Vinterthron
Reign Ov Opposites
6.9
Ever heard of a band called Darkthrone? Apparently Brazil’s Vinterthron has, as they do a damn fine job of sounding almost exactly like them on their debut, Reign Ov Opposites.
Making use of groundbreaking techniques such as tremolo riffs and mid-paced blastbeats, this album is about as traditional as black metal gets. And you know what? That’s O.K. with me. I can’t summon any real criticism of Reign Ov Opposites that extend beyond simple lack of originality. It’s a well-played, effectively produced affair that should satisfy any sudden cravings for modern A Blaze In The Northern Sky worship, if you somehow haven’t been able to find fulfillment in this regard from one of the 13,457 other bands out there playing music exactly like this.
Borrowing primarily from the template written on Darkthrone’s first three black metal albums, Vinterthron’s riffing and vocal contributions are solid. Some songs focus more on weaving atmosphere through repetitive melodies while others take a more Celtic Frost path of mid-paced chugging and punkish aggression. Songs like the title track and “Imminent Chaos” are great showcases of the band’s tribute to the Norwegian bands of old with bone-chilling melodic riffs and cavernous, raspy growls, and “Beyond The Night and Fog” borrows from all areas of the previous songs for an effective conclusion to the album. But while the band’s core approach is certainly above average, there are moments on this disc that are so generic that they almost feel like they were directly lifted from other bands, and thus hard to take seriously. I swear that I’ve heard that exact same spidery chord progression in the riff that opens “The New Light” from at least two other bands, and the melodies in songs like “Thy Almighty Pestilence,” while enjoyable by default for black metal fans, reek of such blatant Transilvanian Hunger worship that any real excitement is unlikely unless you are completely new to this genre.
Reign Ov Opposites shows a band obviously secure in their ability to put out quality, by-the-books black metal, but the album also fails to reveal any potential to achieve more notable things. There are some great riffs on here and the band is professional in their approach, but I can’t recommend you spend your money on a band like Vinterthron when they are merely echoing a sound that has been done to death for well over ten years. Perhaps in the future these Brazilians will eventually start to break out of this narrow mold into a sound more their own. As of now, while there are certainly worse ways you could spend forty minutes, there are also dozens of other black metal bands more worthy of your attention.
