Eye of Melian – Forest of Forgetting | Progressive Rock Central.com

One of the best albums of 2026 will no doubt be Eye of Melian’s “Forest of Forgetting.” It was released way back on February 20^th, on Napalm Records.

The Napalm Records press release says of the band and the album, “The band name Eye of Melian is inspired by “Melian the Maia,” a powerful, primordial singing spirit from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion.” Melian the Maia is a divine, angelic being (a Maia) who lived in the “Blessed Realm,” before coming to “Middle-Earth.” She is renowned for her supernaturally beautiful voice and is said to have taught the nightingales how to sing. In Middle-Earth, she became the Queen of Doriath by marrying the Elven King Thingol. To protect their forest realm from evil, she wove an invisible web of enchantment around it known as the “Girdle of Melian.” No one could cross this border against her will, as those who tried became hopelessly lost and bewildered.” I have to agree with Napalm when they declared that, “Forest of Forgetting,” is, “A masterclass in symphonic songwriting so whimsical the real-world fades away.”

The debut album for Eye of Melian, was “Legends of Light,” and it was released on June 21, 2022, at that time, during the Summer Solstice – the day when the light lingers longest in the sky. It is available, along with their other merchandise through the EoM webstore: https://eyeofmelian.merchstore.nl/

Eye of Melian is made up of founding members: Martijn Westerholt (Delain) and Johanna Kurkela (Auri), who dreamed up the collaboration that became Eye of Melian. The project includes members: Johanna Kurkela, on lead vocals and violin; Martijn Westerholt, on keyboards and orchestral arrangements; Robin La Joy, on backing vocals and lyrics; Mikko P. Mustonen, on keyboards and orchestral arrangements.

Special guests include:

Patty Gurdy – Hurdy-gurdy and guest vocals.

Troy Donockley – Flutes and Uilleann pipes.

The “Forest of Forgetting,” opens with soft keyboards and piano, for the album’s opening song, “Of Willows and Shadows.” The mystical sounds enthrall and emotionally embraces your ears, just before the full orchestrated soundscape explodes upon the stage. And it is just like a Disney fantasy movie soundtrack. Johanna Kurkela sings, with a mythical voice from theater settings, “Listen, you can hear voices of old. Slowly fading from memory. Forgotten song to reawaken. Shadow stories waiting to be retold.” The soundscape reignites and helps carry her voice onward, “Our story became your legend. Legend now fading to myth-hollowed dream. Willows, they weep for the magic. Magic that sleeps in between the Shadows, they keep their parting song. Whispering into your ear. Their wild dance out on the meadows. Echoing still through root and stone. Ere binding to shadows their last song. Upon willows they hung their harps of gold. “Hidden in shadow realm’s edges. Slumbering we are awaiting belief.” A wonderful, warm, opening to this brilliant album full of enrapturing artistic music and vocals.

“Symphonia Arcana,” opens with Johanna Kurkela’s delicate voice singing, “Autumn’s pale moonrise, (Can you hear the stream?). Thins the veil’s divide(Let your heart drink). Otherworldly chorus bids me come. Borne upon the wind, (Follow if you dare). Voices call “further in,” (We can take you there). Filled with nameless longing I succumb.” Yes, this music and her voice will take you away from the present tense of the day, to a world that I’m sure J.R.R. Tolkien used to go to, while sitting in those dirty trenches of World War I. The music and the vocals are a wonderland of sound. The accompanying music video is brilliant.

“Child of Twilight,” opens with a sense of expediency. Johanna Kurkela’s vocals are more direct, “Moonlit shadows, shackles of your kin. Weaved in starlight, hope seeks you within. Night’s reflections herald through the veil. Born from darkness, brightest dawns may reign. Child of twilight, I see your strife transcend. Your mind’s eye, lift your gaze from your scars. Hear the shadows whisper soft your name. Lómion. You have all you need to find your way child of twilight; I’m by your side. Forgive night your dark trials. Give a new name for your scars.” The music is full of immediacy and is driven by the fuller drum beats.

“Elixir of Night,” features the musicianship of both Patty Gurdy and Troy Donockley. Patty Gurdy, plays hurdy-gurdy and sings guest vocals. Troy Donockley, plays flutes and Uilleann pipes. The wonderful soundscape that they help build, surrounds Johanna Kurkela and Patty as they sing, “Fallen is the curtain. Lonely dusk of velvet night. Wide eyes ever weighed down. Shunning darkness’ lullaby. This long winding path I wander. Ruler over dreams. Bid me enter your keep. Somewhere inside your secret garden vale. Hearken now my plea. For a deep-winter sleep. Weave your red flowers into oblivion wine, wine. Elixir of Night. Crystals, they fall. Casting shivers over all. Glimmer tauntingly of untroubled dreams. Venturing far. Beneath unending stars. Fountains serene murmur distantly. Where do you reside? Will you come and guide me in now?” The two ladies singing together and Troy’s flute playing, make this one of the best treats on the album.

