Black Wreath - A Pyre of Lost Dreams (2009)

If you, like me, think that Of the Wand and the Moon's The Lone Descent set a new, as of yet unmatched standard for neofolk, you'll probably be pretty stoked to hear that Kim Larsen, that project's mastermind, has a funeral doom band. Yup. A Pyre of Lost Dreams is the band's only release so far, and it is mesmerizing, achingly beautiful, and crushingly heavy, even in the sections lead by clean guitars. Larsen's neofolk tendencies pop up here and there -- most noticeably, in the strings that creep in during the latter half of "The Black Holes of Your Mind" -- but the real ace in the hole is Larsen's gift for composition and melody, which allow these songs to unfold slowly and carefully, but with a sense of clarity and direction.

Track listing:
1. The Black Holes of Your Mind
2. Nocturnal Dominion
3. Solitude Rising (Missing All Exits)
4. Nidstong

Behold the nightsky of a thousand stars
Falling to earth in dark procession,
Infinite solitude rising in all its splendor