2021 has given us some exquisite examples on the current state of Black Metal, and it calms me to see that the genre is alive and well.
Musicians are reclaiming back the visceral facet of the genre, stripping it down of unnecessary artifices, maintaining the purity of Art. I have always looked at Black Metal the way I look at Hardcore Punk: I want it simple, and straight to the point, with no overly technical melodies, and plenty of feeling. Felling is the core of a good Black Metal music. Said feeling feeds the music, which will end up feeding the listener, creating an almost symbiotic relation between the two.
Winterstom crafts up a ritualistic approach to the music, but not a clear one (those Ritualistic Black Metal bands tend to bore me), but a more subtle one. Winterstorm have been around for less than 2 years, but being the experienced bunch that they are, their craft is of top quality. We have melody, yet we have aggressiveness, and you can almost taste the hatred. The vocals resemble a man on the verge of mental collapse, and it fits the ambient, perfectly. The end production gives it that extra punch, you know? Its rotten sound, and “awful” production, give it that je ne sais quoi, d’you know what I mean?
Black Metal the way the Devil likes it. Give it a spin, if you have not already.
