Threnody

Nordicwinter is, notably, a Quebecois one-man black metal project that doesn't really follow the style that other Quebecois bands have established for the region. Bands like V.A.C.K. or Brume D'Automne have established the Quebecois style as a raw and primitive one; it can be more or less melodic, but typically it shies away from excessive professionalism in favor of a more explicit statement of intent. Nordicwinter, on the other hand, is decidedly professional; there are no quirks in the instrumentation, no real production flaws, and even the songwriting eschews much of the latent weirdness of the Quebecois scene in favor of something a little more palatable to the average black metaller.

Pointing out an immediate influence would be difficult as Nordicwinter sounds like the convergence of numerous sounds, from more traditional Norwegian black metal to some of the folk-influenced Quebecois bands to hints of the depressive scene ala Malveillance (another Quebecois export). Almost 100% focused on riffs, 'Threnody' is a pretty straightforward album that adheres to a lot of the strengths and pitfalls that are usually found in one-man projects; namely, the double-edged sword of unified vision versus rather simple, undetailed compositions. Nordicwinter's songs are listenable and solid but rarely fascinating, choosing a more stable and reliable path of songwriting in lieu of experimentation or a more prominent sense of creativity. As stated, this is riff-based music; while the drum machine is capably programmed, it's simple and sits in the background, providing skeletal rhythm for the guitars to play over, and the vocals are in a similar place, rarely impacting the music greatly and generally choosing to just languish over and around the compositions.

The riffs are melodic and rarely use any sort of dissonance, providing a traditional but still fairly engaging breed of riffcraft to the listener. Alternating between simple tremolo numbers and slightly more involved, slower breaks, they are uniformly rather predictable but also satisfying. This could be said of the album as a whole; Nordicwinter breaks no new ground on this album, preferring to circle around rather comfortable, established musical ideas, but still engages the listener with a well-rounded sense of songwriting and pacing that is flawed only in its lack of ambition. I think that sole member Evillair has more in him than this album; while 'Threnody' is a decent enough opening volley, more experimentation and a more ambitious songwriting style would work wonders for this project.

That being said, I can't really fault Evillair for writing a solid if mildly uninspired black metal album. While I do wish more had happened on this release, what is here is hardly a loss and can be listened to repeatedly without boring the listener. Most black metal fans would be advised to at least give a couple tracks a listen to refine their buying decision; there's enough quality here that it bears investigation, if not necessarily an instant purchase.

There seems to be a lot of great black metal bands coming from Quebec these days, from the evil atmosphere of Monarque to the depressiveness of Sombres Forets and Gris. Young BM band Nordicwinter seek to join in this prestigious, if unheralded group. Their style has a bit of a depressive quality to it, but is far from suicidal. They play a simple, repetitive style, cold yet melancholic. At the time of the recording, the only member was Evillair but now the band seems to have a full lineup.

The album starts off exceedingly well with Crimson Moon. It is a mid-paced tune (just like all the rest), but has a catchy riff and features Evillair's scathing vocals. Its easily the best song here, and the whole reason I bought the damn thing. From there, there are very few moments that stand out, though none that are terrible either. It basically sounds like one long song, all done at the same speed, with some background growling and barely audible drum programming. It all pretty much comes across as something you've already heard a thousand times already and lacks the memorability of the well written opener. There are some highlights, such as the ending to Echoes Of Solitude, when the speed of the band finally picks up (yay, variety!)

Threnody simply makes for some interesting background music but not much more. There's certainly a lot of worse black metal out there, but Evillair is going to have to be more consistant to get to the next level. If Crimson Moon is any indication, he certainly has the ability to.