Nordicwinter - Sorrow (2021)^{Release ID: 32431}

Releasing two albums of atmospheric, depressive black metal within nine months of each other is no mean feat.  As with his latter release from last year, Yves Allaire manages to pack yet more mournful and somber content into fifty-three minutes over seven tracks.  This guy is like a bottomless pit of despair when it comes to writing songs, yet somehow - despite the album having an amazing sense of consistency and flow - it never gets boring or staid.

This is in no small part down to how well he balances the elements of the music perfectly.  There is no sense of tautness about Nordicwinter's black metal offerings.  Everything feels to have a relaxed, almost entrenched inevitability to it.  It is one of the most genuine captures of sadness and sorrow (pun intended) I think I have ever heard, using tempo perfectly to register the real emotional impact of what is being shared.  Sorrow does not necessarily stick with one tempo throughout, however it is also very measured in approach to tempo as a whole.  Rarely stepping away from mid-tempo is a technique that allows the component parts to breathe.  The subtle balance of the distorted yet still clear guitar tone against the veiled howling vocal style and omnipotent atmospheres, all done to the backdrop of the (programmed) drums is executed brilliantly.

It is rare to find such levels of sheer desolation, articulated so well by just atmospherics alone, but to have authentic accompaniments alongside them to further enhance the depth of an album is rare for my ears.  This is an album that is able to draw you in, keeping you focused despite most tracks being in excess of seven minutes by the sheer connection it is instantly able to form with the listener.  The flow of the record just feels effortless, again delivering this feeling of hopelessness and the futility of fighting the misery on display.

Nordicwinter have been a revelation in my listening within black metal this past few months and as I continue to explore his industrious activity (four albums over two years alone) I am constantly rewarded.