“Blackthorn Winter,” opens with that winter sounding piano you remember from so many Christmas songs from your past. Johanna Kurkela sings, “Cool, crystal, labyrinthine. Whim of snow kissing thaw. Bereaved, ensnared. I rue the return of white callousing air. Snow my love. Go back to the clouds. Where Winter Wonder sleeps. Through the blooming land.” The soundscape takes over as Johanna Kurkela sings in Finnish, “The legendary land of the late-winter chill roughens the surface of the sea.” Another surprise and one of the album’s best tracks. The rhythm and melody are perfect for a waltz.

“Lady of Light,” opens with that keyboard sound I remember from the opening of the first “Harry Potter,” movie. Then, the soundscape expands with orchestration as` Johanna Kurkela sings, “Beneath the waning stars, I have tread. Unseen, my journey winds on ahead. Though misbegotten the road that led here. Fate leads into the Golden Wood’s edge. Entering ancient light that reveals. Nothing can pass through and remain concealed. This land unstained by the griefs of time. The realm of she who sees all beneath the skies. Lady of light, hold me within the gaze of your eyes.” Absolutely cinematic and beautiful, with violins that add so much class and authenticity!

“Dawn of Avatars,” opens with a fierce, swashbuckling feel to it. Troy Donockley’s flute playing leads the soundscape as Patty Gurdy returns with her hurdy gurdy and sings with Johanna Kurkela. Together they sing, “Breathe in through the sands of time. To recall why and where we began. Stardust lingering on our eyes. We join life’s endless trance. Over aeons. Ahead of waking lands. Light recalled her name. Spun dreams of dust out to play. Far, take me to the start (bring back to life). Dawn of Avatars (bring back to life). Where one light holds our hearts.”

The title song, “Forest of Forgetting,” opens slowly with grand piano sounds, cinematic orchestration, and wonderful strings. Johanna Kurkela sings, “I’ve traveled far, heavy laden, weary. Bearing up this worn-out heart, heavy. I have come to wander without a path, without a name. Here where burdens may not enter, nor memory’s stain. Here now. Within the Forest of Forgetting. A haven for the weary.” Then later she sings, “Not all who wander here are lost, but will find peace.” It is another of the best tracks on the album.

“The Buried Well,” is also full of deep and wonderful piano playing. Keyboards and orchestration fill the air as Johanna Kurkela sings, “Too long has it been that I. Visited this place, have I come too late? Hidden deep within the trees, the well. Now filled in with. Once a secret place to find. Sacred waters store, inspiration source. Now nothing can be drawn from this well. All filled in with earth. Buried far beneath this leaden heap.” The sitting bass solos and choirs make this song stand out well.

“The Mirror,” opens with synthesizers and Johanna Kurkela’s soft vocal incantations. She sings, “Silivren deep waters enshrined. The mirror, swirling starlit ether. Silver pale, silver star-breathed. Reveal now the secrets within your ageless keep. Seeds to sow where dreams lie fallow. Fantasies forever hallowed. Memories in time’s web borrowed. Prophecies spun to foreshadow. Deep-rooted fears’ hauntings echo. Within dreams’ deep darkened hollows.”

“Nepenthe,” is the only instrumental track on the album. I purchased the digi-pack and that includes another disc, full of instrumental only versions of all of the songs on the album. This song opens with distant piano keys and Johanna Kurkela’s soft vocal incantations. A bold soundscape full of theatrical music and beautiful, dreamy soundscapes.

“Tears of the Dragon,” is a Bruce Dickinson cover song. Bruce was well-known as the lead singer of Iron Maiden. I watched his music video for the song and understand why it was chosen for this album. Bruce’s version has a very epic Led Zeppelin/Queensrÿche, feel to it. Johanna Kurkela sings this softer version of the song. She sings the powerful lyrics, “For too long now. There were secrets in my mind. For too long now. There were things I should’ve said. In the darkness. I was stumbling for the door. To find a reason. To find the time, the place, the hour. Waiting for the winter sun. And the cold light of day. The misty ghosts of childhood fears.” Eye of Melian’s music video opens with Martijn Westerholt playing piano, and Johanna Kurkela emerges from a foggy vision scape, as Mikko P. Mustonen enters playing an acoustic guitar. Robin La Joy, joins Johanna on vocals, as the video continues to its conclusion. A fitting end to an amazing story and album.

Eye of Melian’s “Forest of Forgetting,” is one of the best albums I have heard this year. Just imagine the strength of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mind. To be capable of visualizing these types of wonders, while sitting in a trench in one of the world’s most vicious theaters of war, during World War I. His dreams must have been a great relief, and the only way to escape the tragedy he faced daily. This music does the same thing for us today. In a world of bitter conflict and political division, this music helps remind us that there is another part of humankind that is full of wonder and grace. As Samwise Gamgee from the “Lord of the Rings,” Trilogy said, “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for!” This album captures that spirit in so many ways and delivers it back to you, as a gift to the listener. Please don’t pass up this gift, whether you listen to it now or during the fall or winter, when the music will feel more seasonably festive. Eye of Melian’s “Forest of Forgetting,” is truly an album not to be missed in 2026.