Year: 2020
Total Time: 35:50
Label: Self-Financed
There has been a lot of talking about “one man” bands, the kind that one can mainly find in the subgenre of atmospheric Black Metal. As in every music field, here one can find underground masterpieces, mediocre works and sloppiness. NORDICWINTER, is one of these one-man bands whose latest work comfortably ranks in the first category.
NORDICWINTER is a band from Quebec, Canada and the only member of the band, composer and producer is Evillair, aka Yves Allaire and he is very productive as a musician (at least this year since their first work goes back in 2007), since NORDICWINTER already have two complete albums to present to us in 2020. The second of these two albums, entitled “Desolation” is the one that we will deal with in more detail, although its immediate ancestor, “Requiem”, is worth mentioning since it is an album of similar quality and essence.
“Desolation”. Wilderness, loneliness and darkness. A darkness rising out of the darkest Canadian winter. Lyrics full of emptiness, agony and death that almost seem liberating. Music emerging straight from the heart of the winter, able to make you seek for warmth while in the middle of summer. An atmosphere of phobia, that makes you feel the sensation of the absence of meaning, the absence of willpower … If one adds to all this the flawless production, then it certainly justifies the fact that this Canadian work is characterized as a masterpiece of atmospheric Black Metal sound.
The Canadian scene, and especially in this genre, has to show many remarkable bands. But what offers great satisfaction to the friends of the genre, is that it has a very dynamic underground scene, which may not have the projection it deserves, but maybe this is the secret of the magic that it still carries … If we have to find a drawback in the above release, this would be the short duration of the album. 36 minutes is too short for this level of music. 2020 still has a way to go, a third release from Evillair would not be at all unpleasant.
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Fanouris Exintavelonis
Related Link: NORDICWINTER – Official Page
