Evilfeast - Wintermoon Enchantment (2011)

I became aware of and (pretty much) enamored with Evilfeast back around September through random perusing on youtube. Under most circumstances I would have instantly bought one of the bands albums, however feeling that the music was immensely atmospheric and wintry based it seemed only appropriate to wait until December to purchase this album. As luck would have it we got our first legit snow a week after purchasing 'Wintermoon Enchantment' and I was able to enjoy the band under the conditions I had hoped for - Relentless snowfall and harsh freezing winds amongst the dead of night outside my window and unexplained melancholy in my soul and red wine in my glass.

Evilfeast (bad name) is the solo endeavor of GrimSpirit (really bad name) whom hails from Otwock, Poland and has experience with other obscure Polish bands, such as, Revenge and Ravenmoon Sanctuary. Evilfeast has existed in some form or another since '96, but didn't release anything until 2002 through the 'Thy Abhorrent Emerging' demo, but has since then gone onto release another demo, split and three full-lengths before landing on his fourth opus, namely, 'Wintermoon Enchantment.'

Bow before the grim moon

Grimspirit creates a maelstrom of bleak frigid black metal on his fourth album and from my bit of perusing mentioned above it seems his formula hasn't changed drastically over the years. The guitars are heavily raw in style with a loud piercing hissing wall of sound quality, largely comparable to many of Christoph Ziegler's Vinterriket releases, though during the more melodious moments I'm reminded of the tone Satyr used on 'Dark Medieval Times,' Satyricon's debut, as examples.

Perhaps Evilfeast's true allure lies in the persistent melodic keyboards, which serve as a fine example of beauty within darkness, as they have an enthralling, aerial and often times melancholy vibe to them. Paired with the harsh guitars, relentless drumming and ferocious screams (and occasional spoken passages) the effect is a very glacial and meditative mood, which as I already said feels perfectly intended for nights of heavy snow fall and spirits. There are however three completely and generally lengthy instrumental tracks, as well as several moments of pure ambiance amidst the chaos.

Clocking in at nearly seventy minutes, these eight songs seem to glide by quickly, but have my attention from the very first notes of 'Open The Mysteries From Beyond' right into 'Fullmoon Over The Eastern Woods' and by the time I reach the end with 'Descent Into The Starlit Spheres' I feel as if I've been placed under a spell and my soul has been lifted to greater heights.

GrimSpirit has created a simple but highly effective and alluring release which I anticipate I'll be continuing to listen to throughout the winter months.