Old Wainds/Stormheart/Darkness Shall Rise/2024 Full Length Review

 

  Russia's  Old  Wainds  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  raw  and  old  school  style  of  pagan  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  album  "Stormheart"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Darkness  Shall  Rise.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  a  lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  briefly.  When  tremolo  picking  is  added  into  the  fast  riffing  they  also  give  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  old  school  tradition. 

   When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  aggressive  style  along  with  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing and  the  album  also  mixes  in  some  more  modern  touches.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Dark  Heathenism,  Nature,  Winter  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Old  Wainds  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  pagan  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Watch  The  Midnight  Unveil"  "In  The  Heart  Of  The  Storm"  and  "Snow  Swarm".  8  out  of  10.

  https://darknessshallrise.de/product/old-wainds-rus-stormheart-digi-cd-pre-order/?v=0b3b97fa6688  

  

Old Wainds/Nordraum/Negative Existence/2014 CD Review

  Russia's  Old  Wainds  have  returned  with  their  first  new  recording  in  6  years  which  shows  the  band  which  shows  the  band  remaining  true  to  their  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  sound  and  adding  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Nordraum"  which  was  released  by  Negative  Existence.

 

   Dark sound  effects  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  more  fast  and  raw  Nordic  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  good  amount  of  grim  screams  and  after  awhile  the  band  starts  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  on  the  later  tracks  melodies  start  finding  their  way  into  the  bands  musical  style.

    Death metal  elements  can  be  found  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the band  focus's  mostly  on  a  raw  mid  90's  Nordic  style  of  black  metal  which  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  the  sound  effects  which  where  used  for  a  few  seconds  on  the  first  song  also  make  brief  returns  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  adding  a  small  amount  of  nature  sounds  in  the  bands  raw  black  metal  style.

  

  In  certain  sections  of  the  recording  you  can  hear  the  bass  guitars  and  they  enhance  the  fast  and  raw  aggression  this  band  brings  out  with  their  musical  style  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  ambient  drone  style  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks  and  the  album  also  has  a  few  long  and  epic  tracks  which  really  makes  the  music  stand  out.

 

   Old  Wainds  remain  true  to  their  raw  Nordic  style  old  school  black  metal  with  this  album  and  while  there  is  not  much  on  this  recording  that  has  been  done  in  the  past  the  band  still  create  some  great  quality  black  metal,  the  productions  has  a  very  heavy,  powerful,  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  Slavic  Paganism  and  Nature  themes.

 

   In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Old  Wainds  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Insane  Steller  Race"  "Inquiring  Of  Secrecies" and  "Stoneweaver".  8  out  of  10.

http://youtu.be/yXDoRAY4ORE

        

Old Wainds/Where The Snows Are Never Gone/Negative Existence/2011 CD Review

 Old Wainds are a band from Russia that has also had their previous album reviewed in this zine and plays a style I would describe as being raw, cold, and heathenistic black metal and this is a review of their 1997 demo "Where The Winters Are Gone" which was originally released in 1997 but re-issued by Negative Existence in 2011.

Drums range from mid paced to fast with a lot of brutal blast beats, while the bass playing which is kind of mixed down low in the mix has a dark sound with a lot of raw and primal black metal riffing which is what this demo is all about.

Rhythm guitars range from mid paced to fast raw black metal riffs that have some weird effects at times as well as a small amount of melody and here are little to no guitar solos or leads present on this recording and this demo has a lot more focus of the 90's raw black metal sound.

Vocals are all high pitched black metal screams with only a small amount of deep growls which are used very rarely and there are a lot of grim style vocals, while the lyrics touch on darkness, winter and heathenism, as for the production it has a very dark and raw sound to it but still sounds very powerful for a demo.

In my opinion this is a great demo from Old Wainds, and if you are a fan of the stuff they put out in later years, you should hunt down this demo. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Winter Warriors" "Where The Snows Are Never Gone" and "Guardians Of The Icy Kingdom". RECOMMENDED BUY.

www.myspace.com/oldwainds

Old Wainds/Death Nord Kult/Moribund Records/Debemur Morti Productions/2009 CD REVIEW

  Old Wainds are a band from Russia that plays a raw style of nature orientated black metal and this is a review of their 2009 album "Death Nord Kult" which was released by Moribund Records under exclusive pact with Debemur Morti Productions.

Drums utilize a lot of mid paced beats that are influenced by thrash metal with some brutal blast beats, while the synths when they are used sound very dark and it is only used as a sound effect instead of being a dominant instrument, as for the bass playing it follows the riffs coming out of the guitars and it is all rhythm bass.

Rhythm guitars use a mixture of thrash influenced riffs mixed with some mid paced parts as well as some fast, raw and primal black metal riffing and there are no lead guitars or solos being utilized on this recording.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with a few seconds of clean singing, while the lyrics are about death orientated subjects with some nature themes as well as a touch of Slavic Paganism, as for the production which was recorded during the months of July through October 2007 at Leo Fucking and The End Studios, mixed during the months of February through May 2008 sounds very professional but retains the raw feel that is needed for this style of black metal.

In my personal opinion this is a decent album from a great band and while it is probably not the most original album that I have heard it is still a good album and I am looking forward to hearing more stuff from this band in the future, If you are a fan of thrash orientated raw black metal this is a worthwhile album to add to your collection.

Standout tracks include "Storm-Whip" and "Born In The Freezing Dark". RECOMMENDED BUY.

Spotify