Здесь никогда не сходят снега

When speaking of old Russian black metal, Blazebirth Hall is probably the first thing in everyone’s mind. And not until now I’ve gotten to discover Old Wainds and Where the Snows Are Never Gone, an utterly filthy piece of ice cold black metal originally released on tape in 1997 and now seeing the light of the day again, though there has been various re-releases along the years already. And I’m really happy to get to discover this 90s gem finally.

Where the Snows Are Never Gone is a relentless and piercingly cold assault of noisy black metal somewhat similar to Ildjarn, plus there’s also minor hints of melancholy in the mix (”Winter Warriors”) reminiscent of e.g. Baptism, though only rarely. While drums keep blasting steady blast beats along with guitars providing menacing tremolo riffage throughout, the upfront screams are noteworthy as well, going hand in hand with the harsh, evil and cold atmosphere of the demo.

Needless to say, the production here is raw to the extent that the listener base will always remain minimal, but those with a taste for utmost rawness will see the appeal behind the wall of distortion. Indeed, the compositions are of surprisingly high quality: not that these songs would be carefully composed and finely crafted pieces, but the evil riffage here has an intuitive charm that lures for replay. The music sounds alive and ominous.

Where the Snows Are Never Gone is a worthy acquisition is you’re interested in hearing what Russia had to provide in 90s and you have already gone through all the available Blazebirth Hall bands. Recommendable, indeed, for the fans of a great deal of filthiness in their black metal. Enough said, I suppose.

3.5 / 5
http://www.vehementconjuration.com/

Where the Snows Are Never Gone is not necessarily an album, but a 1997 demo that has seen several reincarnations in CD form, the latest coming through Negative Existence this year. However, since the Russian gem consists of nearly 40 minutes of material and is lauded as one of the best of Old Wainds releases, it's easy to think of it as such. If you've experienced primitive Russian black metal in the past, whether Branikald or Forest or a number of other bands, then you know to expect some of the coldest shit imaginable in audio form, and this is not an exception, but Old Wainds approach the genre with somewhat less savagery, and more of a fibrous, thick tone to the distortion which writhes against the mix of rasped and occasional use of soaring, chanted vocals.

I really enjoy the intro to this album, the first minute of "Unholy Nordland Fire" with its roaring swell of ambiance and synthesized, epic horns, but once the cannon-like burst samples and the blast beats begin here, the only atmosphere you're getting is that which is created through the instruments and vocals. A few of the cuts like "Gods Gazing from Beyond" and "Where the Snows Are Never Gone" itself are pure blasts that disintegrate into mid-paced, rocking passages, all dosed in the extreme, arctic radiation of the raw guitar tones which is entirely unforgiving. Just about every track here does involve some fraction of the blasting, with the exception of the closer, "Cold Mourning of the Pale Moon", which has the biggest concentration of the clean, chant-like vocals and a slower, chilling pace to it highlighted by the fuzzy, discordant gloom of the guitars. However, most of them are gripping, if not wholly unique sounding or possessive of any surprise within.

I haven't enjoyed all of Old Wainds' records equally, but I certainly appreciated Scalding Coldness from 2005, and the material here, as crude as it seems, is likewise engrossing. There is no question that this style is reserved for those willing to accept the lack of production and the hostile, tonal qualities created through the milieu. Comparisons can be made to the older works of Burzum, Graveland, Mayhem, and Bathory, and despite its age, the recording still emits a breath of damp winter aggression, like being pummeled into the thawing earth of grass dried and cold, wet surface soil. Thick as thieves, dark as pitch and complete outside the sphere of warmth and happiness, the only intricacy here is the feel of each nerve stilled by the spiteful shadows of the music.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

The first thing I feel when I listen to this record is FROST. Yes, you can actually feel the chill in your bones, you can shiver with cold listening to this album. This recording reeks of raw, primitive and cold sound. This is black metal the way no-one has ever played before and it is no wonder the group sound like this, they come from Murmansk, a city in the extreme north-west of Russia, right in the Arctic circle.

You get an unprecedented feeling with this album. Rhythmically and riff-wise they are not something unique, I mean you won't find here complex riffs and technical proficiencies that you have never heard before or innovations and strange instruments that no-one has ever used before. No. Musically this album is simple and plain. But as an overall, when you put everything together, the result is an astounding, unpolished and icy atmosphere. Plus the singer sings in the Russian language which makes him sound very evil and unearthly and adds a creepy feeling to the album.

I really have no words to explain the emotions I get from “Where The Snows Are Never Gone...”. It is one of these moments that words have no meaning, just the music.

If you can't get enough of the cold and harsh atmospheres that were prominent in the early second wave of black metal, Old Wainds, from the northernmost regions of Russia, are an excellent succor for your craving. Old Wainds are actually extremely refreshing to hear, even though they are nothing original. The reason for this is that I honestly thought this style of icy metal was more or less dead. It seemed noone could recapture a feeling similar to that which could be found on, say, Immortal's "Pure Holocaust" anymore, and I thought, "well, some things just cannot be immitated". However, if anything, Old Wainds are even colder than that aforementioned groundbreaking album.

The proceedings don't begin to promisingly alas. The odd, squawky keyboard opening isn't too terrible, but it always leaves me scratching my head, wondering what the band was thinking exactly as it's not epic, miserable or haunting, but just sort of..honky. However, this is shortly replaced by the sound of a wailing wind, and yes, this is more like it. It doesn't take long before the band lurches into life, and believe me, this sound is pretty raw. The guitar is actually pretty hard to discern, but from what I can tell the playing is very simplistic, which isn't a bad thing for this sort of music. Obviously though, the ready comparrison of "Pure Holocaust" is really only a reference to the emotional content and atmosphere rather than the actual playing. Anyway, in terms of production and so on this somewhat reminds me of Ildjarn, except this is a lot more organic sounding and less dry. There's a very live feel to this music, as if you can actually hear the acoustics of the room the band is playing in, though this could just be a slight bit of studio reverb I suppose. The drums are real, thank Sathanas, and they're rather well done, simplistic again of course but they really add to the appeal of this release, especially in the ocasional mid-tempo section, where some powerful fills and good cymbal use can be heard. and the vocals....damn, they're possibly the best thing about all this as they're absolutely venomous, trollish gruntings with infrequent higher shrieks (you can hear his microphone clipping). Mostly, this stuff is quite fast, and it's in those sections that a listener will be pretty hard pressed to actually hear what's going on. Now and gain I can make out a sort of thrashy sounding riff, and some bits of eerie tremolo picked melody, but for the most part, all that doesnt' really matter. This sort of thing is based entirely on atmosphere. I know a lot of people would disagree with me, but in this particular case (and others), it matters less what the band is playing, and more how they go about it.

So yes, this is about as cold as a fifty below winter night. This may sound a little overwrought, but while listening to this it's as though I can almost physically feel that icy wind, as though out here my weaknesses will kill me, the bitter chill will snatch my breath away and I will die within minutes. And no better does this feeling come across than in the last track, which is the only dirge on the album. The band starts out playing two sinister chords, under which you can hear ocasional slinking drum fills and angry snarling vocals. This will lull you into a trance-like state, similar to Burzzum's slower stuff (or anything on "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss"), and when the sudden outburst of aggression arrives in the last two minutes, you'll suddenly be revived, you will scream as you lose your human form and run through the snowy night, your canines bared as you scent fresh blood. And thus, it begins again....