I stumbled across Adder's Fork via the Encyclopaedia Metallum website as a new add a few weeks ago. I checked out the website and sampled a song. I liked it. I also noticed the post about CD's available upon request. As an avid collector, he had me at Free. I reached out to Adder's Fork and lo and behold a couple weeks later I'm spinning the CD.
Adder's
Fork is the work of Marko Kofler who performs all this music. That is
no small feat and from the professional sounding production that is the
album "A Farewell to Expectations", I am thoroughly impressed. The
album has an independent feel, but very well produced. The instruments are all
clear and well mixed.
Adder's Fork play Heavy
Gothic metal. The Gothic style I quite enjoy. Most Gothic metal I'm
familiar with steers toward female fronted symphonic metal. This is not
the case. "A Farewell to Expectations" has a strong Cure feel to it
with vocal styling's akin to Jimmy Brown of later period Deliverance,
David Bowie and possibly Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine. This is how I
hear it. The influences have roots in New Wave which I'm not terribly
familiar with, but this is a heavy album
The title track and "Trails"
have a strong New Wave Goth feel, but with a heavy guitar sound. "Over and Over Again" is probably the most metal song here
(and a great tune as well) which borders on thrash, although the
Instrumental track "Textures of Finality" dips into Black Metal
territory in style and atmosphere. The clean guitar tones with the subtle keyboards brings Iced Earth's
"Dante's Inferno" to mind in terms of atmosphere
"It Runs
In The Family" has a hard rock anthem riff that's pretty cool. It plays
out in a laid back, yet melancholic manner that gets the body moving. My favourite song is
the very cool "This Doom (Is Certain)". It's melodic, heavy and has a
cool little riff that I love.
The album maintains the Gothic feel
throughout and acts like the glue that holds the musical styles
together. "A Farewell To Expectations" is
just that. Let go of long held beliefs of how metal should be and just
lose yourself in this album, immersing in all the textures of sound
melded together with a dark melancholy.
