I have purposefully held out this review from the last week’s batch for it not to be overshadowed by major releases by prominent black metal bands (Immortal, Gorgoroth, Marduk). German melodic black metallers Augrimmer came up with a confident and competent collection of enjoyable songs on their From the Lone Winters Cold, deserving of your undivided attention, not when it is obscured by the more established masters of the genre.

It seems that only recently I have reviewed their EP Autumnal Heavens and commented that Augrimmer can really capture your interest, even if the influences are showing through. From the Lone Winters Cold must have been in the works at that time for it to appear so soon thereafter. The full-length is appropriately tagged Northern black metal, as Augrimmer is crisscrossing the field touching on many who came before them, all in search of their own sound.

The album has songs with anxious punky devil-may-care Darkthrone recklessness, with double bass triumphant procession hidden in between (A Ride the Celestial Night). Punky thrash gives way to the grimmer outlook on The Nightful Sleep Below. The folk inspired longing lead is a perfect Walpurgisnacht soundtrack. More chaotic and slicing The Orcus Storm finds room for a melodic wave to emerge, to finish up with a deathy muscular riff and final deafening vocal pitch and stormy tremolo (to make a play on title). Deadlights has the raucous attitude of latter day Vreid and expansive Norse melodies of Windir. Impressed with what Keep of Kalessin did on Armada, Augrimmer throw their own flamenco flavored acoustic bit into the dramatic Bearer of Sorrow. And, of course, there are epic rousing blast-and-tremolo songs, like the opener title track, At Winterdawn and the euphoric threnodious closer march A Thrall of the Night.

Augrimmer guitars have a lot of early Immortal buzz, but I don’t find them nearly as thin or slicing. At the same time the drums are significantly thicker and rumble beneath. Coupled with expansive melodies I find this music being almost the opposite of dark and cold, despite numerous song title references to night and winter. A Thrall of the Night and the title track are practically warm sounding, achieving a pacifying attitude.

Augrimmer compositions are not plain streamlined from A to B songs. They are full with inserts and sidesteps (a tribal folk moment on the title track is a perfect example) intended to distract for a moment only to refocus a minute later. For something which could self-drown in being overly eclectic, Augrimmer manage to make their black metal multifaceted and interesting, despite, again, some noticeable allusions throughout.