Repress on yellow vinyl. Includes an insert and an A2 poster.
Recorded during the Winter of Reclamation anno MMXX
The debut of Lament in Winter’s Night, the brain-child of an mysterious individual called The Seer (also known for his activities in Midnight Betrothed, Pissmoon, Solipsism and Vrörsaath to mention a few), was released by Atrocity Altar on cassette. In 2021 Dark Adversary Productions and Altare Productions released it on CD and 12” and 2022 was the year Hells Headbangers Records did the re-release on CD.Raw Black Metal with a bleak yet clear bass-less sound can be heard on ‘At the Gates of the Eternal Storm’. Although I mentioned raw to describe Lament in Winter’s Night Black Metal, there is certainly room for icy melodic hooks, in the Finland-way.Convince yourself with listening to both ‘Winternight's Yearning’ and ‘As Creation Reclaims My Blood’ and feel the grasp of winter.
Lament in Winter's Night is an Australian black metal band that's been growing a cult following since their debut in 2019. Right from their self-titled EP in 2019, the band got a notable following for their unique mix of raw and melancholic black metal that took major influences from Drowning the Light and Satanic Warmaster. A year later, they released their debut album "At the Gates of the Eternal Storm", and since I started listening to it, it's quickly become one of my favorite black metal releases from the country.
The album's opening track "What Hatred Stirs on These Nights" gets straight to the point with its raw guitars and loud drums blaring in. The guitars themselves are raw and play some haunting riffs. But in between the rawness, there's also plenty of riffs that sound more melancholic and melodic, evoking a more sorrowful tone within the atmosphere. The drums also push this further with its repetitive blastbeats adding in anger and frustration within the pain. The bass, while not very audible in the mix, is still decent at building in a foundation as well as providing a deep sound within the chaos. Throughout the album, the instrumentals mainly consist of a mix of raw riffs mixed in with melancholic tunes that gives off an excellent atmosphere of triumph and anger. Besides the opening track, "The Pale Yoke of Bravery" and "Winternight's Yearning" are also big highlights, with the former having an excellent triumphant riff at the beginning and the latter offering a more mysterious and epic atmosphere within the riffs. There's even "Dreams of Those Passing Nights", where its classical piano closes off the album with a sad piano tune that only reinforces the melancholic tone. Despite having some raw and rough instrumentals, its those melodic riffs that gives off a more emotional landscape that works out really well.
The vocals are also just as devastating. The Seer's vocals on all of these albums have been great, but I feel as if he especially excelled in this album. His shrieks are not only high-pitched, but they are also packed with a ton of anguish and torment, which is only furthered with the echo effect. A good example of this is in "As the Ages Fade Before Me", which is one of the more harsher tracks on this album. With a higher emphasis on sorrow in the riffs and the constant clatter of the drums and cymbals, The Seer's shrieks of hate not only flow well with these instruments, but further enhance the ideas of fading away. And even on the more melodic riffs, his shrieks work as a contrast that he feels hatred rather than love. The shrieks on this album are grueling, but are fantastic when paired with the raw instruments.
All in all, "At The Gates of the Eternal Storm" serves as a tragic piece within the Australian black metal scene. Even with its use of harsh raw riffs, there's moments of melody and atmosphere that makes the whole thing sound tragically sad, and The Seer's agonizing shrieks only prove that point. While I wish the mixing was a bit better, this album nevertheless serves as an epic piece in the Australian black metal scene, and I highly recommend checking it out if you're into bands like Drowning the Light.
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