Unreqvited – “The Starforger”

Do you like music that makes you feel entirely alone in the universe? Or maybe music that reflects the fact that you already feel entirely alone in the universe? But then the music makes your solitude feel majestic and stirring and cinematic and maybe even beautiful? Honestly, you don’t even have to answer affirmatively to any of those questions; I’d still recommend that you check out the one-man atmospheric black metal project Unreqvited.

Unreqvited is one guy from Ottawa who calls himself 鬼 and who makes grandly emotional sad music — the rare form of underground extreme metal that allows you to use the word “beautiful” honestly and without hyperbole. Unreqvited’s music is based in metal, but it’s got tons of shoegaze and neo-classical and glassy synthpop in there. You could hear that in Unreqvited’s most recent album, 2021’s Beautiful Ghosts, and you can hear it in the lead single from the next one.

Early next year, Unreqvited will release the new album A Pathway To The Moon. 鬼 has put together a touring band, and this album, unlike past efforts, is written with the live show in mind. There are lots of vocals on the LP, both buried-in-murk black metal screams and ethereal clean vocals, and the deluxe LP features a cover of one of Hans Zimmer’s pieces for the Interstellar soundtrack. Lead single “The Starforger” is a lovely, sweeping reverie that lasts for eight minutes and only rarely gets heavy. It sounds like it should play on the score for the final scenes of a documentary about the sun exploding — a radiant and blissful end to all things. Check out the song and the tracklist for A Pathway To The Moon below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Overture I: Disintegrate”
02 “The Antimatter”
03 “The Starforger”
04 “Void Essence / Frozen Tears”
05 “Into The Starlit Beyond”
06 “Celestial Sleep”
07 “Departure: Everlasting Dream”
08 “Cornfield Chase” (Hans Zimmer cover)

A Pathway To The Moon is out 1/24 on Prophecy Productions.