WINTER ETERNAL is the sole work of one Soulreaper, formed as a means to express his darkest side – indeed, a place where winter reigns eternal. It all started in 2002 in Athens, Greece where, under the name Unveiled Nightsky, the seeds for the Winter that was yet to come where planted. Nine years later, in 2011, WINTER ETERNAL were officially formed, and a year later, the first demo was released. The band’s first full-length, simply self-titled, originally saw release in 2013 as a limited cassette and, three years later, finally as a CD version.
Eternal winter was raging throughout Soulreaper’s long journey. The multitude of feelings captured in his lyrics and especially his music made WINTER ETERNAL a unique entity within the modern underground: influences ranged from the ’90s Swedish black metal scene (Dissection, Gates Of Ishtar, Vinterland etc) to both the early Hellenic and Norwegian scenes (Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Varathron, Ulver, Windir, Satyricon etc). Truly, this was the work of an old soul, and the results were but only building in strength and sweeping grandeur…
Now, stronger than ever, WINTER ETERNAL rampage through the Land of Darkness on their third album, and first for HELLS HEADBANGERS. Thrillingly chilling yet breathtakingly emotional, Land of Darkness absolutely bristles with an ancient-days mysticism and melodicism that bring black metal’s majestic past into the present. So authentic is WINTER ETERNAL‘s understanding of classic songcraft as well as the production, agonized and effervescent in equal measure, you’d be forgiven for thinking Land of Darkness was some lost relic released in 1997.
However, again like its full-length predecessor but more so here, WINTER ETERNAL poignantly taps into that wellspring of creation the aforementioned legends did and feeds his own lifeforce into it, flexing fluid chops along the way – always in service of The Song, of course – and returns with a nine-song/40-minute document of dreams both dark and beautiful. Nodding to his forebears, Soulreaper reverentially concludes the album with a cover of Gates of Ishtar’s “Dawn of Flames.”
Dark and cold. Winter Eternal is from Greece, but it doesn’t sound like a band from there. It can be seen since the first minutes from the track “Crossing The Blackest Skies “. Aggressive and dark with some Finnish elements. I really enjoyed it since the beginning. The tremolos and the rude Black metal with a lot of feeling and technique are also there too. “Land Of Darkness ” has nice elements and blast beats that will make you remember Emperor or Rotting Christ. This track seems recorded in the 90’s. One of the best tracks in the album!
“The Illusive Wings Of Death ” is more melodic and the intro brings a lot of technique than we have a cool paced song with well-arranged elements, but don’t be fooled by the arrangements, we also have heavy, dark, strong passages here. “ Lord Of False Reality ” and “Crown of Stars ” are different from each other, but they are well suited in the middle of the album. There is some violin passages in “Crown Of Stars” are black metal, but add a violin to it. Yes, definitely! Very well performed,
The whole album is well crafted. This is no comfort zone. The album has a lot of elements and a lot of personality. The last song is “Dawn Of Flames ” a cover song from Gates Of Ishtar. And what a fucking nice surprise! One thing that worths mention here are the vocals. They are pretty consistent throughout the album and seem to put everything in its proper place. This album is a classic! It was born a classic.
WINTER ETERNAL have at last arrived, and beckon you to venture across their Land of Darkness!
Rate: 666
