Some labels reissues albums that force you to sit and scratch your head with wonderment. Seriously, why would some of the worst, most lackluster albums in metal history really need a reissue regnant with bonus tracks and ‘new’ artwork? Talk about an extreme waste of space and money, but, alas, if you build it, they will come. Winter’s Into Darkness from 1990 is one of the rare exceptions that, while on its third re-packaging, simply embody all that is empowering in the death/doom bastard child.

This gem was first released some 21-years ago and made barely-there ripples in the pond to the underground few that actually ‘got it’ back when. Since then a million-and-one latecomers have jumped aboard this solemnity train and sought out this unsung, often dismissed treasure; surprisingly the mallcore hipsters have for the most part left this album alone. I suppose it might very well be too intense for their young minds to completely soak in, and that’s fine, but it’s rather insipid that the bulk of the band’s popularity came after the disbanding. Now one can see why Glenn Danzig refused to talk about the Misfits for years; if you didn’t care when it was relevant and viable, why feign total allegiance after that fact? However, let’s get to the task at hand….  

Winter’s brand of deathly doom is one of the greatest examples of the genre, if not the best. When I first heard this album as a wee lad of 20 I was completely taken in by the band’s definitive grasp of doom as a mood-altering musical assignment as opposed to some tempestuous manufacturing of some opaque lesson in self-degradation and pity. In short, the integral effort of Into Darkness has never been called into question. This is as real as it gets, folks. The mired, often apocalyptic design of the album as a whole is its charm; when a newcomer thinks of ‘doom metal’ he or she might sadly suffer through thoughts of insincere or generic drop-tuning meant to covet the listener’s psyche with an irrelevant ‘darkness’ that is about as predictable as a Kirk Hammett guitar solo. Today’s doom with a death template is disgustingly ho-hum, but Winter’s realistic style set a standard for many a band of today’s formulaic ‘scene’ rife with imitators and just plain bad copycat garage bands. Also predictably, the band garners no real credit for such an innovative sonic triumph, to the discredit of many a metal ‘scholar’ that missed the proverbial boat on this one. I’m grateful that a musical venture of such importance and resolve is still available to the masses at hand; it deserves its rightful place in the upper echelon of legendary albums, no question about it. If you truly understand the doom/death style and often brutal mastery, then you not only ‘get’ Winter, you hail them unconditionally.

The vocals from John Alman are throaty gasps that are heavy with enunciation; Winter may have set a wonderful standard for soundscapes in its tonal assault, but adopting a clear and concise vocal delivery must have been a class session most vocalists past and present missed. With such a tremendously heavy effort under an insanely dangerous voice that couldn’t possibly be any more perfect if a hundred name vocalists attempted it, tracks like “Eternal Frost” or “Goden” would just fill space on yet another guttural, crack-slipping compilation hardly worth mentioning. The fact is that this album fired on all cylinders and is all that a legendary album should be and defiantly is. It stands the test of time and is just as enveloping now as it was two decades ago. Do not think Black Sabbath or Cathedral here; this is not for your casual enjoyment. This album is filled with darkness and nocturnal solitude the likes of which cannot be explained with pretty diction or flashy syntax. I implore you to do yourself the supreme favor and find this album immediately. It is an experience in grimness that will leave you empty and strangely fattened with emotional inquiries. It will be well worth your time to experience the bleakness herein.        

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Oppression Freedom
     Oppression (Reprise)
2.  Servants of the Warsmen
3.  Goden
4.  Power and Might
5.  Destiny
6.  Eternal Frost
7.  Into Darkness

Total playing time:  46:07

Release Date: April 12, 2011
Label: Southern Lord Records

Winter - Into Darkness

Reviewer: Chris

June 14, 2011