Winterblood
Herbstsehnsucht
8 Track Album
"Le Crépuscule du Soir" Productions
To be released May 2013
Coming out very soon!
Written for
Brutalism.com
Winterblood – Koblenz,
Germany
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Winterbloodband
Genre: Avant-Garde/Black
Doom Metal
In the bands
own words:
“Winterblood is an Avant-Garde Black Metal Band
with Operatic Vocals, from Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate” (With emphasis on the
Avant-Garde!)
Created on the
10th October 2007 and hailing from Koblenz in Germany this Avant-Garde/Black/Doom
laden quintet are ready and able to take on what the metal world has to throw
at them!
The bands record
label put the release date back from February/March to May which is a damn shame
but due to the label’s Anniversary they had a lot of other releases in the
pipeline so pushing Winterblood
further down the chain of events.
What I find
strange is the fact that the band have been going over 5 years and there are
hardly any photos of the band around, which is a shame.
The album cover
is bright and naturalistic with beautiful and colourful autumn leaves which is a
stark reminder that not every doom/black metal band should go for the same
thing and good to see they have chosen something different and striking to
represent their music.
Nur der Tod hat mir Erlösung Gebracht – Only death
has brought me deliverance
Gripping and
intense with a whispered vocal entourage, this swirling hypnotic piece of music
holds a vibrancy all its own. Its meanderings are meaningful and still manage
to send a chill down my spine especially as the demonic screams lunge forth
they sound tormented and angst ridden – it quickens in pace which is totally
unexpected but welcome, although does not last long and returns to its comfort
zone. Atmospheric and slow it will twist the savage knife into your shoulder
blades like a hot knife through butter.
Mit Jedem Abschied wird errinerung Geboren – With
every goodbye is a born reminder
A distorted
guitar and then some sparse uncomplicated drumming starts the demonic screams
turn to low growls like a Rottweiler having teeth pulled with no anaesthetic.
This track is pure unadulterated black doom madness with a nice ominous twist,
eerie and very unnerving it takes a minimalist approach but less is more.
Raserei des Meers – Rage of the Sea
A beautiful
hypnotic start for this track. It holds
a certain beauty that is blackened by the rasping, of a hateful and scorning
vocal which resonates and commands the track. The faint clean vocal is like a
caress amid a dulled guitar, however the operatic vocal is somewhat strange but
adds an unusual twist.
Derniêre – Last
A track with a
French name meaning “Last” is strikingly charming. It meanders slowly with a
feather light touch although it does build to hold a certain heaviness that
serves to intrigue. Confusing as it is,
it is sung in German, however the scathing vocal returns and quickly diverts
from the soft vocal but switches back to a softer clean vocal later on in the
track. I find this piece of music amazingly diverse and definitely offers the listener
something new and repeated it three times over already – which is always a good
sign for me.
My Eternal Grave
The familiar
black metal riffs rear its head and a devilish laugh suddenly bleats into
action to a driving forceful guitar and a myriad of drum beats and the only
English title on the album, although I would have preferred the band to sing in
German but I am perverse like that! Despite this, the track is gripping as it
is enthralling to listen to and holds some amazing melodies. An operatic voice begins
yet again, but I must admit, it blends superbly with the music and adds a
certain depth of urgency to a very unique sound.
Herbstsehnsucht – Autumn longing
The title track
opens with the sound of rain drops and a stunning Spanish guitar played with
such clarity, it immediately encourages you to think of autumn. It is indeed a
beautiful track and sung in a clean vocal and in German too! So Pagan is very
happy. It is anything but brutal but it is compelling listening to the acute
ear. Further on in the track the vocals do become harsh but return to their
clean roots once again. A very intriguing and beautiful track indeed that is
played with so much passion it deserves to be played again – poised on repeat!
Saturnnebel – Saturn Fog
A stark guitar
ushers forth some striking chords that sound jagged and edgy as well as
distorted. The scathing vocal returns with a superb ferocity and lifts the
track to higher levels of extremity. It is indeed a cornucopia of wild and
extreme beauty carved superbly by five interesting musicians who have obviously
put a lot of time into producing such a superbly diverse piece of writing.
Derniêre – Last (Instrumental)
A cuckoo and
falling rain drops then a German voice starts and is more spoken than sung like
in poetry it guides the listener to an amazing backdrop of dream like
scenarios. Strong and compelling rhythms
weave constantly through-out and finally build to such amazing proportions,
winding and speeding up it emits to such a ferocious and overwhelming level.
To Sum up:
A very unique
album with so much diversity not only in language but musically as well. This German quintet have covered every angle
possible. Tracks sung in German with a Spanish guitar and English tracks too,
as well as the operatic approach to some amazing avant-garde doom/black metal
it is a hive of suspense and needs to be sampled to be fully appreciated not to
mention the French Connection too with the bands label being called "Le
Crépuscule du Soir" which translated means “Evening Twilight” and so apt
for Winterblood.
The concepts of
this album are stunning, different and highly intense. It has its more subtle moments but is not all
doom and gloom, in fact this is more uplifting than down beat with so much
going on from the rainfall and cuckoo’s to the beautifully played Spanish
guitar to the downright evil vocal array – this is definitely an enthralling
listen – and I urge you to all to buy this because you won’t regret it. From
start to finish it offers something new and varied which is remarkable for a
doom/black metal band, but the words to remember here are Avant-Garde that makes
all the difference.
If someone was
to say what does Winterblood sound
like? I would have to admit they sound like no other band I have heard before,
which takes them further up the metal scale for ingenuity! So well done Winterblood on coming up with
something highly innovative and original.
This album does
not have you reaching for the razor blades it has you reaching for the repeat
as you will want to savour every moment!
Ein wunderbares
Album! Danke für alles Winterblood!
5/5
Track List:
Nur der Tod hat mir Erlösung Gebracht – Only death has brought me
deliverance
Mit Jedem Abschied wird errinerung Geboren – With every goodbye is a
born reminder
Raserei des Meers – Rage of the Sea
Derniêre - Last
My Eternal Grave
Herbstsehnsucht – Autumn longing
Saturnnebel – Saturn Fog
Derniêre – Last (Instrumental)
Members:
Fall - Vocals
Hrothgar – Lead Guitar
Custos Corvus – Rhythm Guitar
Wolf - Bass
Blinded - Drums
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