Winterkald

With the success of their second album "Рдяндалир", Branikald have basically stood out from the Russian black metal scene with its negative approach in atmospheric black metal. However, they still wanted to try out a more melodic style with this type of music, as in 1997, they would release their third studio album "Winterkald". It might be a bit of a step down from the previous record, but it's still fantastic regardless.

The album begins with a four-minute intro that consists of an acoustic guitar playing a dark and eerie riff. It does feel like a good follow-up to Рдяндалир, but on the second track "To a Frigid Luminary of the Night", we get something different. While the previous album was slower and more moody, the guitar riffs sound more melodic and energized, and the drumming is faster and angrier. It does feel a bit like the debut album, but with a more complex sound, especially from the guitars. However, unlike Varg fjerne a tornet, the Darkthrone-inspired tracks actually work a lot better. A good example of this is in "Reich of the Winter Frost", which plays a darker and colder riff when compared to the other tracks. The tone of this track is more grand and atmospheric than in the debut, and also includes the styling from the previous album that makes the track not just a blander clone of Darkthrone. With that, plus the more melodic tracks, and the instrumentals still do a fantastic job at capturing a cold and epic atmosphere.

As for the vocals, they're still really good. As we've already established before, Kaldrad's shrieks and screams have always been a staple in Branikald, but with these instrumentals, they do struggle a bit. Not that the vocal performance is terrible or anything, as in the darker tracks, Kaldrad's shrieks only empower the dark atmosphere. However, looking back at "To a Frigid Luminary of the Night", Kaldrad's shrieking seem a bit too extreme for these types of riffs, and I think that if he utilized some chants like in other records, then I think the vocal delivery would be much stronger. Regardless, the vocals are still as good as ever, and only further enhance the extreme atmosphere.

Compared to the previous record, Winterkald treads more on melody and epicness when compared to the bleak depressive state that was Рдяндалир. However, the instruments are still powerful enough to lead through the cold landscapes, and Kaldrad's vocal performance is still on point, despite feeling unnecessary at times. As far as melodic atmospheric black metal goes, this one's not too bad.