Are you ready to raise your spear to attack and eradicate all foul religions on Earth? German one-man black metal project Winterthrone's third full length album 'The Godslayer' suits well as a clarion call for that battle. Project leader Steffen Brückner also plays guitar in Irrlycht, but Winterthrone is quite a different beast, even though epic black metal is its tool of musical cataclysm, too.

The closest notion that listening to Winterthrone causes me to think of, are Norwegian epic black metallers Limbonic Art. Winterthrone's songs are long, but of course that alone does not mean they are epic. However, when Winterthrone mix raw-ish black metal successfully with symphonic elements and big atmospheres, the epic quality has been obtained. The black metal side is often quite chaotic and fast, while the symphony elements bring in accessibility. Surely, both merge with each other and vary from side to side. Synthesizer work is made up of horror organs, brass sounds, choir sections, and jingles and what not. Mostly they are a bit too artificial-sounding. Ambient soundscapes (including sounds of torment and agony, swords clanging and warriors bawling, etc.) also play a big part on some of the songs. Unnatural drum machine beats are utilized. 'The Throne' is rather industrial-tinged with its more modern all-round vibes. 'In the Silver Chamber' is about pagan atmospheres, with a heavy Greek stylistics in its melody work. The vocals are insane and brute squalling.

The production works against the music. It is pretty labyrinthine when things get busy. On the other hand it suits, but is still way too trebly. The lower frequencies are very rare, if not nonexistent. I miss the pounding heaviness in the sound, which the songs itself often contain. Cover artork isn't good, but covers and disc are pro-printed.

All in all, Winterthrone offer a cold and chaotic journey to the dark side, which is a must-try for Limbonic Art fans. And not a bad choice for those who are looking for black metal with symphonic elements, but no 50-piece orchestras playing on a metal album.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/18/2012 23:01