"Deep in The Old Forest" is the second LP of the conceptual project conceived by the composer and guitarist from Málaga (Spain) Raúl Lupiañez. After dealing with the stories of writer Isaac Asimov on his first 2019 album "Eternity, Infinity," he delves into European folk tales. Going in depth in the themes of the lyrics through its mix of metal, progressive rock and post-rock, adding influences from 19^th century orchestral music. Previous staff is increased by the collaboration of artists like Eduardo Antón, Jesús Martinez, and Jose Mañas. The album contains twelve tracks.

"Prelude: The Stories" is a brief opening song. Soft, clean guitar notes are played above some typewriter strokes. The vocals and strings are also quite charming. "Bones, Blood and Fear" begins with a heavier, attacking sound in the guitars, and some more earnest vocals. Eduardo Antón lays down a nice guitar solo, with plenty of wah-wah. There are just a few tonal issues to deal with here. "Mara" is a bit quicker in pace, with more emotional vocals to go along with the clean guitar notes. I love the bass guitar notes in this track. It gets a bit angrier in the chorus, in contrast to the melodies in the verses.

"Someone with No Name" begins with a slow pace and female vocals. After some more staccato tones, it loosens up, then the vocals climb. But there is a disconnect from the vocals to the instruments. "Our Promise" is another slower song with soft male vocals at first. The violin notes are a nice touch. The guitar and bass "duet" towards the end is well done. It sort of sums up the song with some pleasing melodies. "Interlude I: The Covenant" is another short song that ties some of the longer ones together. It's just some pretty guitar notes with a hint of sadness.

"The Fallen One" is an eight-minute beast, opening with some big sounds in the guitars. Male vocals are more emotional here, as the song gallops along with some haste. Towards the middle of the song, some Progressive elements come through. The sound then drops to near nothing for several bars, before picking back up with distorted guitars. "You and I" opens with female vocals and piano. More violin notes can be heard in the background. She pushes into the upper ranges, with harmonized vocals in the chorus. "The Midnight Bell" begins with a charming melody, and a combination of both male and female vocals. The acoustical guitars after the half-way mark are reminiscent of RUSH for me.

"The Crystal Mountain" is full throttle heavy out of the gates. This might have been the song I was waiting for. Lighter songs are just fine as well, but too many in a row can become competitive. This one's a winner for sure, with another well-done guitar solo. "Interlude II: Winter" features harmonized vocals and strings. The just-under-15-minute "The Old Forest" closes the album. There is plenty of room for exploration here, and that's just what the band does. It's three minutes in before any real sonic mark is made. It picks up with sound until the seven-minute mark, when nearly everything drops. At the 11-minute mark, it's full on again, building a big crescendo before dropping to pretty clean guitars to close.

Sonically, what is missing on the album for me are those big emotional moments, or at least some contrasting elements. Raúl Lupiañez put together quite a varied cast of musicians, but for me, the compositions were just lacking. Another way of saying this is that the music just wasn't as interesting as it could have been. The musicians were good, but the album lacked a core identity.