A Forest of Stars is a black metal band with elements of folk, psychedelic … Read Full Bio ↴A Forest of Stars is a black metal band with elements of folk, psychedelic rock, post-rock, and progressive rock from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The band is known for its Victorian aesthetic and bizarre, otherworldly lyrics and has released five albums since its 2008 debut The Corpse of Rebirth: 2010's Opportunistic Thieves of Spring, 2012's A Shadowplay for Yesterdays, 2015's Beware the Sword You Cannot See, and 2018's Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes.

The band belonged to the Triskalyon circle/collective in 2006-2007, which also included Azag-Thoth, Dark Forest, Darklink, Death Kvlt, Gallia Fornax, Havarax, Monarque, Mortifier, Sinful Dimentia, Soufferance, Terrorist, Throne of Mortality, Unkwiss, Vision Eternel, Vision Funeral Doom, Vision Lunar, Vision Pariah and Vision Solitude.

Members of the band also play(ed) in the English band The Water Witch, which has a similar style and aesthetic.

Lineup 1893 - present:
Mister Curse - vocals
Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts - violin, flute, vocals
The Gentleman - Synths, pianoforte, percussion
Mr. T.S. Kettleburner - guitar, vocals
Henry Hyde Bronsdon - guitar, vocals
Mr John "The Resurrectionist" Bishop - drums, percussion
Titus Lungbutter - bass

Lineup 1891 - 1893:
Mister Curse - vocals
Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts - violin, flute, vocals
The Gentleman - Synths, pianoforte, percussion
Sir Gastrix Grimshaw - guitar, vocals
Henry Hyde Bronsdon - guitar, vocals
Mr John "The Resurrectionist" Bishop - drums, percussion
Titus Lungbutter - bass

Lineup 1887 - 1891:
Mister Curse - vocals
Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts - violin, flute, vocals
The Gentleman - synths, pianoforte, percussion (drums on "The Corpse of Rebirth")
Mr. T.S. Kettleburner - guitar, bass, vocals
Mr John "The Resurrectionist" Bishop - drums, percussion

Live members:
Sir Gastrix Grimshaw - guitar
Titus Lungbutter - bass

God
A Forest of Stars Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Silence shattered like ice, incipit rage in myriad voices of the wind
All light now absent as the banshees howl
No solace in the maelstrom.

-Even the sun's afraid to rise around here-

It's ice cold as far as the eye can see
Relentless winter restraining the new mourning rays.

Frozen in thought whilst seeking oblivion.

Got scalded by summer, given the cold shoulder by winter
We'd watched the world go by...
Shifting slowly from here to there, going in the direction of everywhere, but arriving neither here nor there
Now there's a taste of blood in all the throats around here.

Asked for a shot of winter in my holocaust, it caught my throat afire on the way down
Wrought iron gateways pleading, under-used ovens awaiting further problems
Countless eyes closing, rhyme boring reason.

It wasn't very sunny that weekend, sitting and watching this world stumbling to its end.

-All rain all everywhere-

Shining wet skies' tears.

-Sun hides in fear just around the corner from here-
Just around the corner, see? Over there!

God's... eyes... closed

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of A Forest of Stars' song "God" are rich in metaphor and imagery, painting a picture of a desolate and frozen landscape where even the sun is too afraid to rise. The opening lines describe the sound of silence being shattered like ice, as if something terrible has just occurred. The voices of the wind are personified as a "myriad" of banshees, emphasizing the overwhelming and chaotic nature of the scene. Despite this, there is "no solace in the maelstrom" - there is nowhere to turn for comfort or shelter.

The next stanza continues to describe the cold and lifeless environment, with "no light now present" and a "relentless winter" holding back the new day. The imagery of being "frozen in thought whilst seeking oblivion" suggests a feeling of being trapped in one's own mind, unable to escape the despair and hopelessness that surrounds them.

Later in the song, the lyrics describe the singer's sense of detachment from the world, having watched it "go by" without really being a part of it. This is contrasted with the sudden appearance of "blood in all the throats around here," an image that implies violence and struggle have entered into the previously lifeless landscape. The lines "God's... eyes... closed" suggest either that there is no higher power to intervene in this chaos, or that any such power has turned a blind eye to the suffering on display.

Line by Line Meaning

Silence shattered like ice, incipit rage in myriad voices of the wind
The silence was violently broken by the wind, which expressed anger in countless different ways.

All light now absent as the banshees howl
There is no light left, only the deafening screams of the banshees.

No solace in the maelstrom.
There is no peace or comfort in the chaos.

-Even the sun's afraid to rise around here-
This place is so bleak and terrifying that even the sun is too scared to show itself.

It's ice cold as far as the eye can see
The coldness is all-encompassing, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

Relentless winter restraining the new mourning rays.
The winter is holding back the new day's light and the grieving process.

Frozen in thought whilst seeking oblivion.
Unable to think or act, but desperately wanting to escape reality completely.

Got scalded by summer, given the cold shoulder by winter
Summer's heat was overwhelming and winter's coldness was unwelcoming.

We'd watched the world go by...
We had stood by and watched the world move on without us.

Shifting slowly from here to there, going in the direction of everywhere, but arriving neither here nor there
Floating aimlessly, moving around a lot, but never really going anywhere or achieving anything.

Now there's a taste of blood in all the throats around here.
The people in this place are all feeling violent and aggressive.

Asked for a shot of winter in my holocaust, it caught my throat afire on the way down
Asking for the coldness to numb the pain, but instead only causing more suffering.

Wrought iron gateways pleading, under-used ovens awaiting further problems
The gates are begging for mercy while the ovens wait for disaster.

Countless eyes closing, rhyme boring reason.
People are losing their lives and there doesn't seem to be any logic or reason to it.

It wasn't very sunny that weekend, sitting and watching this world stumbling to its end.
The weekend was dark and ominous, as the world seemed to be coming to an end.

-All rain all everywhere-
The rain is all-consuming and everywhere you look.

Shining wet skies' tears.
The rain is like the sky's tears, glistening in the light.

-Sun hides in fear just around the corner from here-
The sun is just out of sight, too afraid to show itself.

Just around the corner, see? Over there!
The sun is so close, it's just around the corner! Look!

God's... eyes... closed
God is not paying attention or intervening, leaving the world to suffer in silence.

Contributed by Brooklyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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