Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Vinterland - Welcome My Last Chapter (1996)

Almost inevitably, if you're coming to this album you have already had your fill of Sacramentum and Dissection.  Chronologically in terms of release years, by the time Vinterland dropped their debut we had already had The Somberlain and Storm of the Light's Bane show us how melodic black metal could be done and Far Away From The Sun was only two months behind this release.  That having been said Welcome My Last Chapter punches well against those titles.  Whilst not being anything particularly new, extrovert or alternative to the melodic end of the black metal spectrum, it underpinned the resplendent edge to the sub-genre nicely.

Engineered and mixed by Dan Swanö, the Swede's debut album oozes class and sophstication alongside the more familiar harsh, cold assault more associated with the genre.  Swanö also contributes most of the keyboard work (alongside the largely unknown Jonas Hermansson) which adds a real depth to proceedings alongside the rich tone of the guitar.  The drumming is a tad wet sounding for my taste but the bass is sat perfectly in the mix, twanging and rumbling along nicely with the flow of the record.

Vocally, D.F. Bragman does a sterling job of providing the ghastly delivery required that further adds to the mystery of sound.  This album has some legs on the aforementioned more obvious classics of the era in that if feels almost devilishly melancholic in the more down tempo sections.  It almost seems to brood between the faster passages, dwelling, revelling almost in its own misery.  As a result the atmospheric impact of the record is memorable and lasting.

The melodies here are delicious and structured perfectly.  Sweeping melancholic riffs and desolate acoustic strings sit effortlessly alongside each other, playing equal amounts of importance in the success of this record, lifting it up to the lofty heights of recognition that really should ensure that this album is recognised alongside (not as an afterthought behind) the more familiar titles mentioned.