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

Now you don't have to look too closely to notice some stylistic similarities to Dissection, Necrophobic and Dawn, but they developed their own identity by focusing more on the atmosphere than the riffs.  Their have the tremolos of one a careful mix of evil and serenity.  Hell, it doesn't even have to be black metal.  That 3.5 minute piano interlude called So Far Beyond is truly appreciated, considering that most black metal artists will just include a weird sound effect at the start for a few seconds before blasting right into the black metal.  And Vinterskogen is basically a slow instrumental ballad praising everything that's supposed to make the more beautiful side of black metal what it is.  That's easily one of my favorite melodic black metal songs ever, and melody only comes second to the artistry.  But even though they're not as riff-based as Dissection, whatever solos and riffs they do carry are generally very impressive.  But one negative I need to point out is the drums.  It kinda of beats in the back of my head in an awkward way, like a woodpecker doing its natural duty.  That can be a big distraction, and should've been replaced with another drum.  Still, it's very nice to hear a black metal band focus more on delivery and variation than on trying to set up a formula to follow.

Now there are only two things getting in the way of a five-star release: a little familiarity and the bass drums.  Otherwise, this is totally solid.  It's evil, it's melancholy, it's serene and it's gorgeous.  Yet another iconic one-album-wonder from the black metal scene gets my stamp of approval.

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