Out Now!!!! Official re-release of the 1997 album, "Where the Snows are Never Gone". Eight tracks of absolutely heavy and ruthless Nordic black metal!
Unholy Nordic Metal comparable to early MAYHEM, BURZUM, ENSLAVED, DARKTHRONE, BATHORY with an added touch
of old school Death/Thrash. This seminal cold creation from the most powerful
Black Metal formation in Northern Russia forever etched the name of OLD
WAINDS in the black book of black metal. Samples from "Where the Snows are
Never Gone" can be found at the following link http://www.myspace.com/
oldwainds - (not official site)
Tracklisting:
1. Unholy Nordland Fire
2. Winter Warriors
3. Gods Gazing From Beyond
4. Eternal Wanderer of Winter Nights
5. Where the Snows Are Never Gone...
6. At the Gates of Frosty Mountains
7. Guardians of the Icy Kingdom
8. Cold Mourning of the Pale Moon
Total playing time 38:07
Sounds:
Press Quotes:
"Old Wainds, as such, is an institution situated in Murmansk, Russia. Diabolical experiments
with fast Black Metal are done there in the heat of the night. Far away from any prying eyes." –
Currents-Online [Rating: 4/5]
"Where the Snows are Never Gone is quite the hidden Black Metal gem." – Apochs.net [Rating:
8.5/10]
"In the Northern wastelands of Russia rises a beast of black metal, Old Wainds. Raw, intense,
unmerciful black metal…" – Extreminal [Rating: 8/10]
"Those seeking Viking pan-pipes, atmospheric space drifts, or fireside bongo-banging by crews
sporting hemp pullovers best look elsewhere. Where the Snows are Never Gone… is for the true
beasts of the blizzard out there." – MetalReview [Rating: 7.4/10]
"Where The Snows Are Never Gone…’ is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, and a must have for
fans of cold underground black metal from the frost bitten landscapes of Mother Russia." –
Blistering.com
"The most interesting, evil, and memorable black metal albums/demos ever recorded." – Metal
Crypt [Rating 4.9/5]
"It is perhaps no surprise that Old Waind's Where the Snows are Never Gone has drawn
influence from 2nd wave of black metal bands. However, the songs are superbly executed and
the album is recommended for the aforementioned bands." – Heavy Metal Tribune
"If pure viciousness in raw, unholy black metal is your mettle, than look no further than Where
The Snows Are Never Gone." – Heavymetal.About.com [Rating: A]
"Old Wainds took a lot of influence from the second wave of the Norwegian black metal scene,
but were able to put their own spin on it and create some truly chilling material." – Cosmos
Gaming
Review:
Written by Abominatrix
[metal-archives]
If you can't get enough of the cold and harsh atmospheres that were prominent in the early second wave of black metal, Old Wainds, from the northernmost regions of Russia, are an excellent succor for your craving. Old Wainds are actually extremely refreshing to hear, even though they are nothing original. The reason for this is that I honestly thought this style of icy metal was more or less dead. It seemed noone could recapture a feeling similar to that which could be found on, say, Immortal's "Pure Holocaust" anymore, and I thought, "well, some things just cannot be immitated". However, if anything, Old Wainds are even colder than that aforementioned groundbreaking album.
The proceedings don't begin to promisingly alas. The odd, squawky keyboard opening isn't too terrible, but it always leaves me scratching my head, wondering what the band was thinking exactly as it's not epic, miserable or haunting, but just sort of..honky. However, this is shortly replaced by the sound of a wailing wind, and yes, this is more like it. It doesn't take long before the band lurches into life, and believe me, this sound is pretty raw. The guitar is actually pretty hard to discern, but from what I can tell the playing is very simplistic, which isn't a bad thing for this sort of music. Obviously though, the ready comparrison of "Pure Holocaust" is really only a reference to the emotional content and atmosphere rather than the actual playing. Anyway, in terms of production and so on this somewhat reminds me of Ildjarn, except this is a lot more organic sounding and less dry. There's a very live feel to this music, as if you can actually hear the acoustics of the room the band is playing in, though this could just be a slight bit of studio reverb I suppose. The drums are real, thank Sathanas, and they're rather well done, simplistic again of course but they really add to the appeal of this release, especially in the ocasional mid-tempo section, where some powerful fills and good cymbal use can be heard. and the vocals....damn, they're possibly the best thing about all this as they're absolutely venomous, trollish gruntings with infrequent higher shrieks (you can hear his microphone clipping). Mostly, this stuff is quite fast, and it's in those sections that a listener will be pretty hard pressed to actually hear what's going on. Now and gain I can make out a sort of thrashy sounding riff, and some bits of eerie tremolo picked melody, but for the most part, all that doesnt' really matter. This sort of thing is based entirely on atmosphere. I know a lot of people would disagree with me, but in this particular case (and others), it matters less what the band is playing, and more how they go about it.
So yes, this is about as cold as a fifty below winter night. This may sound a little overwrought, but while listening to this it's as though I can almost physically feel that icy wind, as though out here my weaknesses will kill me, the bitter chill will snatch my breath away and I will die within minutes. And no better does this feeling come across than in the last track, which is the only dirge on the album. The band starts out playing two sinister chords, under which you can hear ocasional slinking drum fills and angry snarling vocals. This will lull you into a trance-like state, similar to Burzzum's slower stuff (or anything on "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss"), and when the sudden outburst of aggression arrives in the last two minutes, you'll suddenly be revived, you will scream as you lose your human form and run through the snowy night, your canines bared as you scent fresh blood. And thus, it begins again....
OLD WAINDS was formed in 1995 near the Arctic city of Murmansk, Russia.
Their severe northern land with its harsh uninhabitable spirit and atmosphere
has been the main sources of inspiration throughout the history of OLD
WAINDS. OLD WAINDS has never made a public performance and proclaim that
they rarely rehearse.
More information about OLD WAINDS and these releases can be found on
www.negative-existence.com.
OLD WAINDS have released 2 demos, 4 full length albums, 1 split and 1 best of
album. Their complete discography is as follows:
1. Withers of the Wind
Demo, 1996
2. Where The Snows Are Never Gone)
Full-lenght, 1997
3. Through the Chaos to Eternal Winter) promo-demo, 1999 (Ep)
4. Religion Of Spiritual Violence
Full-length, 2001
5. Scalding Coldness
Full-length, 2005
6. Death Nord Kult
Full-length, 2008 |
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