A fingernail through the cellophane, Winter lets out the night.
Originally released in 1990 and widely considered to be a cult classic, Into Darkness from New York outfit Winter is now being re-mastered and is subject to an official re-release.
Winter began in 1988 from the ashes of punk bands “Doomsday” and “Meltdown” and despite the scene at the time which, followed the death/thrash metal route of playing as fast as possible, Winter went in the polar opposite direction, tuning their guitars low and grinding their songs into a slow wading sludge. Winter sadly went on to disband in 1991.
The album begins with intro track “Oppression Freedom Oppression”, a very droning doom like introduction, featuring numerous drum fills, slow ambient guitar sections and deeply resonating bass tones.
Throughout this alum there is a very bizzare mix ratio between the guitars and the drums and vocals. The latter are very well produced and insanely clear when compared to the muddy guitar sound which sits right the back of the mix, almost drowned out by the rhythm section and vocal.
The album begins with into track “Oppression freedom Oppression” A very drone doom like introduction, featuring numerous drum fills, ambient slow guitar sections and deep ressonating bass tones.
The drum sound itself is extremely clear, which gives a very strange contrast to the guitars, that are extremely muddy and buried. This is a rather alien concept to me and I have to say this made enjoying the tracks from a musical perspective quite a challenge. That being said it's hard to deny the amount of originality and creative process which has clearly gone in to create an album which was so set apart from other music of it's time.
There is clear influence here from metal acts such as Autopsy and Entombed, laying trem picking insanity and blast beats to bed, favouring slow chugging riffs instead. With other acts like Earth and Electric Wizard appearing around the same time as this album, it's easy to think that Winter have been overlooked as one of the unsung heroes of the Doom/Slidge genre.
Stand out tracks for me on this album are 'Goden' and 'Destiny', two of the longer tracks on the album clocking over 8 minutes, but providing varying sections and interesting ideas that stop the songs feeling long and drawn out.
Not one to judge on first listen. For fans of Autopsy, Sunn O))), Goatsnake, Acid Witch, Coffins and Entombed.
Winter – Into Darkness out later this year on Southern Lord.
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
