Of the Wand and the Moon - The Lone Descent (2011)

Related:
Black Wreath - A Pyre of Lost Dreams (2009)

Epic, inventive, devastating, but utterly beautiful neofolk from this longstanding project by Danish musician Kim Larsen. The Lone Descent uses 'traditional' neofolk as a starting point, then shoots out in every possible direction. From the slow-burning "Absence" to the chiming, maximalist "We Are Dust" to the cinematically downcast "A Tomb of Seasoned Dye" to the sparse desolation of "Is It Our of Our Hands", one gets the sense that Larsen consciously set out to make a masterpiece -- and succeeded.

Track listing:
1. Sunspot
2. Absence
3. A Pyre of Black Sunflowers
4. Tear It Apart
5. We Are Dust
6. A Tomb of Seasoned Dye
7. Is It Out of Our Hands
8. Watch the Skyline Catch Fire
9. The Lone Descent
10. Immer Vorwarts
11. A Song for Deaf Ears in Empty Cathedrals

I should have thrown myself in the fire
I should have

You should also listen to:

Matt Howden -
Hellfires (2000)

Rome -
Flowers from Exile (2009)