PLAYLIST: FORGOTTEN SHRINE - Josh's Influences

Curated and Written by: Josh Alexander of Forgotten Shrine

In a (continuing) attempt to give some cool bands a platform to talk about cool music, we're having a band take over the blog every few weeks to share a curated playlist, along with some words about each song and why they picked it. Our most recent playlist takeover came courtesy of Dead Karma, but now Josh Alexander of folk metal duo Forgotten Shrine drops by the Village with a playlist of influences.

The result of Josh Alexander and Sofia Frasz's joint interest in "bardcore," Forgotten Shrine is a folk/medieval style project drawing influences from across the realms of metal including Nightwish and Eluveitie. Original soundtracks from the world of gaming and film, and the traditional/pagan folk genre as a whole, also inspires the band's musical approach. Forgotten Shrine currently has two singles available on bandcamp--check out "The Parting Glass" and  "Where Shadows Lie" here!

Without further ado, I'll let Josh take over!

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Nightwish - "Last of the Wilds"

After growing up with my dad blasting classic rock one minute, and bagpipes the next, it's no wonder the sound of Nightwish's first outing with Troy Donockley really struck a chord with me when I first heard it and it really made me thing about both metal and folk music in a whole new way.

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Skillet - "Hero"

Skillet was the first band that ever made me really want to get into music. With their catchy and anthemic choruses to their slower heartfelt ballads, the Comatose - Awake era of Skillet will always hold a special place in my heart. And it was the first time I heard male/female duets done quite like this.

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Dream Evil - "The Chosen Ones"

This one was definitely a lot of people's first intro to power metal that wasn't "Through the Fire and Flames," Chosen Ones graced a lot of fan music videos for video games and movies and the huge epic arrangement pairs perfectly with killing orcs and dragons.

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Eluveitie - "A Rose For Epona"

Eluveitie's lyrical themes of crying out to old gods paired with the melancholic longing conveyed by the amazing folk metal instrumentation is something I've always loved. Even though I'm not pagan myself, I think anyone can relate to the cry into the void for whatever is out there when we feel abandoned.

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Amaranthine - "Amaranthe"

Not to be confused with the Nightwish song of the same name, "Amaranthe" is an extremely unique blending of three very distinct vocalists over top of a synth heavy industrial metal backing, and strikes this balance perfectly. Each singer could front their own band on their own but together they are even stronger than apart. Perfect for those of us who like to sing a duet with yourself in the car.

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Children of Bodom - "Every Time I Die"

Children of Bodom inspired an entire generation of guitarists and screamers, and the melodic death metal genre owes them a debt for trailblazing in such a massive way. Their Follow the Reaper album is an underrated masterpiece in terms of guitar work and songwriting.

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Ancient Bards - "All that is True"

Ancient Bards is quite possibly the most underrated power metal band out there. They've been described as Rhapsody with a female singer, but I think that's selling them short. Each of the musicians is truly world-class, and some are in multiple other projects and have their own masterclasses on their respective instruments. Pair that with gorgeous vocals and songs that all tell epic fantasy stories, you're in for a treat.

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Within Temptation - "Iron"

Within Temptation is a band that I've seen go from living in the shadow of other bands in the symphonic metal genre to being at the very forefront. Many people know them from their newer albums or from their co-headlining tour with Evanescence, but their older material and this song in particular has really motivated me to keep going with music.

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Leah - "Edge of Your Sword"

Back in the day where artists would comment on your YouTube Channel to get you to check their music out, I remember getting one from Leah and on an absolute whim I decided to check out her stuff. And come to find out not only is her music a fantastic blend of celtic/world music and metal, but her values tend to align with my own, which is a very rare combination. 

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Forgotten Shrine - "Where Shadows Lie"

Shameless self promo time. "Where Shadows Lie" is the first song I've worked on and actually released. I started working on recording it back in 2022, but dropped it due to not being able to carry the song on my own. It wasn't until starting a collaborative effort Forgotten Shrine with Sofia Frasz (Exiled Hope), that the song really came together. With my instrumentation and her captivating vocal performance and insight on writing lyrics, I'm extremely proud of how this turned out. We are both very grateful for the positive response we've gotten and are working on a lot of new material as we speak.

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Thanks to Josh for curating this playlist and providing commentary! Tune in next week for another playlist.