Forest Rain has just put out her second album of the year: a 12 track concept album about an apocalyptic war breaking out in Equestria. It starts out with an eerie spoken word intro featuring the voice of actor Reagan Murdock followed by a dark organ melody along with the voice of a female leader addressing the nation to stay calm before the haunting sound of countless screams can be heard, which is then followed up with the first full track, The Fight. It’s a fast-paced punk rock track coupled with orchestral strings and bells along with Forest’s powerful vocals and amazing guitar work to set the mood for the entire album.

For the first half of the album, the album charges forward relentlessly with uptempo rock tracks with soaring choruses and the occasional guest spot; Borders Fall features guest vocals from Wubcake, Steel Chords and Cyril the Wolf to add character and freshen things up some, and We Stand features Whirlwind, performing live drums. The album’s halfway point – The War – brings things down quite a notch in intensity, turning somber as if to represent the dystopian aftermath of Equestria after the war. Following this track is Beacon in the Dark, one of the more unexpected tracks on the album. It has a more electronic backing, and also showcases Forest rapping with ferocity in each verse.

Overall, this album as a cohesive whole is undeniably excellent and powerful, and tells the story presented with precision. Standout tracks are The Fight, The Battle, We Stand, Beacon in the Dark and In Memoriam, but for the best experience, I highly recommend you listen from beginning to end. The album is fresh off the presses on Bandcamp, and also currently has a limited run of jewelcase CDs, so get them while they’re hot!