Review from The Headbanging Moose

September 9, 2021
From: The Headbanging Moose
Published: September 6, 2021

After a lengthy hiatus, Quebec, Canada-based Atmospheric Depressive Black Metal one-man horde Nordicwinter came back in a big way in 2020, releasing two new full-length albums (Requiem and Desolation) and showing no sign of slowing down as the project hits us once again with a new full-length album, entitled Sorrow, released amidst the dead of winter. Produced and engineered by the Nordicwinter’s mastermind Evillair (aka Yves Allaire, who’s also responsible for all vocals, all instruments, drum programming, production, engineering, songwriting and lyrics), recorded, mixed an mastered at Dirgevows Studios, and featuring a somber cover image by Melissa Parker, Sorrow examines the darker side of the human condition through somber and melancholic music sticking at a mostly mid-tempo pace, being therefore highly recommended for fans of the music by bands the likes of Xasthur, Austere, NONE and Nocturnal Depression.

And Evillair begins his atmospheric and melancholic journey with Somber Winds of Despair (Part I), showcasing enfolding guitars and a dark vibe, exploding into top-of-the-line Atmospheric Black Metal with the anguished roars by our one-man army penetrating deep inside your soul; whereas beauty and melancholy flow from Evillair’s words (“I see your cold corpse / Laying upon the crimson leaves / I hear the lost song / Whispered by the dismal breeze”) in Sullen Echoes, while the music offers our ears a sinister fusion of Blackened Doom and Atmospheric Black Metal. Then more of his Stygian sounds invade our ears in In This Darkness…, where his incendiary, classic Black Metal riffs will burn your skin mercilessly in paradox with the song’s bitterly cold background, not to mention his gnarls get more and more demonic as the music progresses.

This Mournful Dirge brings to our ears another round of his dark poetry (“In dismal veils of snow / I fade into this tomb / As fading memories / Whisper eternal gloom”) amidst a somber atmosphere in a great display of Depressive Black Metal, followed by Dying Winters, where a beyond embracing start will drag you into the cold lands ruled by Nordicwinter and with Evillair doing a great job with both his growls and riffs, all spiced up by the programmed drums (which sound truly organic, by the way). And what kicked off such intense album is completed with Somber Winds of Despair (Part II), again showcasing sharp but at the same time delicate guitars, venomous, introspective vocals, and a sense of hopelessness permeating the air until the very last second. In other words, a simply stunning creation by Evillair and his Nordicwinter, ending in a more than hypnotizing way and flowing into Enshrined by Solitude, a funereal, depressive outro that will darken your thoughts as the storm gets closer and closer.

You can easily join Evillair and his Nordicwinter by streaming Sorrow in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, savoring every second of its over 50 minutes of solitude and introspectiveness, but don’t forget to also follow the project on Facebook and on Instagram for news and other nice-to-know details about this lone wolf of the Great White North, and above all that, to purchase a copy of the album from the project’s own BandCamp page, from the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp page or webstore (as a regular CD or as a very special bundle), from Apple Music or from Amazon. In a nutshell, Evillair more than succeeded in providing us his view of the darker side of the human condition through his music, leaving us eager for more of his stunning Black Metal in a not-so-distant future.

Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed by: Gustavo Scuderi
 

Review from Metal Temple

May 7, 2021
From: Metal Temple
Published: May 6, 2021

NORDICWINTER is a depressive/atmospheric black metal band from Canada. They formed in 2006; their latest album "Sorrow" is their fourth full length album. Actually, I shouldn't use "their" because it is a one man project from Evillair. I'm going to start with the most important part: I enjoy the hell out of this album. It ticks off all the boxes for what I look for among the best of atmo and depressive music. I also love doom and this album...

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Review from Veil of Sound

May 7, 2021
From: Veil of Sound
Published: May 4, 2021

This is an impressively crafted atmospheric black metal album by the Canadian Nordicwinter. It is the third installation of a trilogy that started with Requiemin April last year, was followed by Desolation in June the same year and this, Sorrowin March this year. Honestly, it might not be fair only to focus on the last album in the trilogy as they all are connected.

Through preparing this review, I am fortunate to have become better acquain...

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Review from Infernal Masquerade

April 1, 2021
From: Infernal Masquerade Webzine
Published: March 31, 2021

Canada continues to impress us with their constantly growing Black Metal scene, today we have one-man outfit Nordicwinter with “Sorrow”. Being the band’s fourth full-length release, this release unravels nearly one hour of highly melancholic Atmospheric BM, filled with mournful and doomy passages. If you like heavily emotional music that combines both lush atmospheric arrangements and savage onslaughts of harshness, ...

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Review from Brothers in Raw

March 30, 2021
From: Brothers in Raw
Published: March 29, 2021

Het Canadese éénmansproject Nordicwinter is met Sorrow toe aan een vierde volwaardige release. Desondanks trap ik met veel misplaatst drama een open deur in als ik stel dat het project weinig bekendheid geniet. Ik spendeer behoorlijk wat grijze avonden op een jaar grasduinend doorheen al het goede en minder goede dat op Bandcamp te vinden is, maar op Nordicwinter was ik nog niet gebotst. Het duurde tot Hypnotic Dirge Records in 2020...

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Review from Edmund Sackbauer

March 30, 2021
From: Metal-Archives Review
Published: March 29, 2021

Nordicwinter is another great project from the Québec area. However, if you came into this expecting the trademark sound from this region you might end up being surprised. While a lot of the more well known bands from over there rely on fast tremolo runs and catchy lead melodies Nordicwinter is a different beast. Mournful harmonies and epic soundscapes are paired with deep emotions and a certain level of melancholy. To a certai...

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Review from Angry Metal Guy

March 30, 2021
From: Angry Metal Guy
Published: March 29, 2021

The erudite doctor known about these parts as Doom_et_Al recently wrote: “We can ramble on all day about clever technical flourishes, dissonant chords, and foreboding atmospheres, but when all is said and done, we metalheads respect the almighty riff.” Frankly, it’s pretty hard to argue with him but it does present a problem for those of us – including Dr Doom and myself – who are atmoblack fans, since this subgenre is not n...

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Review from Hellfire Magazin

March 30, 2021
From: Hellfire Magazin
Published: March 24, 2021

2006 startet „Evillair“ sein Soloprojekt „Nordicwinter“. Das zu rezensierende aktuelle Werk hat drei Full Length Vorgänger. „Threnody“ (2007), „Requiem“ und „Desolation“ (2020). Zwei Longplayer in nur einem Jahr, Chapeau, und noch dazu in einem durch Corona verseuchten Jahr.

Und gleich schon zum Frühlingsanfang ein Masterpiece, was ich absolut nach dem ersten Hör-Durchlauf für mich behaupten kann. Sieben Tracks...

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Review from Wonderbox Metal

March 25, 2021
From: Wonderbox Metal
Published: March 25, 2021

This is the fourth album from Canadian one-man black metal act Nordicwinter.

After enjoying 2020’s Desolation, I was pleased to see another work from this artist so quickly. Sorrow contains 53 minutes of atmospheric/depressive black metal.

No secret – I’m a big fan of this sort of style, especially when it’s done as well as it is here. The well-written music on Sorrow just oozes depth and quality, and the artist behind this band...

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 Released: March 26, 2021
Genre: Depressive Black Metal

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