Dreadrealm - The Essence Of Winter review
| Band: | Dreadrealm |
| Album: | The Essence Of Winter |
| Style: | Atmospheric black metal |
| Release date: | April 16, 2017 |
| A review by: | nikarg |
01. The Essence Of Winter
02. Norsemaiden's Lament
03. The Thin Veil Between Our Worlds
04. Fortress Of Decadence
05. Winter's Bane II - Lurkers In The Dark
06. Midwinter Feast At The Queen's Castle
07. Everwinter's Echo
Most of you probably aren't familiar with Dreadrealm, a new atmospheric black metal, one-man band from Estonia, for which the music, lyrics, vocals, instrumentation and production are handled exclusively by Metren Angerjärv. The Essence Of Winter is his project's debut and let me now tell you why you should do yourself a favour and get to know Dreadrealm sooner rather than later.
Atmoblack bands have been emerging by the dozen in the last few years and hence the style is now unfortunately overrun by boring and lacklustre acts. Recycled tremolo riffs, tree-root resembling logos, long and plodding compositions that forget to end and out-of-place blastbeats are some of their characteristics. On the other hand, Dreadrealm's logo is perfectly readable, the songs have very little fat that needs to be trimmed and both imaginative tremolo riffs and heavy chugs are used efficiently to create the desired atmosphere. To give you an idea, the sound and music is closer to Agalloch and Sun Of The Sleepless than it is to Enisum and Eldamar.
The Essence Of Winter conveys an aura of dark and cold isolation, but it is also deeply emotional and poetic. Soft and romantic acoustic sections trade off seamlessly with abrasive, razorblade-cutting electric guitar riffs. Eerie synths and heartfelt piano melodies are often in play to portray a dreamlike surrounding. Deep, harsh growls and howls, clean vocal harmonies, chanting and haunting whispers are used to express the beautifully written lyrics and it is a pity that we don't get more of those, since The Essence Of Winter is primarily an instrumental album.
Almost every aspect of the music is carefully crafted and placed where it needs to be. It is not just the instruments and the vocals that create this dense, chilly and captivating atmosphere. Real nature sounds can be heard too, like the Baltic Sea eating away the rocks of Estonia's beachfront in "Norsemaiden's Lament", the howling wind and the footsteps of a man (or a spirit?) entering the "Fortress Of Decadence" or the crackling sound of wood burning in the fireplace and the distantly heard chatting voices of the Queen's guests in my personal favourite and epic "Midwinter Feast At The Queen's Castle". Towards the end, the snow-blizzard of "Everwinter's Echo", along with whispering vocals and a weeping guitar melody, wraps up nicely the wide array of emotions experienced during the previous 38-odd minutes of the album.
The Essence Of Winter justifies its title by offering a black metal journey through old-growth forests, wuthering lands, scenic lakes and medieval castles. It is brimming with talent and passion and proves that you don't need the budget of a small country to produce inspired metal. Don't miss it.
"Cry, oh winter wind
Reap the world of warmth and light
For thou art too unkind
Bring an everlasting night"
 | Written on 10.11.2017 by Only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud! |
Comments page 2 / 2
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Comments: 54
Visited by: 202 users
| VIG Account deleted |
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418  |
Written by [user id=159927] on 11.11.2017 at 15:28 I love Dråpsnatt, but at the time of composing The Essence Of Winter, I hadn't listened to them in ages, I was more into classic Immortal albums, Agalloch and Lurker Of Chalice last winter.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62283  |
Written by Metren on 11.11.2017 at 11:56 Your album is 100 times better as any Burzum
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62283 |
Written by Metren on 11.11.2017 at 22:15 its true,
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die" I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266  |
Written by Metren on 10.11.2017 at 15:53 I will give this a listen and give you my honest-to-goodness opinion fellow MSer....no hurt feelings tho, ok?
