Hailing from Adelaide, South Australia. Darkened Winter a one-man Ambient/Black Metal project that still has that true ‘necro’ sound that seems to have fallen by the wayside of so many Black Metal bands these days. Drawing inspiration not only from nature but from Norse mythology and paganism as well. With the recording process for Yggdrasil finished, you can expect Yggdrasil’s release next year.
How did Darkened Winter come to be?
First of all I would like to thank Written Blood Interviews & Loki for taking their time to do this interview, so thank you! The conception for Darkened Winter came around 2006-2007 when I first really heard & started listening to black metal. After trying to form a band for a year without success, I decided to continue as a solo project doing everything myself. Shortly after that I began recording for my first release “Gates to Eternity”.
What lured you as a musician to the entrapment of Black Metal?
From the first time I heard Black Metal I just felt really drawn to the power of the music, the atmosphere and the message portrayed through it.
Darkened Winter still has that true ‘necro’ sound that seems to have fallen by the wayside of so many Black Metal bands, how would you describe you sound?
The Darkened Winter’s sound has always being raw and it hasn’t actually been intentional to make it that way, it’s just the way the albums turned out in the final mix. I’ve been working to make the sound a lot clearer on my next release “Yggdrasil”, I know some “Elitist’s” believe Black Metal has to sound raw and harsh. Like the early Black Metal, which don’t get me wrong is amazing. But I think you can still make a good quality Black Metal album, still capture the atmosphere and the message you’re putting across, without having it sound like you recorded it in a cave.
You state that you draw inspiration not only from nature but from Norse mythology and paganism as well, do you feel that it’s important to still be in touch with nature not only as a person but as a musician as well?
Definitely, we can learn alot about ourselves just from looking at nature. Our past, present and future is all there.
You‘ve finished the recording process for ‘Yggdrasil’. What direction does ‘Yggdrasil’ venture into and what are you aiming to achieve with this album?
Yes! Finally, it’s taken me two years to complete this, The album is a concept based on the Norse Pagan belief of that there are nine words all connected to the life tree “Yggdrasil”. So I came up with the idea to write nine tracks and have each track representing one of the nine worlds, I also wrote an intro based on the creation of the world tree and an outro track based on the final destruction of all the worlds, so that has taken some time to prepare. At the moment I am at the pre-mix stage of the album, the music is recorded and I am just finalizing the lyrics, then onto the vocals & the final mix. It should be completed and ready to release by next year.
How has Darkened Winter grown musically since the release of ‘Gates to Eternity’?
Well with the first release “Gates To Eternity” I think my influences really came through in the music on that album, where as the two albums after that I feel I found my own sound and wrote from within myself. I think this is especially going to show on my next release, as I’m adding a lot of strings and even acoustic sections throughout the album.
It has been stated that newer Black Metal tends to lack soul when it comes to the true spirit of what Black Metal was suppose to be, what are your views on this?
I think as long as you’re being true and writing from within yourself it will show through in the music. Although Black Metal is a lot more publicized now, There is still plenty of amazing Black Metal coming out today and a lot of bands are still staying true to what it is all about.
Any famous last words?
Thanks to everyone who has supported Darkened Winter, stay tuned for the next release “Yggdrasil: Journey Throughout the Nine Worlds”!
I would like to thank Winterdemon for doing this interview.
Find Darkened Winter At -
Reverbnation - www.reverbnation.com/darkenedwinter01
Myspace - www.myspace.com/darkenedwinter
Bandcamp - http://darkenedwinter.bandcamp.com/
I.A.E.S.L ( LABEL ) - http://www.iaesl.tk/
