Review: Winterhorde – Neptunian

Style: progressive metal, symphonic black metal, melodic death/black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Borknagar, Insomnium, Enslaved, Ne Obliviscaris, Opeth
Review by: Sam
Country: Israel
Release date: 8 December, 2023

Of all places to be on earth right now, Israel would not rank among the happiest, but art finds a way to shine a light through even the darkest of circumstances, and progressive black metallers Winterhorde are back with a mythology driven concept album, Neptunian, for us to escape into. I was a huge fan of Underwatermoon and Maestro for its epic, diverse approach to the genre which I liked to describe as “Borknagar but better.” When I saw they had a new one coming out, I instantly mailed the band and their label to ask for a promo. Had it not been for severe writer’s block, I would have published this on Monday, but alas, we’re here only on the day of release. Let’s get into it.

Neptunian is a cinematic album, which is delivered through holistic, symphonic arrangements and a certain dramatic quality that permeates throughout. You can feel the tension of the story ebb and flow through the music, that each note was placed with care and purpose as if I’m watching a movie. The story is artfully delivered with vivid imagery yet it’s easy to follow the events. In a genre which typically overshoots in one direction and forgets about the other, I believe that Winterhorde have found a balance and the quality that the rest of the progressive metal genre should strive for when writing a concept album. Reading the lyrics alongside the music elevated the experience a lot. 

But while concepts are good and all, let’s talk about the music. Winterhorde play an amorphous mixture of various melodic black/death metal styles, symphonic metal, and progressive metal, showing prominent shades of Emperor in the drumming and their black metal style, and shades of Insomnium’s melancholic atmosphere and occasionally their riffs. As a result, on previous albums I’d compare them to 2010s Borknagar as well for their use of epic clean vocal choruses, but there’s less of that here. The progressive aspect is used for extra color on the riffs, clean vocal passages, and loose song structures, but it’s not capital P prog that shoves its technicality to the forefront as primary appeal. Neptunian primarily is a cinematic extreme metal album that uses prog as a spice. It’s not that each aspect is overtly unique, but through the sum of its parts and the way they mix them Winterhorde find their own sound.

Another strong point about Neptunian is its cohesion on both a macro and micro level: it flows continuously like a story yet the chapters are clear cut and stand on their own. I often like to rag on any given band’s song direction, but Winterhorde are nearly flawless in that regard. They know how to effectively develop a theme and intertwine different ideas into a tight package and bring them to a satisfying conclusion, at least, technically. What I miss compared to Maestro are stand-out moments. While the thematic unity on Neptunian is amazing, there’s also a homogeneity to it that makes it hard to recall individual moments. I listened to the album twelve times, and not a whole lot has stuck with me. The opener stands out for its majestic scene-setting quality, the title track is great with its bright tone and how it releases the tension in the bridge, and “Alone in the Ocean” has a grandiose chorus, but for the rest it’s all rather homogeneous to my mind. There’s no clear stand-out track like “They Came With Eyes of Fire” or “Maestro” on this album.

To further dwell in nagging mode, the production has some severe issues. It’s too compressed, leaving not enough empty space to give the right emphasis at the right moment. The drums and orchestral aspects are punchy and properly majestic, but then the riffs and harsh vocals make it overbearing. What’s even worse though is the clean vocals which are drowned out in a sea of instrumental violence. When Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) and Davidavi Dolev (Subterranean Masquerade, OMB, among others) came in for their respective guest spots I can hardly hear them, which is a shame because I could tell they were there to give some color to the songs. I think Neptunian could have benefited from a more airy, spacious mix.

I don’t know what it is about this year but I keep running into albums that I wish I liked more than I did from bands that show the potential to make a masterpiece, but seem to be stuck at “great.” I had it with The Anchoret, Nospun, Fjoergyn, and now Winterhorde. I was stupidly excited when I got my hands on the promo for Neptunian, and while I’m largely satisfied, I’m also left with an annoying aftertaste that it could have been better. Nevertheless, Winterhorde are an extremely talented band, and so my critique is borne of the high expectations I had. The issues are fixable, and Neptunian remains a record I can wholeheartedly recommend to any of our readers with an affinity for mixed vocals prog.

Recommended tracks: Amphibia, Neptunian (As Trident Strikes the Ice), Alone in the Ocean
You may also like: Dordeduh, Fjoergyn, Lamentari, Wilderun, Xanthochroid
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Noble Demon – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Winterhorde is:
– Zed Destructive (vocals)
– Yoni “Oblivion” Oren (vocals)
– Omer “Noir” Naveh (electric/acoustic guitars)
– Moshe Benofel (electric/acoustic guitars)
– Oleg “Olgerd” Rubanov (keyboards)
– Sascha “Celestial” Latman (bass)
– Alex Zaitsev (drums)

With guests:
– Kobi Farhi (vocals on “Angels in Disguise”)
– Davidavi “Vidi” Dolev (vocals on “A Harvester of Stars”)