Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon
Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon
Candlelight/ Spinefarm
Release Date: 13/09/24
Running Time: 56:16
Review by Dark Juan
Score: 196,542,895,712,909 /10
Hey up, people who read this shit! I love all three of you, and one of you is the person who’s doing the editing (EDITORS NOTE: love you too Juan – Laura)!
Now, we know that young Rory of team Ever-Metal, being the excitable and charming little pixie he is, has been prone to uttering a sarcasm or two over the years regarding the MIGHTILY ENTERTAINING and CONSIDERABLY AMUSING preambles that Dark Juan lovingly scribes at the start of his frequently unhinged record reviews. In the interests of market research and actually wanting to give the people what they want, I offer you, my legions, a choice.
Do I, Dark Juan, sex Fuhrer, psychopomp to toffs and gentry, faux Satanic priest and general bunch of undiagnosed neuroses, carry on in pretty much the same vein as I always have, or shall I put away the childish things and actually write record reviews that are just that, without going off at the unusual tangents I normally do? Here’s a binary choice (delete as appropriate):
- Keep doing what you’re doing, you big, beautiful bastard, because it amuses the fuck out of me and normal reviews are boring!
- I want to read about records and not what your (long suffering in the case of Mrs Dark Juan, because I get fed up with your bullshit after ten seconds of reading and she’s had fourteen fucking YEARS of it, you obtuse cunt) wife/ dogs/ prostate/ liver/ car/ neurodiversity is doing, so do your JOB!
Today’s offering upon the mighty Platter of Splatter™ is a bit of a special one for any British fans of Black Metal out there, for I have obtained a copy of “The Imperious Horizon” by the always reliable Winterfylleth (the Old English name for October, fact fans!), this being their eighth full-length release, not counting a split with Ukrainian Black Metallers Drudkh a few years back.
Let’s have a listen, then.
Holy fuck!
My face!
My poor face!
Jesus fucking holy high Christ in a chariot driven sidecar! I can’t find my face!
This, together with Anaal Nathrakh, is the absolute zenith of British Black Metal. It doesn’t get any more bleak and vast than this – whereas Anaal Nathrakh are driven purely by rage, Winterfylleth are the dread, black soul of these unique isles, dripping the blood of conquerors and defenders alike – the bones of the country poking through the earth on mountain range and desolate moor, cold, unfeeling winds flaying the rock and the tough grasses under grey, leaden skies pregnant with menace. Winterfylleth ably manage to convey the inhospitality of the North of the United Kingdom (both Northern England and Scotland – the skirt wearing jessies and the Sassenachs can fight it out in any of the comment sections when this is published, and I’ll sit back and watch the world BURN) where moorland and mountain reign over forested valleys.
This record is not just full-on Black Metal screaming and hyperspeed drumming, though. And this is a Very Good Thing. Winterfylleth love this land, and their music has always had a pastoral, folky element to it (they released “The Hallowing of Heirdom” in 2018, which was a whole album of haunting Folk music dedicated to these fair shores) and this adds a tasteful and unique quality to the devastating Black Metal that Winterfylleth play. Dark Juan loves a bit of avant-garde Black Metal, and this is something Winterfylleth serve up most generously.
“The Imperious Horizon” is a release by a band at the absolute height of their powers – it is significantly well-polished and supremely listenable, which is a rarity for Black Metal, which normally sounds like it has been recorded in a facility that uses tin cans and string for equipment in lieu of anything that uses electricity. This is not so on this album. It is a rich, dense and powerful sounding record in which everything is easily discerned yet retains a core of such crushing heaviness that the listener is reduced to a twitching, bloody paste with bones poking out of it. The influence of Scandi legends Emperor on the sound of the band really comes to the fore at times – ‘The Insurrection’ displaying a modern take on the sound of “In The Nightside Eclipse” with its lush arrangements and almost classical elements in parts.
In short, because I am running out of superlatives and I am somewhat hungover, you need to buy this record if you love Black Metal. It is the pinnacle of the genre and has everything from the stories of Britain told through musical savagery to moments of staggering beauty and calm. The band doesn’t put a foot wrong in the execution of a single song and the delivery of every piece on this album is never less than eye-wateringly committed and powerful. C. Naughton’s vocals run the gamut from throat-ripping horror to gentle singing in the Folkier passages (emphasis rather on the former, so we don’t scare off the teenage corpse paint brigade) and the performances of every musician are the very apogee of what they can perform. I have no idea how Winterfylleth are going to top this, as they have an already incredibly impressive canon and this has just upped their game to a frankly insane degree of BM perfection for nearly an HOUR of pulverising Black Metal.
Lush, in parts almost orchestral in execution, disturbingly heavy, frightening in places and performed to standards of perfection that are outlandishly beyond competent, “The Imperious Horizon” truly is a Black Metal record for the ages, a modern classic that deserves to be mentioned in hushed, reverent tones in the same breath as Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Satyricon. It is THAT good.
I fucking love Winterfylleth.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System has absolutely no hesitation in awarding Winterfylleth 196,542,895,712,909/ 10, mainly because it’s one in the eye for Ever-Metal.com’s Oli Gonzalez, who joked that it would get 999,999,999/ 10 on the staff chatroom when Dark Juan was espousing how truly transformative this album was, and I was never going to make it that simple for him!
TRACKLISTING:
01. First Light
02. Like Brimming Fire
03. Dishonour Enthroned
04. Upon This Shore
05. The Imperious Horizon
06. In Silent Grace (feat. AA Nemtheanga of Primordial)
07. To The Edge of Tyranny
08. Earthen Sorrows
09. The Insurrection
LINE-UP:
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
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
