The Winterlong...

A solemn wolf, its fur covered in freezing snowflakes, painfully wanders in search of its kin. Days have passed, perhaps months – the wolf would not know as it has no concept of time - since a brutal snowstorm descended and separated this lone predator from its pack. The eternal darkness of the forest is the enemy of an animal left to fend for itself. Food is scarce, the desolation of winter making sustenance a longed for rarity. But still the wolf wanders on, heroically surviving to leave yet another paw-print to be covered under the shadows of the falling snow…

God Macabre takes lessons learned from the ferocious onslaughts and melodic sense of Entombed and Dismember, cross-pollinating these with the urgency of the punk aesthetic. As a result of this, “The Winterlong” is a spawn of evil, the clashing of energetic punk riffing, with the rock solid pummeling style of Demigod, Amorphis’ elegiac romanticism and the enchanting hymns of a snow-laden Scandinavian forest. This manifests scenes of a long, cold and arduous winter and ultimately reveals the beauty of survival, an instinct estranged from our “every day reality.”

As previously inferred “The Winterlong” is the convergence of twisted punk-orientated rhythms – a by-product of the band’s roots in the Swedish grindcore scene – and fluent, classically inspired melodic work. The former provides urgency and replicates the dominance of Nature over its beings – who are forced to survive endless ordeals – whilst the latter adds suspenseful emotion, a sense of man’s longing for the very wilds that dominate him. The rhythmic work is excellent, smoothly navigating tempo changes without drifting far from the simplicity of the predominant power-chord structure. Interlaced throughout the above is a series of tremolo riffs, breathtakingly serene soloing and slower “doomy” passages that assert the imminence of death. The eager and efficient pummelling of the drums and the traditional low growls combined with the rumbling of the bass holds the song writing in check. Synths are used selectively and appropriately to add further depth in atmosphere.

Of special note is the use of interludes, both electric and acoustic, which add immensely to the overall flow of the album. Rather than just merely being there they help contribute to the purpose of the composition as a whole. The first “Teardrops”, a eulogy that is dreary in theme reflects on the forlorn tranquillity of winter. Whilst the second “Lamentation” expresses grief over the forgotten spirit of our Scandinavian forefathers who battled fearlessly to survive many cold seasons.

This is another superb example of the strength of the earlier Swedish Death Metal scene, a fitting testament to praise that the region gets the world over.