Label: Self released
Date: March 21st, 2023
When we look into the long history of metal and subjects which metal music is talking about, the list is really long. From nightmares, through religion, revolution to philosophy and metaphysics, metal is the best educative art of popular culture. To non-metalheads this is just screaming and Satanism. It almost always has a negative connotation. Of course, people are afraid of the unknown but on some level they are right about this.
When it comes to Satanism, dark arts or human destruction, black metal is the pioneer of metal that almost always sings about negative sides of the world. Just as Winterhearth does on their second EP called “Rape of Eden”. Couldn’t imagine a better timing to write about this but the Easter holidays, honestly.
“Rape of Eden” is a short EP that in a specific way, through blackened thrash death metal sound, is actually making such an intense and dark atmosphere. Impression of chaos is a classical part in this mix of genres but with a synth melodic riffs music gets some special touch. Without those parts this EP wouldn’t sound the same. As I heard in their previous releases, Winterhearth sound is the same, they didn’t change their style. Old school sound will make them legends among others in this genre.
“Intro” that is slowly leading us into the EP is predicting some blasting, like silence before the storm. Next one, “Scarlet Love (& a Black Heart)” is the darkest and the fastest song of EP and gives us enough to hear how good of musicians these people are. “Rape of Eden”, a melodic rhapsody, is the central song and surely the most creative one of the entire EP. It has many breaks, different riffs and a potential to be Winterhearth’s most remarkable song.
All the songs have their own spirit and they are specific in their own way. I have some impression they gave their best to show us their abilities as musicians and song writers. One special moment I give to song “Sakura, Sakura” which is a Japanese folk song. It’s without lyrics but I was interested as to why they fit it in here… The thing is that Winterhearth’s area of interest isn’t just Satanism, but also ecological situation in the world. They wanted to tell us that we are those who rape our own Eden and don’t give even the smallest attention to save this world and in it sakura (cherry blossom) tree. We are responsible for some kind of an ecocide and don’t even realize the only one to be killed will be us, human kind. Like in the video for the Disturbed song – “Another Way to Die”.
I think we all learnt something about us, humans and surely many of us have one more, great band in our playlists. Let’s hope they will make a full album soon and give us a reason to buy their CD.
