Review WINTERFYLLETH “The Imperious Horizon”

Summer isn’t over yet and winter is just around the corner. At least the icy artwork of the latest Winterfylleth album works better than any air conditioning to cool down the temperature in your room. Snow and ice, together with a strong breeze from the north is what the front cover of “The Imperious Horizon” shows, representing the music on Winterfylleth’s latest album in a good way.

Formed in 2006, the band represents atmospheric black metal made in England, and it was their debut album “Rising of the Winter” that brought them to the attention of the metal underground.

“The Imperious Horizon” is the band’s eighth full-length album and is a 75-minute journey through the atmospheric world of back metal that begins with an intro.

“First Light” is the cinematic first song on the album, and it’s like the sun’s rays breaking through the winter clouds, bringing some warmth to the land of ice and snow. It is a surreal peacefulness with an ominous undertone that prepares the listener for “Like Brimming Fire”. After the intro, the opener is a blasting black metal song with racing speed and hoarse screams from frontman C. Naughton.

“Like Brimming Fire” transports some hellfire heat and the following “Dishonour Enthroned” takes the same line. It should be mentioned that Winterfylleth’s songs are long but never lengthy. There are enough details to create a special tension that is unleashed in these eleven musical outbursts.

With the same mindset, but a bit more moderate, “Upon This Stone” adds more of the atmospheric aspect of their music, while there are two versions of a cornerstone songs that describe the entire range of Winterfylleth.

“In Silent Grace” is the title, and it begins with an acoustic intro that sets the mood for this dramatic composition. It is a majestic song that combines melancholy, despair and a sense of awe. The second version of this song is slightly different as Primordial’s Nemtheanga adds some guest vocals that make this song even better than it already is.

The epic aspect increases and it is the masterpiece of the album, in both versions.
Compared to these epic moments, songs like the raging “To the Edge of Tyranny” are the right-in-the-face metal moments, before the acoustic interlude “Earth Sorrows” adds to the versatility of this release.

To sum up: “The Imperious Horizon” is a furious album from a band that knows how to put atmospheric black metal into shape and form. This album features the ferocious aspect of black metal as well as builds on epic soundscapes enriched with acoustic instrumentals. It all adds up to a great impression of an album that marks a next step for the band.