WINTER — Into Darkness (review)

WINTER — Into Darkness album cover Album · 1990 · Death-Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Into Darkness" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New York/Long Island based death/doom metal act Winter. The album was released through Future Shock in 1990. "Into Darkness" is the only item released on the label, so I assume that Future Shock was the band´s own label and that "Into Darkness" in that regard is an independently released album. A few years down the line Nuclear Blast Records picked the album up for a reissue, which is probably the version of the album most listeners are familiar with. Winter formed in 1988 and released an eponymously titled demo in 1989. Two of the tracks from the demo ("Servants of the Warsmen" and "Eternal Frost") were re-recorded and included on "Into Darkness".

While the 1989 demo is certainly a doomy and heavy death/doom metal release, "Into Darkness" takes the heaviness and gloom a step further down the dark hole. The addition of eerie cold sounding keyboards is a contributor to the band´s sound being slightly more atmospheric ("Goden" is the best example of that), but it´s still the brick heavy riffs, the organic bass, and the heavy beats, along with the growling vocals which are the focus of the band´s music. It´s relatively simplistic music featuring only few riffs and ideas on each track, but this is the perfect example of getting the maximum out of very few elements. Celtic Frost is a valid reference here, but Winter aren´t a clone or a tribute act in any way. It could be argued that "Into Darkness" is a rather uneventful release, but you´d be missing the point of the crushingly brutal heaviness and simple songwriting approach. Said approach is the exact charm of the release.

"Into Darkness" features a dark, raw, filthy, and heavy sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. This really does sound like it was recorded down a black hole and it´s the direct opposite to the many digital, lifeless, and sterile sound productions which many post-2000 artists seem to favor. Upon conclusion "Into Darkness" is a seminal death/doom metal album from the early 90s, and although the album (and Winter as a band) is often forgotten when the early releases by other seminal and contemporary death/doom artists like Paradise Lost, Anathema, Cathedral, and My Dying Bride are mentioned, I´d argue that it´s an error. Winter offer something different and unique here (the guitar tone for example could well fit on a stoner/sludge release), that should be praised and definitely mentioned more often. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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