When analyzing and discussing black metal work, a crucial aspect of what defines an album’s quality is the atmosphere it constructs. In a genre so organic and raw in its origin, the emotional environment an album creates around its listener is integral to determining which albums end up more memorable than others. With that, enter Vardan. The one-man Sicilian project’s latest release, Winter Woods, surrounds listeners in a way that ensures they won’t soon forget the experience.
Vardan began back in 1997, but didn’t really become active until a decade later. Since then, he’s put out no less than 14 albums, including Winter Woods. (And why stop there? A 15th, Between the Fog and Shadows, is set to drop next month!) Naturally, in my naivety to the underground black metal world until recent years, I’d failed to delve into any of Vardan’s prior work, so we’ll strictly focus now on Winter Woods, which is as dark and unforgiving as its name would imply. This is pure, organic, underground black metal to its very core. It’s personal, it’s emotional, and it’s an absolute adventure in loneliness.
In the early stages of “Winter Woods – Pt. 1,” it’s easy to hear the drawn out guitar leads, curiously slow percussion, and minimalist production and become somewhat skeptical of how all this will translate over the album’s 34 minutes. Regardless, these elements are all part of what defines the personality of this album and it makes far more sense as the minutes tick away. No, this is not ferocious blast beats and tremolo picking; this is misery in slow motion. This forces you to become one with the pain locked inside each of these notes and each of Vardan’s haunting cries. Once the song structures begin to take form and you become accustomed to the cadence, the dark feel, and the soul-gripping cold within these tones, the production becomes all too fitting. And part two only drives these stylistic qualities home further. The sound truly surrounds the listener with images of a blisteringly cold winter forest, in complete isolation.
Many think of underground black metal and expect pure evil, communicated in speed and hatred. This is a different take. As we get into “Uroborus Black Circle” and “Cold Night of My Soul,” some folk elements begin to take form. The tremolo picking and faster leads provide additional pace, but the rhythm remains true to the album’s form and keeps the overriding personality in check. With the rising and falling of the guitars and echoing howls, we feel ourselves swept through the vastness of snow-covered valleys mile after painstaking mile. This is the agony of solitude, in complete exposure to the natural elements that surround us. Pure anguish in the most natural and understood of environments.
There is no respite to these feelings at any point in Winter Woods. As we eventually find ourselves immersed in the closing track, “The Cry of Dying Forests,” we encounter a new found level of pain in Vardan’s voice. The music behind these cries may carry less of a burden at this point—evidenced specifically by more melodic leads—but the struggle still remains. From start to finish, Vardan makes sure that every ounce of emotion that went into this work is directly and unmistakably translated to his audience.
This is black metal. This is raw emotion and energy in their purest forms. There was a purpose behind Winter Woods. Vardan sought to create an overwhelming atmosphere depicting the pains and suffering of isolation, and delivers it with unmistakable clarity. But despite what this album puts its audience through, there’s a certain relatable quality to it that makes it curiously addicting. As a result, we are left with something that will resonate for some time.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
-Corey
Leave a Reply