Sorcier des glaces - Snowland (1998)^{Release ID: 25120}

I am on a Canadian black metal deep dive at present, trying to seek out the essential releases for review. As I tried to plot this course through the vast landscape of one of the biggest land masses on the planet, I immediately stumbled on Sorcier Des Glaces. One of the first black metal releases listed on Metal Academy as being from Canada (there will be earlier ones I am sure), the 1998 debut from SDG is an atmospheric affair that focuses on dark forests, wintery landscapes, and the misanthropic appreciation of nature. The whole album was rerecorded in 2012 (Snowland MMXII) with a less raw production and less keyboards. For this review, I am listening to the original debut album.

Those keys that got a trim in the rerecorded version certainly make their presence felt here. They successfully drive the tracks forwards without taking over from any of the required force of the riffs and percussion sections. They most certainly help with that atmospheric feel to the album but are by no means stealing the show. Also, in terms of the production, although I would not say it is perfect, I have most certainly heard worse and in all honesty (on a black metal record) I prefer it to the more polished rerecorded version. Yes, there is an element of the tremolos sounding like someone is pissing about with the fader on the mixing desk, but it is by no means a distraction.

Perhaps the biggest victim of the original mix are the drums. In the wilder moments of some tracks, we hear more of the “tish” of the cymbals than we do of the actual beats. This is a shame because they are competently performed by Luc Gaulin, just a little lost in the grander scheme of things. However, I think in many ways this enhances the cold and sterile aspects of this album by way of contrast to those richer (but no warmer) keyboards.

Vocally, the throaty rasp of Sébastian Robitalle is a real force to be reckoned with throughout Snowland. Some of the layering effects on My Journey in the Black Forest add a real sense of threat to the track but it is that haughty depth in his vocals that provides such an excellent foundation to build from. In their more expansive moments, the duo reminds me of Paysage d’ Hiver and when the instrumental track Darkness Covers the Snowland comes in it brings such influences as Emperor and Summoning to mind.

There are a couple of occasions where the melodic soar of the guitar is allowed free-reign, and this works well in adding some crystalline lushness to proceedings before giving way to a more tremolo driven style of playing usually. All in all, Snowland is a fine start to my Canadian bm exploration. Whilst most certainly not without fault, it still represents an ambition and crude determination to succeed in the face of some challenges.