---- rekt
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
Written by tea[m]ster on 12.11.2017 at 19:38 Feel free to bash away! 
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Boxcar Willy REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Posts: 9216  |
Written by Zap on 10.11.2017 at 14:36 I'm offended. Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 10.11.2017 at 14:39 Sup nerd
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| hellsmiles Posts: 207  |
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
Written by hellsmiles on 15.11.2017 at 20:51 Viner Hand ITC it is indeed, it should be in most word programs. Didn't even remember that Skyrim had it, though I do love that game to death.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| BetulaObscura Posts: 211  |
Is there a CD version on this album?
---- "Inspired by the future of the past"
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
Written by BetulaObscura on 19.11.2017 at 19:25 Not at the moment. I am planning on it though, once I've saved up some money. Pressing a CD in Estonia is somewhat costly. There's only one company that does it and their minimum amount is 300 copies as far as I know.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| BetulaObscura Posts: 211 |
Written by Metren on 19.11.2017 at 20:27 Thanks for your answer! I do not listen music from files except moments when I am checking new music. That is why I was asking for the CD... Your album sounds very interesting. I am going to listen it more carefully as soon as possible. Cheers!
---- "Inspired by the future of the past"
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7508  |
Written by Metren on 19.11.2017 at 20:27 You will easily get 300 buyers. And I don't know if you can try a company not based in Estonia. 
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
Written by nikarg on 19.11.2017 at 22:33 I don't really care about making a profit on CD sales or even breaking even, I just need to get the funds to have the CDs pressed. I'll probably set the final price pretty low, so more people could afford the album too.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| BetulaObscura Posts: 211 |
Written by Metren on 19.11.2017 at 23:30 In my opinion it is better to spend some more money and press nicely mastered CD with interesting designed booklet and cover. 10-20 Euro/US Dollars for the CD are not big money and looks like this is standard price for the new CD (underground bands and well known bands as well).
---- "Inspired by the future of the past"
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| Paz 777 Elite Posts: 4050  |
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| BetulaObscura Posts: 211 |
Written by Paz on 22.11.2017 at 08:54 Sometimes there is no vinyl issued and never will be! By the way: have you ever heard about 1st press editions? Or limited editions? Or out of print editions? CD can be very pricey, just like some vinyl.
---- "Inspired by the future of the past"
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| Paz 777 Elite Posts: 4050 |
Written by BetulaObscura on 23.11.2017 at 20:25 That was a joke.. I know, but I was thinking about the brand new ones The most expensive CD in my collection is Triangle by Schammasch. Indeed, it costed me about twenty euros.
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| BetulaObscura Posts: 211 |
Written by Paz on 24.11.2017 at 14:19  That was my averaged estimate prices. I do not believe that any underground metal band release their debut on 20 Euro CD anyway. Even CD with a dozen pages booklet is not that expensive!
---- "Inspired by the future of the past"
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
I created a poll on Dreadrealm's FB page, asking whether I should invest the money I've saved up this spring in releasing a physical CD for The Essence or if I should buy studio time and hire a professional producer for the next album instead. I can't make up my own mind, so vox populi vox dei I guess.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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| Zap Posts: 3589  |
Written by Metren on 01.05.2018 at 04:05 Definitely the latter I'd say. Just because it seems more meaningful to me to invest money into future works than into a CD version of past works. And not many people are interested in CD releases these days anyways.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7508 |
Written by Metren on 01.05.2018 at 04:05 I voted for CD because I 'm still hoping for a signed one to arrive in my mailbox Jokes aside, either way I'll be happy. I'm really looking forward to new music from you man!
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| Metren Dreadrealm Posts: 1418 |
Written by nikarg on 10.05.2018 at 00:52 It will be the CD since it got more votes. I'm still going to invest in some better production programs and a new acoustic guitar too though, all that in the summer. I'm looking to improve in every possible area  And of course, however many albums I will release in my lifetime, You will get signed copies of all of them. 
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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