Style: progressive black/folk metal (mixed vocals)
Review by: Sam
Country: US-NJ
Release date: 27 August, 2021
I hate pagan/folk black metal. I love pagan/folk black metal. Windfaerer plays black/folk metal. I’ve said it before in my Massen review, but the genre is littered with fascists, neo Nazis, nationalists, and more. It is also one of my favorite genres of music. Since it goes against my beliefs to void a person, no matter how shitty they are, I can’t bring myself to cancel sketchy bands, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a hint of remorse when indulging in the brilliance of Nokturnal Mortum’s latest two records, or when I found out that Massen was sketchy after all as I had spun my Contraesthetics CD a dozen times already (turned out that the former name of Massenhinrichtung – which is German for “mass execution” – wasn’t innocent after all. Gee, who’d have thought that?). Hence I was sure to do my research properly this time. I looked at labels, all listed side projects, and social media statements. Lucky for me, none were sketchy, so I can confidently say this band is clean (and you can listen with a clean conscious). Now with that out of the way, let’s talk music, shall we?
As I tried to describe Windfaerer’s music, three words came to mind. First of those is “epic”. Strings and horns are all over this album, and even have the courtesy of setting the mood in the opener before any metallic instrument makes an entrance. The second word is “atmospheric”, which becomes clear as the Saor-like riffs start accompanying the strings and horns. And as the first verse comes in we get the final word, that being “nature”. I found it a beautiful opening to the album, as it captures the essence of this band so poignantly:
Crimson flames pierce through the horizon
A proclamation of victory
There are more words that come to mind: “lush”, “melodic”, “pretty”, “romantic”, “adventurous”, “blast beats”, what? That’s not a word, that’s two! Sorry, I betrayed your expectations. Anyway, it does paint a picture, which is what I intend to do with this review. This album takes you on a soaring journey through vast landscapes. This adventurous, wandering type songwriting is common place in folk/pagan black metal, and also one of the primary reasons for it being one of my favorite genres. Windfaerer do this with aplomb. Atmospheric riffage with pounding drums and epic string sections make way for midtempo Maiden harmonies, acoustic parts, solos, pure folk sections, and more. The tone is generally upbeat, but there’s also a deep sense of melancholy and pain underneath it all giving it some emotional counterweight. And of course, the epic factor is everywhere. It’s expertly produced too. All instruments have pristine clarity and balance out well, and everything sounds full and powerful, making for maximum immersion.
Where I think this record could have been better is in the softer sections, which tend to feel underdeveloped, and the epic factor being everywhere comes with the downside of making the album sound too homogeneous. Compared to The Voice of Steel for example (or Arkona’s Khram if you want a non-NSBM example), Breaths of Elder Dawns lacks in both the level of detail in the textures and dynamics of mood. The strings seem to only concern themselves with the big emotive melodies, which is fine during the heavier parts, but in the quiet sections I want some more detail. Some more clean vocals would have helped too. The harsh vocals are great, don’t get me wrong, they’re very powerful and articulate, but the delivery stays more or less the same and there’s little in the way of creative vocal lines. Also definitely could have used some more variety there, which is also something I want to say about the drumming. I mentioned “blast beats” earlier as a descriptive, and this guy is certainly guilty for blast beat abuse from time to time. He does vary it up a decent amount with some cool tom grooves, and his kit sounds amazing, but I need more. For all the melodic intricacy that the folky strings bring, I’m disappointed that they didn’t take any folk influence for the rhythmic aspect in the form of folksy rhythms or additional percussion using traditional instruments.
But despite all my criticism about a lack of variety, Breaths of Elder Dawns is actually a very well-paced record. That is, within its limited overall moods, it ebbs and flows the intensity in such a way that the album remains easy to follow despite its 63 minute runtime. It easily eschews listening fatigue. Because at its core, Windfaerer’s sound is just ear candy. No matter how cliché it gets, those emotive folk melodies are sweet, the riffs are great, and the production is spot-on. For someone who loves folk metal like I do, this is just a lovely record. A flawed record, but lovely nonetheless. And thank God they are not fascists.
Recommended tracks: Oxalá, Depletion, Astral Tears
Recommended for fans of: Saor, Ne Obliviscaris, Nokturnal Mortum, Opeth (not really but this genre in general shares many similarities to their songwriting)
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Avantgarde music – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Windfaerer is:
– Michael Gonçalves (guitars, vocals)
– Valček (vocals, violin)
– Michael Muñoz (bass)
– Itay Keren (guitars)
– James Applegate (drums)
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