Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Album number 8 for this Manchester based Black metal act, nearly 18 years on the go as well, let’s see what they have cooked up for us this time!
1- First Light
Droning atmospheric synth is the first thing that hits you, then an almost cello sort of sounding string pad over the top of it, I mean it certainly puts you in a cold frosty winter mood, that’s for sure, something like this really now would make you think film soundtrack, reminds me of a band called Bal Sagoth who would do these sorts of intros as well, nice intro from Mark on the Keys!
2- Like Brimming Fire
Ok, so straight away production wise we are definitely going more early 90s in sound, in terms of the guitar sound and the drums, Emperor vibes maybe also crossed with dare I say an almost Tomas from At the Gates vocal delivery, and what I mean is it’s not as high pitched as some black metal singers, there is a bit more balls to Chris’s sound! Nice tremolo picked riff and then when t sort of breaks into the double bass half time it opens up nicely, give this a listen with headphones, there are a lot of layers going on, between the counter melodies and the minor chord riffs, some really nice stuff going on, when you get into the middle there is a really nice melodic hook on the guitar that lifts that middle section up, the brutality doesn’t end but this really splits this middle part up, and the way they switch to the double bass at the end and then the solo is there is a lovely way to round the track out!
3- Dishonor Enthroned
It’s just very epic in feel right from the off, and that’s sometimes where black metal has an edge on Death Metal is just the melody that carries on the guitars where you have all the brutality but the guitars can add that, just after one minute in there is a lovely counter point between the two guitar players, Chris and Russell, also hard to catch but there is a really cleaver drum arrangement after the two min mark where the blast beat is being accented with a floor tom, it’s a dense sound but the production is great, you can really hear everything layered up so well, this is unrelenting, you finally get a reprieve about five mins in where the tempo comes down and the layers of guitars are there with a lovely keys backing in the background, again they aren’t massively in your face keys but they add so much texture to the sound on this part, the sound drops down and then comes to a close, that’s a seven-minute epic track right there!
4- Upon This Shore
Straight in with the blasts but again the guitars area carrying so much melody that completely counterpoints the aggression of the vocals and the drums, if you love your black metal 91-97, this is a band if you haven’t heard them, so much old school vibe from this, there is a really cool part at 1:50, where you get to a double kick part and one guitar starts playing this trem picked melody before it slaps you in the face for the next verse again, there is a really nice break in this one where you get an octave sort of melody with the synths behind it and it all comes back in with a really cool build up on the drums, nicely done, before it builds back into the blast beats while still doing that same melodic part, then back into the vocals again, but listen to the melody in the guitars in the back of the vocals, it really makes this part of the song at the five minute mark, another absolute banger!
5- The Imperious Horizon
I suppose my only gripe so far is most of the songs have start straight in, where I can hear this one could have had a keys intro and then into the blasting, when they slow down to the double kick part that’s when the song opens up, but again the verse part is brutal but ultimately so melodic because of the way they have set up the guitar part, it’s a weird thing because the brutality doesn’t stop, but the way the guys have crafted the songs they fly in despite the length of them, that riff at two mins in is disgusting, I love it, like it almost has a grind feel to it, then when it really slows down at 3:30, it opens up so much and the keys just envelope the sound and it’s so dense and beautiful, then there is a lovely guitar melody comes in and the whole track nearly changes in feel. Great songwriting there just to have that shift in the middle of the track, it’s almost like a My Dying Bride sort of part, then the acoustic guitars come in, and the keys as well, that’s just a gorgeous part right there, then into a really slow riff and drum part, its again epic, fantastic track!
6- In Silent Grace
Clean guitar to start this track, the longest on the album at nearly 11 mins, then a distorted guitar comes in and plays a melody over the top of the clean guitars, kicks in with a really slow dragging drum beat and guitars, again you get an element of a more death doom band at parts like this like Paradise Lost or MDB, really nice cleaner vocals in this just add to the atmosphere of this one, I actually looked up and realized I was nearly 4 mins into the track it grips you so much, there are some lovely switches in there and a great double harmony, the tempo hasn’t switched at all so far and the song is at a meandering pace but it is just magnificent, your nearly six mins in before you hear harsher vocals, but the layers in this part with the clean guitar in the back of this part making a reappearance is really well done, then it breaks down again to a really nice section led by the bass before the guitars come back in again with a sliding octave melody, then you hear it strip away to the end where you just have the synth, now that is an absolute opus of a track!
7-To The Edge of Tyranny
If the last track gave you a break from the brutality, well this one smacks you back in the face with it, mind you there is a big meaty slab of a riff comes in on this one about the 50 second mark that could be a slow Napalm riff, before you head back into the black metal blasts again, it’s a nice contrast having the two sections in this one, then you get a really old school sounding section coming in that has nice changes in times on the drums, going from Slayer tempo to blasts and back again, again the melody in the guitar in the last minute of the song really carries it, short sharp and to the point this one!
8-Earthen Sorrows
Acoustic classical guitar opens this one up, very Celtic folk like in nature, and then the cello sort of string sound comes in to complement and play melody to the acoustic guitar part, really nice interlude into the last song on the album.
9-The Insurrection
Drum intro and then bang, right into the blasts again (old school black metal blasts), this one is just brutality from the off, pure aggression until the verse is over and then a melody guitar part over the top of the riff from the verse, then it hits a really heavy almost half-time double bass part, it’s a really slamming bit right there, then right back into the blasts for the next verse, then another change with dissonant picked chords and a slow drum beat coming in and I think a vocal synth part in the back as well, before a guitar melody comes in and carries us back to the blasts again, I love the way they bring it down again towards the end of the track in tempo as well and then it just fades away!
9 out of 10
It’s hard with black metal to get variation, on paper you’re going to be brutal and as I said maybe one of the tracks could have done with an intro on the synth to break it up a bit, but that’s the only thing I would say. In Silent Grace is an absolute epic track, and in general I loved the album, it really took me back to the early 90s Black Metal albums I loved, if you’re into that, go get the album on Bandcamp when it comes out, I highly recommend!
Watch the first two singles, Dishonour Enthroned and Upon This Shore.
Pre-order / listen to The Imperious Horizon here: https://winterfylleth.lnk.to/theimperioushorizon
Winterfylleth are:
C. Naughton – vocals/rhythm guitar
S. Lucas – drums/percussion
N. Wallwork – bass guitar/acoustic guitar/backing vocals
M. Deeks – keyboards/backing vocals/string arrangements
R. Dobson – lead guitar/backing vocals
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