Album Review: WinertheartH - Riverbed Empire
Reviewed by Jon Wigg
Canadian progressive black metal trio WinterheartH present their third full length album, and a remarkable piece it is too. As with all great black metal of the Norwegian style, the bleakness of the topics and the music can really be felt throughout but this isn’t just a darkness piece. Some great additions of acoustic instruments and female vocals, particularly in opener, ‘Marshlands’, really add some light and contrast to the excellent black metal.
‘Marshlands’ is probably my favourite piece here and a start to be remembered. The skill of the musicianship shines beneath traditional black metal vocals and the haunting instrumental opening really set the scene for the darkness to come. There are also some death and thrash influences. At just over 10 minutes it really is a great scene setter.
The album is full of highlights though, from the excellent blackened thrash of ‘North Star, Be My Guide’ to the fretless bass in the second half of the title track. WinterheartH have not settled for a straight up black metal album, more a creation of a soundscape rooted in Newfoundland folklore.
Often extreme metal albums, especially ones with running times of over an hour like Riverbed Empire, can be too much, even for fans like myself. The barrage of noise needs contrast and thought and WinterheartH excel in this. An example would be ‘Sunset over WInter Corpses’ which bludgeons the listener for the first 3 minutes with all of what makes black metal great, before a surprisingly welcome jazz-inspired guitar ramble moves the journey on. ‘First Frost Harvest’ adds a little folk vibe in, while ‘Beyond the Frosted Graves’ is an excellent death metal track.
The last 3 tracks, ‘#Charmed (By The Dead)’, ‘The Shipwright’ and ‘Infliction’ are more straight up black metal anthems and excellent they are too, however the progressive nature of the first 45 minutes of ‘Riverbed Empire’ is what makes this so good for me.
Winterhearth really have produced a stunning hour of visceral, beautiful, progressive black metal, with elements of so many other genres sprinkled throughout to ensure the listener is constantly delighted. ‘Marshlands’ is embedded in both my ears and my main playlist and is the standout, but there are no weak points here.
Andrew Marsh (vocals/guitar), Brad Ivany (drums) and Lenny Carey (bass) have produced one of my albums of 2020 and in many ways, an album that sums up this challenging year - brutal in so many ways but the light has always found a way through.
