Make a recommendation to a fellow member of The North

Wreche - All My Dreams Came True

OK guys hear me out for just a second: black metal, but instead of guitars...piano. A fascinating little project that pushes the boundaries of what black metal can be. I would very interested to see what Xephyr thinks of this, especially considering how we were both enamored by Kaatayra's two albums last year.

https://wreche.bandcamp.com/album/all-my-dreams-came-true

Paysage d'Hiver - "Winterkaelte" (2001)

Swiss atmospheric black metal solo project Paysage d'Hiver may be most well known for his 1999 self-titled demo however I've always questioned the validity of that particular release being his crowning achievement as I don't rate it amongst Wintherr's strongest material. 2020's epic "Im Wald" release is still my favourite after the second hour absolutely blew me away me away however 2001's "Winterkaelte" isn't far behind as it possesses one of the purest frost-bitten Scandinavian atmospheres you'll ever hear & doesn't taint it with ill-fitting clean instrumentation nearly as regularly as the self-titled.

This time we see Wintherr offering us six lengthy pieces that generally exceed the ten minute mark with the two strongest tracks opening proceedings. If you struggle with trance-inducing repetition then this won't be the release you're looking for but if you love nothing more than closing your eyes in pure darkness & being engulfed by a swarming mass of arctic winds then this will be right up your alley. The general ambience is further accentuated by well-executed field recordings that add further weight to the feelings of desolation & loneliness you'll inevitably be experiencing through the layers of guitars & distant drum pulse. It really does come at you in waves with Wintherr's insane screams being a real highlight. You would have to imagine that he would have completely burnt his voice out with this performance. 

The last couple of tracks do see the quality dropping a touch which is mainly due to their faster tempos which see the drum machine becoming much more obvious & this element does take a little away from the atmosphere however it's not enough to see me pulled out of the foreign & intimidating place I've been transported to. The 79 minute run time is a little extreme too however the consistency of the tracklisting is excellent so it's very hard to argue against it, particularly when I don't have any problems taking in the whole release in one sitting. Overall, "Winterkaelte" is a glorious & majestic piece of black metal art that should captivate anyone regarding themselves as a black metal purist.

For fans of Burzum, ColdWorld & Darkspace.

4.5/5

Ben, Vinny & Sonny, I noticed that you haven't rated this one yet. I highly recommend that you investigate it.

Drudkh - "Blood In Our Wells" (2006)

This one should be right up your alley Xephyr. Think atmospheric black metal with a Pagan edge to it ala Ygg, Winterfylleth & Wodensthrone.

You'd be right Daniel, this one was fantastic. Going to check out their other albums today. 

I just realized I never checked out Wreche though, gonna have to remedy that. 

4.5/5

Ethereal Shroud - Trisagion (2021)

Hey Sonny, HIGHLY recommend checking this one out before finalizing your 2021 list. I was looking to get to this one later in the week but had to check it out when I saw it hit the front page of RYM, and I think it's incredible. Really great Atmospheric Black Metal with some seriously Doom-y riffs in there.

I checked "Trisagion" out over the last couple of days too actually & ended up really enjoying it. It's much more melodic & uplifting than I'm usually able to tolerate so it definitely had me putting my guard up on first listen, particularly the 27 minute opener "Chasmal Fires" which offers some epic melodic passages that even Moonsorrow would be proud of. However subsequent listens while doing early morning walks along the beautiful Narrabeen lakes saw me giving in to what can only be described as a stunning realization of a fairly ambitious creative vision. All three tracks may be lengthy however they never feel like they've been needlessly extended despite a fair amount of repetition because there's always thematic development going on & it's done with the utmost class. Plus, the synthesizer work & orchestration is beautifully done. I love the way these tracks slowly build up to huge crescendos at times which reminds me heavily of post-metal. I do think that the doom element is being overstated. There's really only a few minutes of it across the 64 minute run time & that comes entirely on the closing track. Ben will absolutely love this shit though. 

4/5

Xephyr, I notice you haven't rated Enslaved's 2003 seventh album "Below The Lights" yet & I think it might be right up your alley.

Absolutely right, it's impressive how much of a blind spot I have with Enslaved considering how good I think they are. I wrote my Vikingligr veldi review and kept up with Utgard and E, but literally nothing else inbetween. Which is a damn shame because I have a feeling that Enslaved are incredibly overlooked as one of the most consistent and interesting Metal bands out there as they slowly morphed and shaped their sound away from their initial raw but simplistic Black Metal into something way more melodic and progressive. I think it's cool when bands take their time feeling out where they want to go with their music, it really creates a tangible journey, especially when you're many, many years late to the party and you can just go back through everything. Obviously it works out well because Enslaved has shown they can create high quality stuff no matter how they mix their sound up, only showing signs of slowing down very recently with Utgard being a bit more underwhelming than something like Below The Lights. That being said, I definitely liked this a lot, but it didn't absolutely blow me away. Although, now that I'm going for a 3rd listen as I write this, I could see it being a bit of a grower. I think you were right when you said there are a few inconsistencies here and there, but moments like the big riff drop in the opening "As Fire Swept Clean The Earth" are just insanely cool. I love the crunchiness of the drums in the mix too, gives it a unique rawness that Enslaved kept around from their earlier albums. 

I've still got a lot of albums to go through from this band though, all of them seem ridiculously good.

4/5

Lurker of Chalice - "Lurker of Chalice" (2005)

Sonny, I highly recommend that you get onto this Post-Black/Doom Metal masterpiece if you haven't already. I'll be very surprised if it doesn't hit right on your musical sweet spot.

Blut aus Nord - Disharrmonium - Undreamable Abysses

Blut aus Nord by way of Oranssi Pazuzu. Sonny, you need to hear this.

Blut aus Nord - Disharrmonium - Undreamable Abysses

Blut aus Nord by way of Oranssi Pazuzu. Sonny, you need to hear this.

Thanks Saxy. I enjoyed the track from it that was featured on this month's playlist so I will definitely check it out.

Ben, Sonny, Xephyr... I have been listening to and reviewing some albums by Covenant/The Kovenant (leading up to this month's Sphere feature release), and I highly recommend this symphonic black metal release, Nexus Polaris, that should be up you guys' alley. Daniel and Vinny, you two can also check it out, but I should warn you, it will take quite some listening time to digest before you can decide what you think of this album.

Ben, Sonny, Xephyr... I've encountered this incredible offering of experimental industrial black metal that should be up you guys' alley. Daniel and Vinny, you two can also check it out, but I should warn you, it will take quite some listening time to digest before you can decide what you think of this album.