Winter Of Apokalypse
Solitary Winter Night
6.8
Apparently the Portland scene is pretty incestuous, as I'm constantly hearing about which members of Lord Gore are playing with who and so forth. After doing a little research, I've unearthed that at least one member of Winter of Apokalypse played in Engorged and also, their lead singer sang on a few tracks on Thy Infernal's Warlords From Hell. If I hadn't heard that, I probably would've pegged them as being Scandinavian. While I remarked on being relatively uninformed as far as metal from the north west goes, bands like Thy Infernal, Velvet Cacoon, and Winter of Apokalypse give the impression that there's a strong uprising of talented black metal acts from the notoriously rain-stricken areas of the U.S.
Taking a few predictable turns, "Dark Sinistral Path" opens with barbaric drumming and melodic Swedish black metal riffing akin to Aurora Borealis and then is redirected into bleak and more everyday slower grounds. I'd love to hear some faint choir singing in the background during the main part, but sadly, and maybe for the better, Winter of Apocalypse keeps things true and austere. The vocals become sort of a turn off eventually, as they're passive and taut. I can imagine this guy sitting in front of a fire, wearing corpsepaint and reading Russian literature with a microphone taped to his felt-lined easy chair. It just doesn't always achieve the desired effect, which I imagine is sort of an aura of depression. With this type of melody-driven black metal, they need impacting screeches and hysterical yells. The red-blooded "Storming Over the Gates of Heaven" comes from more of a Marduk angle initially, yet refuses to maintain the same rhythm and is impeded by the change in tempo. "Infernal Pact" is by far the most enjoyable track on the album, exhibiting a broader range due to the underlying viking/pagan lead and the majestic bridge. There isn't too much to touch on throughout Solitary Winter Night; it's black metal the way most of us prefer it. Dark, devoid of keyboards, and above all, consistent the entire way through.
I've got to hand it to Winter of Apokalypse - they've nailed their sound. Remarkable no-frills, barren, black metal - especially considering that it came out of America. Not a must-own for most of us, but definitely up to par, and you can tell these guys are doing exactly what they want to be doing, no questions asked.
