Review by Saxy S for Paysage d'Hiver - Im Wald (2020)

Winter has been a prominent theme found within the confines of the black metal subgenre since its inception. And everyone seems to have a different interpretation on what the titular season would sound like. Paysage D'Hiver have made it into a twenty plus year career.

I had heard a lot of things about this record through those who managed to pick up limited edition copies prior to its release (finally) on streaming services. And many had said that this was the return to form for Paysage D'Hiver; the one that would put Wintherr back on the map the same way the self titled record did in 1999.

This album felt like a throwback to the mid 1990s and the classic records by the band Burzum such as Filosofem, in which it combines the drone and ambient sounds with pummeling, lo-fi black metal to create something that is very repetitive, but somehow inescapably intoxicating.

And with albums such as this, I believe that the lo-fi production actually helps the artist get their desired atmosphere across. The way in which the vocals are so distorted behind a wall of guitars that are laden with static snow and reverb is very symbolic. The nature and field recordings that break up the metal portions are subtle and provide the listener with just enough recovery time before the next ten minute wave of black metal hits your ears.

I will say a couple things though. In the time between the self-titled record, Winterkaelte and this, the "winter" brand of black metal has changed drastically, and quite a few groups have come along and proven that this cold, dark atmosphere can be achieved through high quality production. As a result, this record does have a sense of nostalgia involved, but hardly lives up to the gold standards of ambient ABM. Also this album is too damn long! Seriously, I was struggling to find time just to listen to this thing in a single session with its two hour runtime. I was waiting for a rainy day to pop this thing out and almost three weeks later we still haven't seen any rain! I finally decided to just go for it, and I kid you not, we had a downpour by the time I got to "Flug".

I can make a lot of comparisons with this record. For one, it's atmosphere is very similar to Olhava's record Ladoga from earlier this year, although I do think this record is a more balanced experience then that one. The comparisons to Burzum are inescapable so if you like that branch of black metal, you are going to go gaga for this. For me, this record may never live up to the legendary status of Agalloch's Ashes Against The Grain or Fen's Winter, but the nostalgia factor is enough to grab my attention and keep it for as long as the titular season feels.