Cool band name. Naming your group after a baby tree is quite a stereotypically USBM thing to do, but putting the ‘Bastard’ in gives it a bit of an attitude, which is appropriate. Bastard Sapling, by the way, feature various members of the lauded sludge band Inter Arma, and while we do find links to sludge music herein, there are also various other influences ranging from cutting edge USBM like Ash Borer, to some introspective allusions to Agalloch, Skagos, etc, and there is even a fun loving rock and roll streak which surfaces periodically throughout Instinct is Forever. The latter, in my opinion, characterises the best moments of the album.

There are moments here of intense, exhilaratingly fast black metal. The opening minutes of My Spine will be my Noose, and Subterranean Rivers of Blood, for example, where the thick and ferocious sound plus the howling quality of the riffs brings to mind the aforementioned Ash Borer. But in general this is a much more mid-tempo album than these passages suggest- perhaps this is not surprising given the band’s roots. This is not necessarily good news: sometimes slower-paced black metal can take on a turgid, mulchy feel, and it requires someone with a good sense of groove to make it work (e.g. the quite underrated Australian band Thrall, who nail it).

Bastard Sapling generally make it work, partly because of the eclectic influences on display throughout the album’s hour-plus running time. It has a varied feel which bears repeated listens. Some tracks bear some resemblance to various sludgy acts from the grimy abrasion of Lord Mantis to the more indi-oriented last few albums by Nachtmystium: for example Lantern at the End of Time, or Every Life Thrown to the Eclipse. The former also merges with more melodious and acoustic influences such as Skagos or indeed Falls of Rauros, when it simmers down into some mournful clean vocals (admittedly the only time such a move is made on Instinct is Forever). But something like The Killer in us All is completely different, with a real rock and roll feel to it, including proper hard-rock style lead soloing. As I said above, this is probably my favourite moment on the album, and where Bastard Sapling sound the most original and convincing.