{"id":281198,"date":"2026-02-05T00:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/281198\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T00:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:36:07","slug":"course-of-fate-behind-the-eclipse-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/281198\/","title":{"rendered":"Course of Fate – Behind the Eclipse Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"After waiting seventeen years to release their debut full-length<\/a>, Norwegian progressive metal act Course of Fate is now three albums in since 2020. I missed their sophomore release in 2023\u2014I\u2019m actually just learning it exists as I type this\u2014so I was especially excited to see this group back in action. Mindweaver was a delight of an album, the kind of release that hums with potential and makes you eager to see what a band is going to do next. Evidently, I missed what Course of Fate did next, but now that Behind the Eclipse is here and audible, I\u2019m no less excited to share that they haven\u2019t missed a step.<\/p>\n

Course of Fate are still very much Course of Fate, though the sound I remember from Mindweaver has morphed into something altogether more aggressive and impactful. Kenneth Henriksen and Fredrik Jacobsen\u2019s guitars are louder and rougher around the edges, and bass by Torstein Guttormsen is fully audible through most of Behind the Eclipse. Their core sound\u2014a heavy backdrop supported by lush drumming (Per-Morten Bergseth) and memorable, just-melodic-enough riffs counterbalanced by Eivind Gunnesen\u2019s smooth singing\u2014is still there, but even the singing is more aggressive than I remember, with the odd growl thrown in for good measure. There is a sense of care to the songwriting, evident in the quiet keys and strings, and the storytelling in the lyrics to songs like \u201cBehind the Eclipse,\u201d the titanic opener with an epic chorus and huge resolution that gets stuck in your head for days after you hear it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sense of melancholic anger throughout Behind the Eclipse; Course of Fate are very much at home in frustration and sorrow, though their compositions are as lively as ever. \u201cAcolyte,\u201d for example, opens with a quiet piano lead that builds to an aggressive, almost thrashy riff. Gunnesen is loud here, fitting in so well with the music, right up to the chorus\u2014then things slow. The piano returns, and his performance turns introspective. Then, as soon as it\u2019s over, Course of Fate is back to its fiery self. The balance is impressive and shows up again throughout. Closer \u201cNeverwhere\u201d is another classic Course of Fate exploration, a song that builds and builds from bitter reflections to soaring interludes to its massive chorus and beyond. As with Mindweaver, there is an emotive core to Behind the Eclipse that gives it genuine staying power (and once again, the ballad is one of the best songs, this time in the form of \u201cDon\u2019t Close Your Eyes\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There are only a few moments throughout Behind the Eclipse where the aforementioned balance of aggression and melancholy doesn\u2019t quite come together, and in these moments, it becomes \u201cmerely\u201d good metal. \u201cSky Is Falling\u201d is a fine song, but it comes in a little strong for my tastes, while \u201cHiding from the Light\u201d takes a slower, less immediate approach that initially had me wondering if Course of Fate didn\u2019t have some metalcore influences. It isn\u2019t metalcore\u2014I can\u2019t stress that enough\u2014but the balance isn\u2019t quite there, at least not to my ears. With that said, the solo guitar work in \u201cSky Is Falling\u201d is one of the coolest moments on Behind the Eclipse, and I love the use of growls in \u201cHiding from the Light.\u201d Every song has something going for it, and this is in large part due to the fact that Course of Fate are strong performers and great songwriters. As a bonus, eight tracks spanning forty-five minutes make it hard to lose interest at any point.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019d say Course of Fate have done it again\u2014they\u2019ve kick-started my year with an impressive showing of progressive metal that I expect to come back to often as the year goes on. Behind the Eclipse is a well-written, cathartic, and empowering album that is fun to listen to. I could argue it\u2019s a little uneven, but it never dips below \u201cgood\u201d and often reaches \u201cgreat.\u201d It seems that Course of Fate are finding their groove\u2014not to mention a consistent release schedule\u2014and I couldn\u2019t be happier for it.<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.5\/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb\/s mp3
Label: Roar! Rock of Angels Records<\/a>
Websites: facebook.com\/courseoffate<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: January 30th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After waiting seventeen years to release their debut full-length, Norwegian progressive metal act Course of Fate is now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[23197,32260,135954,135955,93,61,60,120257,278,90984,5819,563,564,135956],"class_list":{"0":"post-281198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-23197","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-behind-the-eclipse","11":"tag-course-of-fate","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-jan26","16":"tag-music","17":"tag-norwegian-metal","18":"tag-progressive-metal","19":"tag-review","20":"tag-reviews","21":"tag-roar-rock-of-angels-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}