Winterfylleth // The Imperious Horizon // Album Review

British black metal titans Winterfylleth have returned with “The Imperious Horizon”.

Their eighth album & first album in four years since the release of their critically acclaimed 7th album “The Reckoning Dawn” sees the band write their darkest & most proclaimed work to date.

The album was recorded and produced once again by the legendary Chris Fielding (Primordial, Napalm Death, Conan, Electric Wizard, Fen) at Foel Studios in Central Wales, while the post-production & mastering was overseen by Mark Mynett (My Dying Bride, Rotting Christ) at his Mynetaur Productions suite in Manchester, UK.

The album’s epic intro “First Light” really builds the anticipation, strings softly build & lull you in. Building such rich sounds, crafting vast images of vast snow capped mountains in your mind. Crashing in like thunder “Like Brimming Fire” is a sonic delight. A rich darker tone of Winterfylleth’s sound this track is punishing with its reverb soaked tremolo strumming but its chord changes hit you hard.

Chris Naughton’s vocals feel like his best to date & his most anguishing but beautifully rich in one swoop. The closing section on this track is pure fury & it starts the album on so well.

Feeling like a freight train “Upon This Shore” is a juggernaut of a track.

Lush & soulful verse sections which when moving into the chorus open into huge moments that feel anthemic & rich. Mark Deek’s keyboards & string arrangements are a strong & glorious backbone to this track & the whole album. With some other bands the keys & orchestral melodies can be lost, but Winterfylleth’s perfect blend of both the hard metallic edge with the larger key sounds work so great together.

The bridge section of this track is one of my favourite moments of the bands to date. Tribal drum rhythms build as the band brings in the raw power they unleash in a dark & disgusting way before bringing it back to the larger lush wave sonics they craft so greatly.

At the album’s middle point “In Silent Grace” (feat. AA Nemtheanga, Primordial) gives you the touch of the folk music the band have touched on before on earlier albums with this lush opening section that builds slowly before unleashing in this lavish blanket of sound.

This over ten minute epic truly feels like the perfect marriage between both AA & the band.

Closing track “The Insurrection” is a primal raw track that invokes that true norway sound. The decision to hear such a vast yet powerful last track is a great delight for those who love to listen to albums as a whole & soak up every second of the band’s latest album. With grand moments of choral voices & the headbanging inducing lead riff this track really shows you the band are giving every ounce of blood & sweat on the albums closing moments & it pays off in the most glorious way.

Winterfylleth have always been a beacon of light in the UK underground scene, brandishing that classic black metal sound but harnessing it with anglo saxon lens the band have always crafted superb albums & “The Imperious Horizon” is yet another pillar in a faultless discography. The most elegant but darkest album the band has given us to date.

Review: Joseph Mitchell

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

TRACKLIST:
1. First Light
2. Like Brimming Fire
3. Dishonour Enthroned
4. Upon This Shore
5. The Imperious Horizon
6. In Silent Grace (feat. AA Nemtheanga, Primordial)
7. To The Edge of Tyranny
8. Earthen Sorrows
9. The Insurrection

Deluxe Version Bonus Tracks: –

10. The Majesty of the Night Sky (Emperor cover version)
11. In Silent Grace (AA Nemtheanga solo version)

CREDITS:

Guest Musicians: –

Alan Averill (AA Nemtheanga from Irish Pagan/Black Metal stalwarts, Primordial) – Guest Vocalist on ‘In Silent Grace’
Mark Doyle – Bass Guitar on ‘The Majesty of the Night Sky’ – Emperor cover version on the Deluxe Editions of the album
Arthur Thompson – Cello on ‘First Light’ & ‘Earthen Sorrows’

Album Credits: –