Review Summary: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!
WINTER. It's a love/hate relationship for me personally. On one hand travel is harder, its freezing cold and, in general, is just kind of an inconvenience. On the other hand, the gorgeous wintry landscapes and frozen precipitation falling from the sky at rapid paces more often than not creates the perfect listening experience for certain bands. Paysage d’Hiver has always been one of those bands. I don’t think a band has ever had their sound coincide more perfectly with a particular season than Paysage’s sound coincides with winter.
Tobias AKA Wintherr, the man behind the frozen madness that is Paysage d’Hiver, has evolved mightily over the past 20 years. He gained a cult following for his limited release tapes and overall mysterious nature to the band in the late 90s/early 2000s mixed with some of the most lofi and abrasive black metal that was coming out at the time. The self-titled and
Winterkaelte in particular were revered (and for good reason) for their uncanny ability to combine extremely harsh buzzsaw riffs and distorted shrieks with a hazy and disorienting dark ambient sound to create the MOST wintry black metal vibes that have ever been recorded. Paysage in the 2020s is just a tad different, but the same results can be found.
Die Berge is a modern black metal album and it very much sounds like one. Gone are the extreme lofi conditions of the early/mid era demos. One may think that would put a huge damper on what Wintherr had always set out for Paysage to be. And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong for thinking that. The, quite frankly, unlistenable production is what always made Paysage sound more mystical and authentic than other bands. But don’t get confused, the atmosphere on this record is completely on point. Instead of relying on raw production to create an atmosphere, we are met with an avalanche of catchy, drawn out and even melodic riffs. Not normally Paysage’s strong point but that just goes to show that this band is nowhere near a one trick pony.
The modern Paysage sound is honestly pretty refreshing. Everything is clear and concise yet you still feel the hypothermic dread creeping up on you at every corner. The vocals soar through the triumphant riffage as if Wintherr is calling out to you from a dreary mountaintop.
Die Berge almost has a blackened doom feel to it a lot of the time to be honest. This isn’t a lightning fast album with all kinds of technical prowess waiting to wow you. It’s a long and drawn out opera of sorts, clocking it at almost 2 hours in overall length. That length is never truly felt though…and that’s the mark of a great album.Â*
This is an epic journey through the heart of a dizzying blizzard. A long trek through an intense winter storm of the highest degree. You’ll find yourself lost in the cavalcade of melodic trems, painful vocals and soaring keys. You’ll find yourself gasping for air as ice fills your lungs. And it’ll be over just in time for you to catch your breath.
Die Berge is the storm of the century my friends. Better hope you survive to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
