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░ ██ ██ Artist: Wintercult ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: The Last Winter █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2013 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-10-10 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Black Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Urgrund Division ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Let's hope that in naming their second album "The █
█ Last Winter", this duo from Siberia were only █
█ thinking of the winter that's just been and gone █
█ and not the winter to end all winters. Some of the █
█ title on the album don't seem too hopeful though. █
█ The music has a definite air of finality as well: █
█ scourging blizzard guitar drone, backed by doomy █
█ percussion and accompanied by distant howling █
█ phantom voices, forms the backbone of Wintercult's █
█ style. █
█ The title track sets the scene for what's to █
█ follow: squalling noisy tremolo guitar, moderately █
█ powerful drumming that in speed varies between █
█ slow and medium-paced and which drives the music █
█ onwards, and those eerie muffled vocals fighting █
█ to be heard through the guitar texture layers. The █
█ music tends to emphasise melody, a relaxed pace █
█ and a fairly solemn mood. There is the odd episode █
█ or two of relative calm where a clear-toned guitar █
█ melody may play over and over again. "Taedium █
█ Vitae" introduces a rhythm with death metal █
█ blast-beat influences but otherwise isn't much █
█ different from the preceding song and could almost █
█ be a continuation of it. █
█ "Eternal Solitude" has some distinctive riffing █
█ and a wavering rhythm in parts so it stands out █
█ above the rest of the music but not by very much. █
█ The singing becomes more anguished and despairing █
█ than it does on most other tracks. Most songs on █
█ the album tend to be repetitive and don't generate █
█ much tension or passion. The insubstantial and █
█ generally monotonous vocals may have something to █
█ do with the lacklustre mood of most tracks. The █
█ effect is that no matter how much the instrumental █
█ parts in the songs vary in their details, the █
█ voices seem to be repeating themselves across each █
█ and every track as though one song is being played █
█ in different versions. There is not much █
█ atmosphere on the album either and the mood seems █
█ so blanked out as to be unnoticeable. █
█ As the album plods on steadily, it seems to lose █
█ some traction after the halfway point and █
█ listeners' attention can start to waver. █
█ "Anabiosis" is a very long piece for what it does, █
█ given that it springs nothing that's not █
█ previously been heard. █
█ Eventually when all is said and done, and the █
█ wraith voices fall silent, the air around you █
█ feels no different than before you started playing █
█ the album. The music may have been good in parts █
█ and there were some good melodies in quieter █
█ sections but you never felt completely immersed in █
█ whatever world Wintercult was striving to reach: █
█ the music was too monotonous, the vocals too █
█ limited in range and atmosphere was lacking as █
█ well. The entire album really does sound like one █
█ song repeated over and over in different █
█ variations. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. The Last Winter 9:44 ░
░ 2. Taedium Vitae 6:03 ░
░ 3. Eternal Solitude 9:16 ░
░ 4. La Tristesse Durera Toujours 7:10 ░
░ 5. Anabiosis 7:50 ░
░ 6. The Somber End II 5:42 ░
░ 45:45 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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