Vinterriket
Lichtschleier

THE REVIEW

Winter has always been a great source of inspiration, if not a constant, for many bands in the Black Metal scene....

The project Vinterriket ("realm of winter" in Norwegian) is perhaps the one with the strongest bond between untamed nature, specifically the dark aspect of the coldest and most desolate winter.

This Lichtschleier is the fifth official album by Ziegler (the mastermind behind it all), one of the 6 albums that stand out in the expansive discography of our artist, among a sea of Splits, Demos, and Compilations....

Back in the now distant 2006, we are offered a completely dark ambient album, where emotions reign supremely over the pure sonic violence that characterizes much of the now burgeoning German black metal scene. Vinterriket offers us 6 tracks, one of which is also in video form, with minimal and magical synth in its simplicity, to be listened to only on a few, precious occasions. Those moments when we feel sad (for one reason or another) or we are alone and do not appreciate the company of others.... this album aims precisely to isolate the listener, but not to depress them with heartbreaking screams and jarring chords (Xasthur)... Vinterriket's music gives us that typical peace of nature, a peace that lulls us on the sweet notes of synth and the sampling of wind among the pines and the waves that slowly and lazily crash against the shore... if during the listening of this "Lichtschleier", by closing your eyes you can effortlessly imagine yourself in a world completely invaded by winter nature, where the only noises are those made by nature, and the view spans between towering mountains and desolate snow-covered lands, where the only points of reference are those sporadic trees that stubbornly try nevertheless to make their way, facing the desolation of the place where they have taken root...

...if you can enter this enchanted world, where time is perpetually frozen in the fourth season, then these simple notes will not bore you, but instead will be bearers of ever-greater visions... the drops of synth in Nebelwand, the immense sweetness, and magic of the title track can truly enchant and satiate you, so much so that at the end of the listening you can only surrender to a solemn silence....

To enhance everything, a booklet that perfectly matches the musical proposal, depicting those landscapes already described, and the video version of the splendid title track, leveraging simple images of nature to hypnotize and involve the listener even more, who will truly feel chills of cold hearing the wind relentlessly striking against the ancient trunks of the mountains...

But if after all, one's soul does not conform to the recreated visions, why not surrender to the music to enter a simple emotional calm...

Magical... and immense in its simplicity.