aether, FORLORN‘s debut full-length offering. A staggering body of work that pays tribute to the elements, and blends the old ways with the metallic intensity of modern metal to create their own slice of folk horror. It may conjure images of Midsommar and The Wicker Man but FORLORN‘s aesthetic is no mere gimmick. Megan is a practising witch and through her band, she is a vessel to her beliefs and ideology. For her, this authenticity is vital.
“I think that because it is so accessible nowadays, there are people out there that, you know, see it as a cool aesthetic. And I guess that’s fine to a degree, but when you’re actually putting something out there into the world, like a record or whatever, and you’re talking about these concepts, it needs to be researched. It needs to be genuine. It is really important that it is all researched. You know, I don’t know the ins and outs of witchcraft,” she laughs. “I still had to go and do my own research into it to make sure that what I was saying was correct!”
This authenticity lies at the beating heart of Aether and structurally, the record mirror’s the band’s concept perfectly. An aural exploration of the elements, the likes of The Wailing explores the powerful connecting force of air, whilst Keeper Of The Well is a call to arms in defence of our precious element of life; water. For Megan, she details the journey of this concept. “I think Spirit was what started it, because that was the first of the demos that I started working on vocally,” she says. “And then from there, for me, for example, I find it really interesting to have something to write about, something that I can research and explore and dive into and then write about it. So, I think it just came from that really, just wanting to think about something that would suit, really, and make sense in long form.”
“But also to further explore the element of ritual, and when I’m in a ritual or in a ceremony, we will always start by inviting these elements in to join us and bidding them farewell at the end. And I think Aether in itself is a ritual. It is a journey. So I feel we are kind of creating that by having each of the tracks be representative of that element. But i don’t really think I knew that was where I wanted to go with it, but it just kind of fell into place. And then I was having a chat with someone, and I was like ‘how about making each track, like, tie into an element?’”
Whilst Aether takes a deep dive into the elements that act as the foundation of our natural world, there is a rich tapestry of inspiration for the band to explore. A treasure trove of themes, stories and spirits to channel into the FORLORN sound. “This kind of goes a bit,” she pauses, “a bit to the darker side of it, but we wanted to explore this concept of creating a cult. I think that was something that we were quite interested in exploring. But obviously that would be the darker side of it. I’m really interested in folk horror tales, stories in general. I’d like to do some more kind of stuff relating to English history, English folk tales and explore that a little bit more. I feel a lot of British history is intertwined with that because ancestral roots predate a lot of the modern religion that dominates now. I mean, at the moment, my house is just full of so many different books that I’ve bought or been gifted! I’m always looking out for ideas for upcoming material. I am really interested in the slightly more paranormal side of it as well!”
Whilst the paranormal and ritualistic cults must wait to be explored on future records, what we have here with Aether is an audio representation of FORLORN‘s spiritual rituals of the natural elements. There is a sense of flow that runs throughout its runtime, resembling a living, breathing organism. This fluidity is reflective in the band’s soundscape with FORLORN fusing together a wide spectrum of metallic elements with ambient folk-laden horror. From post-metal passages to unrelenting hardcore to melancholic ambience, there sound is difficult to pigeonhole.
This is something that especially worked well on the live front. From festival appearances that straddle the metal ecosystem – like UK Tech-Fest, RADAR and Noizzefest – to a host of supporting roles to the likes of CRYPTA, DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL and, most recently, ITHACA, FORLORN are spreading their sound far and wide. This is something that Megan prides herself in with FORLORN and it bodes well for what doors Aether will unlock.
“As basic as it sounds,” she chuckles. “I think onwards to the next phase really. I think, you know, for us, we wanna get out. We wanna get touring the record or at least get on some support tours. So I think for us, I hope that it will bring us wider reach, more people, reach more listeners, and fellow artists. I hope it will bring about the opportunity for us to take it to the stage, but take it to places we haven’t been before!”
Aether is out now via Church Road Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS119 here:
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