Winterfell - The Veil of Summer
Self Financed
Technical Power Metal
9 songs (54:21)
Release year: 2005
Reviewed by Al

Before I begin, I’d like to confess something. I’m no great fan of contemporary power metal, I find the genre saturated with many bands sounding far too similar and pointedly refusing to push any boundaries whilst shooting themselves in the foot with cringe worthy vocals. That is not to say that some gems don’t exist, but in order for the genre to develop I feel it needs an almighty release to shake it to the foundations and give all the other groups out there a hefty kick up the arse.

While Pennsylvania based quartet Winterfell’s first full length is not such a record, it does take many of the good points of power metal such as clean, soaring vocals and fret board wizardry, and throws in some progressive flourishes and impressive time changes. The result of this is a very listenable, technically impressive album which impressed a power metal cynic such as myself. It does not escape unscathed and some bad points niggle but I will talk about them later.

I will begin with the positive. The sound on offer here is hugely variable but some basic themes run throughout. Tight double bass drumming keeps everything together at a good pace, shining gloriously at times. The guitar sound is a mixture of slightly muffled yet precise rhythm riffs and crisp, mind boggling solos. Combine these elements with some very good bass work, which is quite surprising in this guitar and vocals dominated genre, and you get a musical mix which is at worst impressive and at best, faultless. The variation however occurs mainly through use of the occasional acoustic based verses such as in album opener Threnody and Once and Again and through some masterful tempo changes. To take the aforementioned Threnody as an example, the track begins with a breakneck double bass / riff assault which is replaced seamlessly with an acoustic verse. Without warning this then changes into a heavy as hell breakdown before dropping you back down into the acoustics. It’s this schizophrenic style that keeps things interesting and eliminates the appearance of monotony. Other tracks which shine include Asatru, which is downloadable from the bands website, an epic which builds around a monolithic central riff with some fantastic soloing thrown in. Once and Again, which starts of slow and explodes into one of the best vocal performances on the album and Catacombs which goes through more changes in sound and tempo in seven minutes than nu metal bands manage in their entire careers.

This album could have hit the high 80s score wise but as I mentioned before, there are problems. Robb Grave’s vocals ‘borrow’ heavily from the softer moments of Iced Earth’s Kevin Barlow but fail to demonstrate the range Barlow possesses and with the exception of a few low barks on Campaign of Shadows and The Beggar King remain very similar throughout. As well as this the rapid tempo changes do fall flat on their face sometimes, completely interfering with the flow of a song as is demonstrated on the low point of the album Campaign of Shadows. The production, while competent, does lessen the impact slightly as the mix of the guitar and drum work at times does not do them justice. This however is understandable as this is an independent release and makes me feel that with a record label behind them, or live, this band could sound a damn site better. My final criticism lies with the lyrics, but this is a personal foible. I enjoy fantasy literature but unfortunately this enjoyment does not spread to my musical tastes and have always been put off slightly by song lyrics based on fantasy themes or books and these are very much present on this album. I have not let this affect the score, I just thought I’d voice it as a warning to others who feel the same way.

I won’t bore you with the usual tirade about potential and better things to come. Instead I will say that I’ll be keeping an eye on these guys and I recommend that whether you be a power metal cynic, or love the genre with a passion, you download Asatru and experience a band that may make your day a hell of a lot better.

Killing Songs :
Threnody, Asatru, Once and Again, Catacombs
Al quoted 81 / 100
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