Photo (left to right) by Jane Driver-Loach and Ася Плавскина
Decibel Magazine is currently streaming “Enter The Woodland Realm” from transcontinental black metal outfit EVEALE. The track comes off the album of the same name, set for release on May 1st via a joint collaborating between Toronto’s Hypaethral Records and New York’s Fiadh Productions.
EVEALE emerged in early 2025 as a black metal project operating at the margins of anonymity and intent. Conceived by two long-time collaborators seeking an outlet unconstrained by their existing work, the project was initially hidden behind pseudonyms: The Monarch Of The Hillside (MOTH) and The North East Wizard Tyrant (The NEWT).
The band comments, “This being the eponymous song of the album, the aim is to obviously give an overview of the Woodland realm itself, alluding to the fact that it is a safe place but is surrounded by peril and darkness. A sweeping, moody black metal epic with a few momentary flavors of ‘70s prog. It starts with a little bit of scene setting, which then diverts into this amazing, soulful guitar solo from The Newt, with the epic chorus of singing by The Moth. It then diverts into something darker when talking about what lies beyond the borders of the realm, which is the note the album ends on, perhaps giving a glimpse into the direction of a future release? Who knows…”
Adds Decibel, “The five-minute-plus cut is the perfect entry point for the new endeavor, as it encompasses the wide-ranging influences—from folk to prog to melodic black metal—the band handily incorporates.”
Stream EVEALE’s “Enter The Woodland Realm” HERE.
Stream EVEALE’s previously release single, “Carniflora,” HERE.
Enter The Woodland Realm was mixed and mastered by Erik Peabody at Viking Guitar Production and produced and edited by Steve Wiener. Guitars, bass, and backing vocals were engineered and recorded by Wiener in New Jersey, USA, vocals were engineered and recorded by Alex Loach in Hampshire, England, and drums were engineered and recorded by Chris Barber in Sheffield, England.
EVEALE’s Enter The Woodland Realm will be released on limited edition vinyl (200 copies on Forest Dweller vinyl), CD (200 pro-pressed, 6-panel digipak), and digitally as well as cassette (a Fiadh exclusive).
Find preorders at the Hypaethral webshop HERE, the Hypaethral Bandcamp HERE, and the Fiadh Bandcamp HERE.
Enter The Woodland Realm Track Listing:
1. The Beckoning
2. Lament Of The Dryads
3. The Enemy
4. Carniflora
5. The Ritual
6. Pursuit Beneath The Moonlight
7. Our Flame
8. The Final Quest
9. Enter The Woodland Realm
EVEALE’s debut track, “Lament Of The Dryads,” established the band’s stripped-back approach — direct, unadorned black metal steeped in nature, folklore, and cycles of death and rebirth. Though originally conceived with programmed drums, the song demanded a more visceral performance, leading to the involvement of a session drummer credited only as The Basher at Things (BAT).
A second track, “The Enemy,” expanded the project’s scope. Beginning in the guise of heroic fantasy metal, it gradually reveals itself as something far more introspective: a meditation on self-deception and destructive coping mechanisms.
These two songs formed EVEALE’s debut EP, Lament Of The Dryads / The Enemy, released in May 2025. Early exposure came through unconventional means, including anonymous physical releases scattered at a major UK festival, an act that drew attention while accelerating the project’s eventual unmasking.
With their identities revealed but their alter egos intact, EVEALE turned toward a full-length album. While not a traditional concept record, it is bound by the recurring presence of The Woodland Realm: a mythic landscape inhabited by MOTH and NEWT, where nature, decay, and dominion intertwine.
“Our aim with Enter The Woodland Realm, was to create an album that took all of the things we love most about rock and metal, and to put them into one black metal album, with a distinctly unique sound,” the duo comments. “There are moments of epic grandeur, contrasted by sections of bloodthirsty ferocity and introspective melancholy. Whilst this isn’t fully a concept album, a lot of the themes revolve around worldbuilding within the fictional universe that we have created as a setting for our alter egos: The Monarch Of The Hillside (The MOTH) and the North East Wizard Tyrant (The NEWT); The Woodland Realm, also populated by a myriad of other Forest Dwellers.”
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