WINTERHORDE - Underwatermoon

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\r\n  The second album by Winterhorde from Israel\r\nis entitled “Underwatermoon” and has beautiful artwork.  I am not familiar with their first work but I\r\nthink that the description “melodic black metal” is not accurate.  The fact that they have some parts with\r\nextreme vocals and fast tempos is not enough to classify them as a black metal\r\nband.  That actually is a good thing\r\nbecause their music is much more complicated and diverse.\r\n

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\r\n  A gothic/doom intro caught me off guard but\r\nwhen “Wreckages Ghost” started, it was made clear to me that this is a band that\r\nincorporates many elements in their music. \r\nTones of keyboards, a short spoken part and then high-speed black metal\r\nwith screaming vocals.  This doesn’t last\r\nfor long, the tempo drops and the melodic guitar harmonies create a doom/death\r\natmosphere.  The next part would be\r\ndescribed by many as “progressive” with a dialogue of soloing guitars and\r\nkeyboards .  A short acoustic break\r\nallows the listener to rest for a while and the melodic/black ending of the\r\nsong, is probably what gave them this certain label.\r\n

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\r\n  If I continued to describe each song\r\nlikewise, the server would crush from the review’s size!  I am just trying to give you a hint of what you\r\nare going to deal with, if you decide to give those Israelis a try.  These lads have mastered their instruments\r\nand have a mind to enrich their music with as many elements as possible. “Underwatermoon”\r\nis an equally good song to say the least with the clean vocals standing out,\r\ncreating a weird feeling.  “Execution” is\r\na killer song with cool bass-lines and the gothic vocals reminding of Love Like\r\nBlood.  Before you can catch your breath,\r\nthe mood becomes aggressive and thrashy. \r\nThe short interlude “And Flames Wept To Heaven” is probably one of the\r\nbest songs of the album.  The nine minute\r\npiece “The Curse Of Gypsy” is an excellent song that includes all of\r\nWinterhorde’s elements.  Aggressive\r\noutbreaks, melodic parts, acoustic interludes with Spanish guitars, passionate\r\nvocals, brutal growls and then some!  Regarding\r\nthe rest of the songs, I really enjoyed “Tenth Wave” and “Farewell” that closes\r\nthe album and in which Winterhorde do their best!  An absolutely beautiful tune with a nice but short\r\naccordion part.  \r\n

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\r\n  Twelve tracks in a one hour and seven minutes\r\nalbum.  I spotted a great deal of\r\ninfluences from Emperor, Opeth, Septic Flesh, Haggard and even Katatonia. All\r\nin small parts and scattered here and there. \r\nPerhaps some people might get tired of the lengthy tracks and the\r\nnumerous changes, or get abstracted due to all those diverse musical\r\nreferences.  The truth is that these guys\r\nhave done a great job.  The compositions\r\nare solid and V.Santura’s production is excellent.  The mood is steadily depressive and trippy throughout\r\nwhat seems to be a concept album with the element of water dominating.  If you enjoy melodic music with some black\r\nmetal parts it’s a certainty that you’ll find something to attract you in this\r\nrelease.  Some may find it brilliant,\r\nsome may find it exaggerated.  Interesting\r\nis what it is!\r\n

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