French naturalist painter Jules Breton completed his composition called "Les Sarcleuses" (The Weeders) in 1868. On one hand, the painting is a very literal piece-peasants pulling thistles and weeds at twilight. On the other hand, it is highly symbolic. Breton himself described it as "their faces haloed by the pink transparency of their violet hoods, as if to venerate a fecundating star." Breton passed away in 1906. Little could he dream that over a century later his seminal painting would grace the cover of an Atmospheric Black Metal album entitled "Emerald Sunset." The album is by A DIADEM OF DEAD STARS, the brainchild of Greek multi-instrumentalist The Pilgrim. "Emerald Sunset" recasts the painting in a new light (albeit dark and discordant). In a recursive process it becomes a piece of art itself subject to further interpretive refractions of the listener.

"Emerald Sunset" is a compilation album which collects four tracks previously only available digitally. Collectors activated. It was released on February 02, 2023-yep, that's either 03.02.2023 or 02.03.2023 depending on which continent you're on. Numerologists activated.

The first two tracks clock out at exactly 7:08 each, which might be coincidence or, yeah, The Pilgrim digs his numbers. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. While track one, "The Furrow of Woes," echoes the cover art, it does so in sheer grayscale. We're talking pale and muted distortion which sways to an eerie melodic lullaby. It sounds like falling to sleep in the cold. "And the Swallows Flew Away From This Land," track two, picks up where track one left off-e.g. lo-fi, flat analog-that is until the 4:41 mark when a classic acoustic guitar drops, framing a sample of "The City," a poem by K.P.Kavafis, read by Elli Labeti (1926 - 1983) and Dimitris Horn (1921 - 1998). A stunning poem btw. We are floated out of the track with more acoustic instrumentation and vocal harmonies. This last half of the song exists in stark contrast to the first half as well as the first track. It conveys the warmth you see in the cover.

Track three, "The Light that Burns," rooves across at least three major movements and includes another K.P.Kavafis poem-"Voices"-read by Elli Labeti. The final track, "Of Green Pastures," might reflect Breton's style the most with its choral vocals and acoustic guitar and flute played against a backdrop of field recordings of birds and insects. The Pilgrim says field recordings were "captured during my wandering on the hills and pastures of my Fatherland sometime in 2017. An Ode to the Rural Gods & Nymphs." A very moving track, this one.

With only four tracks, I'm not going to do a standout list. For Atmospheric Black Metal fans, especially those with a leaning toward Folk, "Emerald Sunset" is a great find. For all the completionists out there, the fact that it collects four rarities is also a treat. And considering you also get your daily supplement of art, music, and poetry all in one shot, well, that's just great value.