Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon (Review)

Winterfylleth are a UK black metal band and this is their eighth album.

The Imperious Horizon is the 58-minute follow up to 2020’s The Reckoning Dawn. With a new guitarist in tow, (from Necronautical), how does Winterfylleth’s atmospheric black metal sound in 2024?

Very good, let me assure you.

I’m a fan of most of Winterfylleth’s album covers, but this new one is particularly striking. It’s impossible to not be put mind of the frozen roots of the genre, but even though The Imperious Horizon does boast a wealth of frosted aggression, (this is actually the iciest the band have sounded in a long time), Winterfylleth are far too expressive a band to deliver just that. Indeed, across these new songs the band have pushed the feeling-rich aspect of their sound ever further forwards, but without losing their blackened bite. The atmospheres are more expansive, the emotions portrayed deeper, and the sense of nature-derived vibrancy more potent. Alongside this though, the music’s fierce blast beat-driven might also feels more vicious too. The album is mainly fast and forceful, despite its atmospheric majesty; this is black metal after all, and Winterfylleth are not messing around.

The Imperious Horizon is a richly evocative work of black metal. It balances ferocity with great beauty. The music is ripe with grandeur, while still being born of the gritty earth. Marrying the cold hostility of blackened darkness with magisterial atmosphere, this record hits the spot. The songs all have their part to play in the make-up of The Imperious Horizon, from the gorgeous opening track and subsequent dark intensity of first song proper Like Brimming Fire, to the album closer.

The album flows naturally from one piece to the next, but then so do the songs themselves. Dishonour Enthroned is a great example, developing from a withering assault to a majestic finale, enriched by powerful atmospheric cleans, (as well as the band’s lead singer, it’s worth remembering that Winterfylleth’s keyboardist also has a great voice – he’s the artist behind the impressive Arð, after all). Upon This Shore unfolds in a similar manner, although is more aggressive overall.

The two lengthiest tracks make up the middle(ish) of the album, and are both particularly effective examples of Winterfylleth’s art. The title track has some lethal riffs, but also a majestic presence that make you want to listen to it on the top of a mountain in the middle of a howling storm. Mid-song it blossoms into an introspective bloom that provides a textured breathing space not felt since the opening track. Next, the longest song here – In Silent Grace – features the singer of Primordial, and it’s great to hear his voice amidst Winterfylleth’s music. This song showcases Winterfylleth at their most atmospheric and doomy, and is yet another highlight in an album of notable material.

After this is the briefest cut, To the Edge of Tyranny, and I wasn’t expecting it to be an actual song rather than an instrumental of some sort- it’s short, brutal, yet still adorned in magnificence. It’s followed by an instrumental, called Earthen Sorrows, before the album ends with The Insurrection, which provides another strong showing for the band’s engaging songwriting.

On The Imperious Horizon Winterfylleth reveal that they are not content to rest on their laurels, and instead are still pushing themselves and their music as far as they can. The end result is an album that will absolutely be familiar to fans of the band, and probably won’t convince many who are unconverted to the Winterfylleth cause, but that also sounds freshly minted, with a fire in its icy heart that burns bright. The Imperious Horizon is extremely enjoyable, and a very strong addition to Winterfylleth’s discography.

Essential listening.