Candlelight Records 2012
1.A Thousand Winters 2.The Swart Raven 3.Æfterield-Fréon 4.A Memorial
4.The Glorious Plain 6.A Soul Unbound 7.Void Of Light
8.The Fate Of Souls After Death 9.Home Is Behind 10.The Threnody Of Truimph
Opening Track ‘A Thousand Winters’ blasts straight into all
out melody lead scathing and melodic black metal, the bands intentions clear
from the word go. There is a real ‘gravelly’ tone to the production, in black
metal terms the guitars are extremely heavy with the bass guitar especially
prominent and adding real depth to the sound. Vocally it’s as you have come
to expect, screamed, malice pouring from every word, drenched in echo and reverb which really re-creates black
metal from the first wave, when bands sounded like they were singing and
playing in a cave. The way in which Winterfylleth vary and move from one tempo
to another is quite unique sounding and definitely sets them aside from a lot
of bands. It’s their trademark, their signature sound almost. Uniquely
Winterfylleth! As ‘The Swart Raven’ opens up it is again unmistakably
Winterfylleth at their very best, mixing tempos perfectly and creating a really
mournful and hateful atmosphere. The heavy dose of melody really sets the band
aside from many of their contemporaries. Again, the way tempos and time changes
are used is a very simple formula, but one that is being maximised to the full
to create some absolutely stirring songs. As the song breaks into an acoustic
guitar section, there’s a folk influence on display but the cleanly sung, chant
like vocals add an extra element, almost pagan/Viking black metal. The song
then returns to the classic black metal sound the band are so great at
creating, ending the track in a haze of melodically lead black metal guitar
riffs which reek of bleak emotions and dark atmospheres. 'Æfterield-Fréon' acts as
a melodic interlude; soft acoustic guitars accompany what sound like
fiddles/violins and work well, a break in the black metal assault. It’s only a
short break however, ‘A Memorial’ blasting forth in yet another torrent of
melody driven hateful black metal, sounding extremely catchy and as mentioned
before, undeniably Winterfylleth. The band found ‘their’ sound a long time ago
and is sticking to the formula which works brilliantly, no need for change when
something is this good! As this track begins to draw to a close there is a real
sense of urgency, desperation etched into every screamed word, it’s fucking
fantastic stuff.
‘The Glorious Pain’ follows on in similar fashion, bass heavy
and distorted guitars leading the charge into battle, again sounding utterly
devastating with sorrow and hate etched into every sorry word. What works
particularly well here is the use of chant like vocals over the faster black
metal sections and even when the pace is slowed and the clean chanting re-introduced,
the catchiness is never lost. Some say that black metal shouldn’t be ‘catchy’;
I say listen to these guys then re-think your statement! What works so well for
Winterfylleth is their simplicity, as seen in ‘A Soul Unbond’, a simple song
structure played using relatively simple, but unbelievably atmospheric guitar
riffs all backed by drums that do nothing more than keep the rhythm and tempo,
but that is all that is needed here, why over complicate matters when the
atmosphere and emotion of the music more than compensates for speed or
technicality. The mournful nature of the music lends itself perfectly to the
vocal delivery, again sounding full of hate, desperation, spite and absolute
anger – many of the elements key to great black metal. The tempo begins to
raise slightly as the songs ends, but it never flies off into furious blast
beats which is only right. Doing that would spoil the atmosphere completely. If
a return to the faster black metal is what you crave then ‘Void Of Light’
should satisfy you completely, the pace upped to the more familiar tempo seen
in earlier tracks. And as with everything before it, the mixing of tempos
effective in delivering another top notch black metal song, melody once again
at the fore but as ever, delivered with aggression to make the perfect
partnership – melodically aggressive. ‘The Fate Of Souls After Death’ is more
of the same, another fast and aggressive black metal song which drips atmosphere
from every note, the tempos tending to be utilised for longer periods,
especially the faster sections giving this song a much more aggressive feel
than has been witnessed previously. The slower, melodically driven sections are
still used, and used as effectively as always. The track consisting of three
sections, fast beginning, slower middle section and returning to the faster
pace to end. Simple, but yet again devastatingly effective. ‘Home Is Behind’ is
another acoustic guitar interlude, a break from the devastation of the black
metal. There’s an ancient sound to the acoustic guitars, extremely classical in
delivery and with a very ‘Olde England’ feel which fade out slowly before title
track ‘The Threnody Of Triumph’ opens up in another barrage of extremely
compelling black metal. Saving the best for last and utilising everything
witnessed in the previous tracks, it’s an absolute stormer of a track. There’s
a real sense of urgency on display now, the bands seemingly wanting to spread
their message even deeper into the listener and you can’t help but feel that
the band are so proud to be ending this album on such a high note, a punishing
and suffocating atmosphere really stirring now, almost building up to something
really really big and thunderous. However, the track fades out into oblivion
and an acoustic guitar takes over, taking you somewhat by surprise, but not in
a bad way. Winterfylleth are definitely getting better with age and this, their
third album is by far their greatest piece of work to date. Having crafted a
sound that is ‘Winterfylleth’ and ultimately unique, especially to these fare
shores, these guys are riding high and at the top of their game with this
album. If you’re a UKBM fan and you don’t have it in your collection, then may
I suggest you get it as soon as possible because you really are missing out on
something very special indeed. Very highly recommended
9 out of 10
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