Paysage d'Hiver - Im Wald Review

A metric ton of amazing music came out this past Friday. This includes, but is not limited to: A new full-length Pyrrhon album, a Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin collaboration record, and the official release of Im Wald. While it is relevant that the two other groups I just mentioned probably should be getting this review slot, as the two artists made up PMMetalGuide's top two albums of 2017, I will be talking today about this Swiss one-man project and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding its initial release. The debut was 'officially' released last week, and this is pretty important. It was leaked earlier this year, to the dismay of Wintherr himself. The pressure to release a project after it has been leaked is arguably one of the greatest plights an artist can go through, and I am sorry to see it happen with this group. I do not condone listening to music before it is released, and it is extremely disappointing that the small community who were given access to the newest Paysage d'Hiver decided it was a good idea to put it online before the artist intended. That being said, once it was online, my curiosity piqued my psyche, and I had to hear the monolithic two-hour epic of this release. Therefore, yes, I heard this album far earlier than I should have, but that gave me plenty of extra listening time and far more to talk about with this project.

This, however, isn't the intro I want to really delve into. I want to talk about art that just seems to transcend understanding. With some albums, artworks, and literature, there is a level of what could be described as entitled pretentiousness, because of the supreme level of craftsmanship displayed. Take Picasso's Guernica (a piece that I may have spoken about before?) - Upon seeing the massive mosaic in the Museo Reina Sofia years ago, I was left without words. Hauntingly beautiful, I could not accurately form a critique or analysis. Recently, the collaboration between one-man black metal outfits Mare Cognitum and Spectral Lore has given me this feeling. Nearly as long as this project, Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine takes you for an overwhelming journey through the cosmos, with bewildering performances by both outfits. The mix of space-infused black metal and harsh ambient provides a seemingly unending flurry of sonic wonderment that is extremely difficult to analyze.

Im Wald takes the same approach but switches the harsh danger and uncertainty of the final frontier with the cold reality and hazardous conditions of winter. The swirling noise that envelops the mix on this album is staggering and feels like it was actually recorded inside of a cave. The synthesized flourishes on tracks like "Im Winterwald" (In The Winter Forest) and ------, among others, are magnificent and beautiful, arpeggiating over the pounding double bass drums and high harshes of Tobias Möckl (otherwise known as Wintherr). The tremolo picking is menacing, driving the songs through their massive runtimes, which erupt in climaxes that epitomize the genre's best aspects. It shows that even though this is Paysage d'Hiver's 'debut' LP, Wintherr has been building up to this release for over twenty years.

The number of interlude tracks on this release might make you concerned for the content of the tracks themselves, but fear not; Each one of these tracks flows brilliantly into the next, creating an ebbing project that flows from harsh black metal to quiet piano passages and back again. The stark dynamic contrast from the quiet guitar melody on "Wurzel" (Root) to the bombastic, choir filled "Stimmen im Wald" (Voices In The Forest) is the perfect cathartic escape from the world. The music here does not want to be listened to casually. While I will still list my favorite tracks at the end of the review, Im Wald is similar to Oranssi Pazuzu's Mestarin kynsi, An Isolated Mind's I'm Losing Myself, or the previously mentioned Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine, where you put this album on, close your curtains, turn off your phone, and stare at the ceiling. It demands your full attention and, certainly in the case of Paysage d'Hiver, requires to be listened to at full volume.

Paysage d'Hiver's best trait is easily the atmosphere he creates. Pulverizing drums smash through the mix, as the swirling winds of the Alps and low-tremolos create a vortex of noise that is all but ending. Harsh, destructive, and majestic, it comes in blizzards and snowstorms, only to consume, rest and return again. Like I prefaced this review with, it's extremely difficult to describe the feelings and analysis I get from Im Wald. The long-form buried black metal is nigh perfect, checking every box about what makes an amazing work from the genre. I can see the arguments regarding flaws with this record; its too long, the black metal is too low mixed, it's very samey, etc. But these are artistic choices, ones which I respect a great deal, and Paysage d'Hiver has crafted without a doubt, one of the best albums of the year, and one of my favorite atmospheric black metal albums of all time. Listen to it, and let whatever your body wants to feel, feel. It is truly magnificent, and this is one of the cases where I cannot describe how rewarding it is to hear.

Final Verdict: This world is cold and unending, but a trek 'Im Wald' can make that all go away.
Favorite Tracks: "Stimmen im Wald," "Im Winterwald," "Alt"
FFO: Darkspace, Burzum, some Vinterriket

Track List:

1. "Im Winterwald"

2. "Über den Bäumen"

3. "Schneeglitzern"

4. "Alt"

5. "Wurzel"

6. "Stimmen im Wald"

7. "Flug"

8. "Le rêve lucide"

9. "Eulengesang"

10. "Kälteschauer"

11. "Verweilen"

12. "Weiter, immer weiter"

13. "So hallt es wider"

You can support Paysage d'Hiver on their Bandcamp.