Image Credit: Aleah Stanbridge
The only thing worse than losing a fantastic artist is losing the art that accompanied their life. For the one and only Trees of Eternity project we will ever receive, there is a bittersweet feeling that comes from knowing the art is not lost.
“Hour of the Nightingale”, released in November 2016, is a perfect encapsulation of sadness, grief, remorse, and loss that a person could experience all at once. Certainly, Aleah Stanbridge, the posthumous vocalist of this project, knew this wholeheartedly.
Being diagnosed with cancer has to give one a completely different outlook on life. It seems that Aleah reveled in this with the music that she made despite the outcome that was inevitable.
There is no explanation or imagination of what she must have been going through.
Track-by-Track
The album begins with “My Requiem”, a foreboding song that perfectly sets up the adventure you will go on. It sounds so ethereal and dreamlike that at points throughout the track it can almost take you out of the negative emotional state it wants you to feel. This song also feels like the definitive ‘saying goodbye to this world’ track on the album right from the beginning.
When Aleah says, “Alive in memory I’ll stay”, it’s like a personal self-reflection of your own life. Do you want to leave a lasting memory or fade away? Aleah did the former.
“Eye of Night” then begins and completely shatters any of the shieldings from the sadness that may have existed in the listener.
Throughout this album, Stanbridge’s vocal techniques shine as she takes a moment to breathe before many of the verses in each track. In this song, it is a true highlight that takes it to another level. This and the absolutely beautiful bridge chorus create a sense of peaceful melancholy that will calm your nerves and make you shed a tear simultaneously.
Yes, this actually happened to me. Any time I feel stressed in my life, the line “No truth to hold you, let peace enfold you, it’s alright” makes everything easier to view and rationalize. Aleah’s voice is like a guardian angel when combined with these powerful yet devastating lyrics.
Her voice becomes amplified when paired with Mick Moss of Antimatter in “Condemned to Silence”. I adore the theme of this track. The soul that lives within every one of us seems to be misunderstood and trapped by our thoughts in life when we feel lost. Aleah and Mick display this in almost perfect harmony and synchrony as they sing in unison.
“A Million Tears” flow as Aleah breaks down to her weakest point. The vulnerability found within this track should hopefully allow more people to learn that it is ok to open up about what you’re going through, despite what society tells us. We are all just fighting for purpose and meaning in this fleeting life of ours. This track should remind us of that. Aleah found her purpose in the music.
“Black Ocean” is the heaviest song musically on the album, while “Gallows Bird” is the longest and most diverse track on offer with Nick providing some of the most harrowing lines on the album, creating the sense that Aleah is in her final preparations before passing. The fact that “Gallows Bird” is the closer speaks volumes about that feeling.
Conclusion
This set of songs is special and has not left my mind ever since first hearing it back in 2016. Perhaps, it never will.
This is my favorite album of all time and nothing has come close to rivaling it yet.