Albeit ordinary, the music of Midvinter has always kept a strong hold on myself, if none other than the fact that what they play is very emotionally charged. "At the Sight Of the Apocalypse Dragon" is by no means ground breaking, or even original for that matter; yet this surprisingly seems to detract very little from the music. I suppose the real reason I like this is because it reincarnates some of the old Nordic feel that came from Scandinavia in the early-to- mid nintees; Burzum "Det Som Engang Var"; Isvind "Dark Waters Stir"; Mayhem "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"; Immortal "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism"; and lastly the awesome atmosphere on Mysticum's "In the Streams Of Inferno." What the Nordic scene once had is unarguably gone, and little of that feeling has been preserved in the newer generations of bands that have come up since. The melody of Dissection for example, has been utilized, but quite obviously so much as to render it worthless and stagnant. Midvinter, Sorhin, and Setherial in particular however have proven to be able to continue this tradition, not so much in an overabundance of melody, but instead by the manner in which they incorporate it. Like "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas," these bands have produced quality albums which blend successfully a killer ambience/atmosphere, but also have kept it within the bounds such that it still is somewhat dissonant. For example, the last Sorhin album was such a good one simply because they still pursue a absolutely stripped down sound, but with a great use of harmonies, and prevalent melody lines.

This album starts off with a good melodic song called "Dodfodd," which a friend of mine once claimed sounded like "Transylvanian Hunger"; a good analogy perhaps. The opening guitar line is very long and drawn out, much as T.H was. There are some very well incorporated acoustic bits, wherein all the instruments pause for a brief interlude, and then continue blasting again once the passage has expired. The emotions expressed on this song are excellent; almost a celestial/astral longing.

"Nocticula In Aeternum/Of Night Primieval" is my personal favorite cut off the album; good spoken intro followed by the characteristic blasting. About halfway through Kheeroth goes on a tangent of clean vocals which are really quite well done... although sounding like the Misfits. The outro to this song is pretty strange, using some weird operatic vocals and bizarre keys.

The last song, and the only track to be from their demo, "De Vises Hymn," absolutely kills and is one of the band's better songs; short but sweet. Different from the demo version, their is obviously a new singer, and a great outro/tail section that follows the ending of the normal song. Interesting use of bells, choir vocals and such create a short but very moving atmosphere while it lasts.

As you may know, the members of Midvinter have changed almost completely since the demo; only Damien is still there. Damien handles bass, guitars, keys, and some backing vocals. The guitar passages that he writes are standard, but again they are very expressive and moving. Often to most of the time they are harmonized with regards to each, the bass, keys, and vocals; this layering provides one of the high points of the album, as it expands the atmosphere so far beyond a usual linear progression of notes. Keys are used quite often, although they are very distant, and hence provide a mere icing to the cake, than serving as an instrument on their own. Drums are great, and share a common sound with old Sinister; remember the cold and underdeveloped, but still excessively violent drum sounds from "Cross the Styx," and "Hate." Lastly there are a few female vocal bits (I assume they are female at least- it is perhaps hard for me to say because they are lower, and hence could be just one of the band members...).

To close, Zathanel and Kheeroth have now joined the lines of Midvinter. Kheeroth sang on the "Hail to the Faceless Angels" demo tape from Setherial, and so you may know is an excellent singer. Zathanel, also in Sorhin, Blot Mine, Setherial, Blackwinds, contributes on drums; nothing spectacular, but I believe the simplicity and mechanism in the beats allows them to sing further into the listener.

Great cover art of the Horsehead Nebula, and a picture of the Aurora Borealis on the tray card. A great album in all respects.

P.S- if anyone has material from Fogbound, a Midvinter side, get in touch please!

© 2002 orodruin