Elegies of the Stellar Wind

Evilfeast is a one-man project created by the Polish musician GrimSpirit. Initially, the project had a different name, Darkfeast, which didn´t last more than two years. Musically speaking Evilfeast’s sound hasn´t changed too much since the early inception of the project. GrimSpirit’s passion has been, and still it is, to make black metal, always with a raw sound yet very atmospheric. The debut demo “The Abhorrent Emerging” was logically even rawer but it settled the foundations of Evifeast’s trademark sound. The band has carved a cult status among the black metal fans because of the excellent level of each of his four albums. All the albums share many common characteristics, but each one has its own distinctive touch making all of them especial. It is always a matter of discussion but Evilfeast probably reached its highest point with its third opus entitled “Lost Horizon of Wisdom”. Consisting of five long pieces, GrimSpirit created which are probably the most beautiful melodies he has ever managed to compose. Because this is something important to point out. Yes, Evilfeast has a raw, dark and aggressive sound, but GrimSpirit has the tremendous talent to mix the black metal essence with hypnotic and beateous keys, whose melodies are undoubtedly captivating. Prior to Evilfeast I had already met some bands which used to introduce nice keys, but Evilfeast goes further as the band is able to mix beauty and darkness in a unique way. It’s not my intention to tag Evilfeast as an original band because it’s not. All the ingredients in its music are classic, but the quality and the way they are composed make Evilfeast an especial band. Anyway, its not all about the keys. Many bands use them, sometimes to mask the lack of good riffs, for example. Fortunately, this is not the case. Evilfeast composes songs with good riffs, varied and well-focused. The songs are good even without keys. The compositions are varied in pace, variety and guitar work, which is something remarkable.

So, after four awesome albums and a long wait Evilfeast finally decides to release its fifth opus. The expectation among the black metal community and especially the fans specifically interested in the atmospheric black metal subgenre was very high. Fortunately, the first listens make it clear that Evilfeast hasn´t lost its inspiration and what is also very important, all the characteristics we love from this band are still there. This is not an obstacle for GrimSpirit who introduces a few new elements to keep Evilfeast’s sound fresh and inspired. “Elegies of the Stellar Wind” is the name of the new masterpiece and if the album cover can be a good indicator of the quality of an album, this one could be the perfect example. The artwork is truly beautiful, it depicts a phantasmagorical church surrounded by a snowed and dark forest and it’s simply perfect for this band.

As I have previously mentioned musically speaking the new album doesn´t leave behind the main characteristics which have defined Evilfeast’s previous works. The album opener “The Second Baptism…Shores in Flames” is a perfect example of it. This song has a long keyboard driven intro, solemn and with a clear medieval touch, which I must remark is one of the specific characteristics of the keys in this album. This long intro is abruptly broken by Evilfeast’s trademark dark and raw guitars, accompanied by the vicious shrieks of GrimSpirit. Though the production has been improved through the different albums the rawness is still there, which I personally find great. As it’s classic in Evilfeast the song flows naturally between the fastest sections and the slowest ones, making the song more entertaining and varied. This is especially remarkable if we compare this track to many other atmospheric black metal band´s compositions, which are usually monorithmic. The majestic keys are a constant through the whole song, enhancing the solemn atmosphere of this track. Another fine example of the aforementioned medieval-esque keys appears in the fourth track “ From the Northern Wallachian Forest... Tyranny Returns”. The whole intro makes you feel that you are trapped in a medieval castle or monastery. This is perhaps the slowest track of the album, being a mid-tempo song, which contains some of the most memorable moments of this album. In this work GrimSpirit has introduced some clean vocals which sound like a choir, though we can only listen to a single voice. They sound truly great even being recorded in a low-profile mode. This resource is generously used through the album, for example in the first two tracks, in “From The Northern…” and also in the magnificent closing track, “Inclinita Resurgit… Rebirth of My Noble Dark Kingdom”. This is a truly brilliant way to end the album, because this track sums up all the aspects which make Evilfeast great. Moreover, it is a perfect example of how this album sounds. The already mentioned clean vocals shine here more than ever and the keys are as beautiful as we could imagine when we speak about Evilfeast. It’s indeed a majestic yet diverse song, which flows easily between fast and slower sections and between beautiful and devilish parts, pure Evilfeast.

In conclusion, Evilfeast has made a glorious comeback with “Elegies of the Stellar Windir”, bringing us another milestone in its faultless discography. It’s particularly difficult to judge if this is its best album, but without any doubt I rate it among the best ones. If this album doesn´t receive a perfect score it’s simply because the new and shortened version of “A Cenotaph Below the Cursed Moon” was, in my humble opinion, better when it originally appeared in the demo released in 2015. Apart from this tiny aspect the album is simply perfect.