Requiem

Not too long ago I stumbled upon Canadian one man band/project Nordicwinter, which is the creative vehicle of a guy named Evillair, via the latest output “Desolation”. After a hiatus of 13 years he has been back in 2020 with two full length albums so a few months before said album he had released “Requiem”. Although there are some smaller differences between the two records both share a lot of the same positive attributes so anyone looking form atmospheric and captivating black metal needs to go and check out both. Thanks to Russian label Dark East productions also “Requiem” now got a CD released.

It could be argued that many bands of the style are just repeating the same stuff over again, but there’s still enough to squeeze out of it if the style’s put into the right hands. We’re given plenty of the flavors of what makes the style interesting to begin with as Evillair shows a clear understanding of how to bring it all together wonderfully, such that it fits together nicely, such that they all work off each other brilliantly.

The guitar harmonies are defining most parts of each song, with Evillair showing that he is not only a great technical instrumentalist, but also has a great understanding of how to build up tension and make the listener feel connected to the music. He is able to belt out some crazy soloing if needed, while providing more dreamy and ambient moments in the next section. He does not shy away from using elements like piano samples, further enhancing the mood created by the music. His howling vocals perfectly harmonize with the instrumentation and the gloomy and icy harmonies.

The rhythm section is done in nice fashion as well, keeping pace with the tremolo runs and the riff attacks. Of course you are going to find some more aggressive parts, like heavy use of the cymbals and some double-drum action. However, I have not had the feeling of chaotic nervousness, with all elements being in place. Overall this is a very competently constructed piece of emotional and atmospheric black metal. The production is very organic and clear, not too modern, but also far from the muddy garage sound that often is used in this genre. Nordicwinter is surely one of the projects on which fans of atmospheric black metal should keep an eye on the future.