Winterfylleth - The Mercian Sphere

October 6, 2010

Winterfylleth kind of came out of nowhere with their 2008 debut, The Ghost of Heritage; a solid black metal album that just dripped with potential.  Following in the footsteps of countrymen Forefather, they explored themes of England’s history and their Anglo Saxon heritage.  The Ghost of Heritage was good, but there was a lot of room for the band to develop and expand their sound.  They really could have gone in several directions with The Mercian Sphere and been successful.  In the end Winterfylleth stuck to their guns, and decided to refine their sound rather than expand or changing it.  Judging from the results, this seems to have been the right decision.     

The Mercian Sphere is pure pagan black metal.  Guitars are fast and abrasive, yet artfully melodic in all of the right places.  Winterfylleth have learned to seamlessly switch tempos, and vary speeds within songs while avoiding abrupt transitions.   This, and the workman like drumming of S. Lucas give the album a very consistent and even sound.  This consistency is almost detrimental upon first hearing the album.  The first three tracks blend together, moving by surprisingly quick given that two of them eclipse the seven minute mark.   This opening barrage is followed by “Children of the Stones,” a tasteful acoustic interlude that leads into one of the albums most memorable tracks, “The Ruin.” Effortlessly shifting from blazing speed  into a slower hammer swinging groove, the song drifts into a sparse mid section featuring slow clean guitars and almost whispered vocals before ratcheting up the intensity to close the track out.  “The Ruin” serves up a bit of everything that The Mercian Sphere has to offer in a tidy six minute bundle.  

The Mercian Sphere’s secrets unravel slowly over repeated listens.  I found myself enjoying it more and more with each successive spin, picking out different parts that I had previously missed. By the third of fourth time through, each song had developed its own identity, and the album became oddly catchy.  The vocals and lyrics help to further separate the songs and added to my overall enjoyment of the album. Even though C. Naughton’s harsh vocals are fairly standard for the genre, he enunciates well enough that you can understand a good portion of the lyrics.  Naughton keeps things interesting by mixing in clean, almost chanted vocals. This change up is used sparingly, but just enough to add to the overall atmosphere of the album.   Everything is tied together nicely by the album’s production.  The Mercian Sphere captures black metal’s raw energy while avoiding the thin, ear splitting sound that is often associated with black metal.

Although Winterfylleth’s sound recalls bands like Drudkh, Forefather and Enslaved, they have their own clear identity.  Winterfylleth stands alongside those more established acts rather than in their shadow; quite a feat for such a young band. The Mercian Sphere is a deep and well composed album that should stand the test of time.  It is certainly going to be interesting to see how this band develops over the next few releases.

Release Date: July 19th, 2010
Label: Candlelight Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Gateway to the Dark Peak
     & The Wayfarer Pt. 1 - The
     Solitary One Waits for Grace
2.  The Wayfarer
     Pt. 2 - Awakens He,
     Bereft of Kinsmen
3.  The Fields of Reckoning
4.  Children of the Stones
5.  The Ruin
6.  The Honour of Good Men
     on the Path
    to Eternal Glory
7.  The Wayfarer Pt. 3 -
     To Find Solace...
     Where Security Stands
8.  When the Woods Were Young
9.  A Valley Thick with Oaks
10.  Defending the Realm

Total playing time:  1:08:25

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Garett