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October 8, 2008 |
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By Wade O'Neill
October 14, 2005
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01. Dark Sinistral Path
02. Solitary Winter Night
03. Storming The Gates Of Heaven
04. True Pagan Hearts
05. Infernal Pact
06. Eternal Tears Of Sorrow And Hate
07. Black Metal Of Death
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From the eerily penciled forest on the cover, to the tangled tree-branch logo, to the words "Pure F***ing Satanic Black Metal" on the back, to the album title "Solitary Winter Night", WINTER OF APOKALYPSE (WOA) does not strike me as a band trying to avoid classification. Nor should they. "Solitary Winter Night" is jet black metal, as dark and as evil album as you're likely to find outside of hell. I'd say that it was recorded inside hell, if not for the fact that it sounds so damn cold.
I am by no means a black metal maniac, so the closest comparison I can draw is to DARKTHRONE, but it's an accurate comparison, nonetheless. By black metal standards, the production is quite clear, and I don't feel like I'm inside a trashcan that's rolling down the hill. The vocals are of the deeper, anguished variety, which bolster the haunting ambience better than the bat-caught-in-mousetrap style so often heard in black metal. Drum-wise, you can expect blast beats, but not ad nauseum. Although I consider myself a traditional metalhead, "Solitary Winter Night" had enough melody to quench my thirst, although the melody was served chilled. The repetitive dissonance of the guitars kept me in trance throughout much of the disc.
So why just a 7.5? What separates this disc from a masterpiece like GRAND BELIAL's KEY's "Castrate The Redeemer?" GBK were able to craft a more varied listening experience, and it spite of Redeemer's much longer running time, it never gets repetitive. "Solitary Winter Night" is divided into seven songs, all of similar sound and (reasonably high) quality. After the album, the listener recalls a favorable experience, but no standout tracks. WOA seem conscious of their one-pronged attack, keeping the length of "Solitary Winter Night" down to 35 minutes. Ultimately, if you're looking for a journey into a foreboding forest, or you just want to take a trip back to black metal's withered roots, "Solitary Winter Night" may be the escape you're looking for.
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