Winterfylleth The Ghost Of Heritage (reissue)
By: Chris Davison
A well timed re-release of The Ghost Of Heritage, the debut album from
England's very own heritage-loving Black metal band, Winterfylleth, pops into
my inbox. When I heard Winterfylleth’s sophomore album, The Mercian Sphere, I was blown away by the quality and atmosphere
of the record, despite not being a tremendous lover of black metal in all but
rare circumstances. I was excited, therefore, to receive this album to review,
having been sent by my esteemed partner in crime, The Dragon of M87. With such
heights reached by their sophomore album, how would the earlier platter fare?
Happily, rather well. The Mercian Sphere was a slight evolution from this sound, which in
the main is epic, sprawling black metal with a flair for evoking atmosphere.
There are some clear parallels with early Primordial evident on this record,
most clearly on “Guardian Of The Herd,” which builds up gradually from a
plaintive acoustic guitar set up, to a vast-sounding anthem, complete with
Bathory-esque chanting and drumming. Elsewhere, the swiftly strummed guitars
and distant, slightly echoing vocals speak of the black metal roots of the
band, though the epic scale of the music, the vast sweeping soundscapes are
hypnotic in their ability to conjure mental images. It's ever so slighty raw
and traditional black metal than their subsequent offerings, but none the worse
for it. Here lies controlled chaos – the sound always threatening to spill out
of the bounds of the song structures, but somehow kept together, probably by
the sheer ferocity of the music.
If there are any criticisms – and I'll keep completely out of the whole
“heritage / racism” argument, as there plenty of armchair pundits willing to
wade into that argument on your behalf, it would be that there is a slight
sameness about the songwriting being occasionally a little under developed. All
that means is that as ever, Winterfylleth compel you to listen with your upmost
attention. That can't be a bad thing. This is majestic, epic and compelling
music that has the cerebral content to keep your mind occupied, with the
visceral element to keep your head banging. True British metal.
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