Winterhearth – Rape of Eden
March 21st, 2023
Blackened Death Metal
Independently Released
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Rape of Eden is the second EP and the fifth proper release from St. John’s blackened death metal stalwarts Winterhearth. Following the release of the band’s third full length record, Riverbed Empire, the group underwent some lineup changes, losing Brad Ivany on the drums and replacing him with Nathan Manuel. Now the band is back to full functioning capacity and has dropped a brand new EP for us to whet our sanctimonious appetites with.
Featuring six tracks, one of which is a guitar-centric intro and another of which is a cover of a traditional Japanese folk song, Rape of Eden proper features four songs that are comparatively short when stacked up against the material Winterhearth has released in the past. The longest song on here reaches a fairly standard length of four minutes and thirty six seconds, whereas much of Winterhearth’s previously released work would often reach the seven or eight minute mark. It seems as though frontman and creative lead Andrew Marsh has seen fit to get his point across as quickly as possible.
The vocals here are as rancid as they’ve always been, though it also sounds as if Marsh is starting to show signs of age in his voice. As I’ve noticed with other bands with harsh vocalists, one’s voice does tend to change and morph as they get older. I’ve noticed it in my own voice as well. If anything it’s added a unique quality to the vocals as they sound even more bestial and unhinged than they have in the past. Marsh sounds like some kind of embittered orc grumbling and snarling his way across this EP, and it rules.
The riffs on here actually offer a great deal of variety. While “Scarlet Love (and a Black Heart)” features a more cacophonous assault that leans into the death metal style seen on the band’s sophomore record Resettlement, it’s followed by the title track, “Rape of Eden”, which no doubt draws from groups like Immortal and Dissection for a fairly traditional black metal track. The guitars here conjure imagery of frosted mountains and cold tundra, while Lenny Carey’s bass is given an opportunity to really shine in the background with tons of melodic and technical fills. “Monkshood” continues the pure black metal vibes though it breaks down into a semi-death metal onslaught towards the end, especially when the guitar solo kicks in. The whole thing gives me serious Watain vibes. “Wormwood” keeps the assault going with some of the fastest and most intense and catchy riffing on this EP, once again channeling both Immortal and Watain.
The drums, though stated as being performed by Nathan, are actually programmed. That said I think that the production on the percussion here is decent enough that I actually wouldn’t have thought they were programmed had I not been previously privy to that information. I always would prefer that metal utilize real drumming as opposed to computerized drumming but at least it sounds consistent with the music here. Even if they were programmed I think Marsh’s compositions on the drums are a lot of fun and pretty creative. I love the ploughing double bass the most.
For the first offering since the band’s 2020 record Riverbed Empire, Rape of Eden is a solid if bite sized follow-up. I wish there was a bit more meat on the bone here but as it stands right now there are four really good blackened death metal tracks on here, bordered on either side by an ambient guitar build-up and a sort of throw-away instrumental cover of “Sakura, Sakura”. That said I think this EP is definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of any of the other bands I’ve mentioned throughout this review, Immortal, Dissection and Watain being the three primary suspects.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Great
Favourite Tracks:
“Rape of Eden”
“Wormwood”
~ Akhenaten
HeavyNFLD 