Retro Review: Winter "Into Darkness" (THE FIRST DEATHDOOM ALBUM BY THE FIRST TRUE DEATHDOOM BAND?)

[@JustAnotherHeavyMetalManiac]

One of the darkest, coldest albums ever. A timeless staple in death-doom

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed on all fronts there, man.

[@wendyashworth5571]

I remember buying this when it first came out. Absolutely fantastic Death/Doom I was blown away. Still holds up exceptionally to this day!🤘🖤

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I was a late bloomer to this one as I didn't get it until Southern Lord reissued it but man, when this album clicked for me it opened me up to so many more bands. Pure, rotten, cold filth right here.

[@mattirealm]

I wish you two would do more of these reviews because this is fantastic! I always learn something here and now I know something about an older metal album that I did not 🤘🤘

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! We generally do these when the release schedule is slower so we'll probably be doing a bunch this month and probably in February too. I love these kinds of videos because we get to talk about the history of the band and dive into some legit underground gems.

[@LumpyAdams]

Awesome review guys. Definitely would love to see more individual classic album reviews.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! We generally save the retro reviews for short lived bands but there's still a ton of them out there for us to go over so we have no shortage of material.

[@jeffgerdau9436]

I've never heard anyone else talk about these guys. This makes me so happy

[@derrickkowalewski9239]

Celtic Frost on half speed, Hell Yeah!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Might be quarter speed on some of these tracks lol.

[@JosephKissSr.]

This is the perfect retro review. I was literally just talking about this album with a buddy of mine a few weeks ago, and had to jam it after not listening to it in a long time. Great album!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! If there was ever one that I'd consider season here it might be this one lol. Yeah, the filth on this album is still standard setting.

[@spencergrady736]

Oh well played, love this band. Hope you mention Göden too, the much under-appreciated follow-on.

[@markgolde4274]

Beyond Darkness is a heavy af- love Goden!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I do need to check out Goden. I didn't even know that band existed until I started looking up info on this band's backstory.

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

Masterpiece

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed

[@tomasjonsson7141]

Never heard about this one before but being a big fan of deathdoom sounds like something i need to check out. 🐐🤘

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- This thing is flat out primal, man. I think you'll dig it.

[@PappyJ-d6k]

Great album and a great review, guys.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man!

[@PappyJ-d6k]

@thrallsofmetal Anytime.

[@sadekx5251]

I recall seeing the CD in 92 when it came out on NB and the cover sold me right away. That was one one those moments in my youth when it was like WTF I am listening to? the same way I felt when I discovered Carcass when Symphonies came out.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I love the simplicity of the cover and how well it captures this album's sound. It's bleak as hell. I had already heard some deathdoom by the time I got to this classic but when this one clicked for me all those years ago deathdoom made even more sense to me. I love albums that do that and then open the door to even more music like that for you.

[@fredrikhallin3528]

Retro review, i like it! There's a lot of records from the past that needs to be "brought up" again. Thumbs up! 🙂

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! We've got a giant list still of short lived bands that we can go over so stay tuned.

[@44DoubleZer00_Studios]

When I got into Incantation (around 2019-2020) this band came up in my radar, but never got to listen to them until years later (I think it was 2022 when I first listen to them) and man, this can go with the top 5 death/doom albums ever. I tried so hard to find an original 1990 copy of this album, but them numbers are just big for my wallet. I think you guys should do a retro review of another legendary death/doom band, Mythic. You did a collection update on them Nick, but a story of them would be sick.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I didn't know about this band outside of mentions in metal mags until I decided to snag the reissue of this album years ago. At that point I was still really just getting into the deathdoom sound so I wasn't a huge fan initially but it really grew on me over the years. I'd put it high on list of deathdoom albums as well since I'd argue that pretty much everything I love about the style is on this album and they were kinda the pioneers of it. Yeah, even the original Nuclear Blast reissue was a tad pricy so I can image an OG is pretty up there. I have Mythic on the list but I'll have to figure out how to approach that since they Only have an EP and some splits and I don't want to just make it a review of the comp I have.

[@benng4376]

I havent listened to Winter in years. I might should probably revisit.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Tis the season.

[@rossjohnson2603]

Great album/band/review, really enjoy the Retro Reviews. I'd recommend two other early death/doom bands, both Dutch and only did one album each: Sempiternal Deathreign - 'The Spooky Gloom' (1989), and Delirium - 'Zzoouhh' (1990).

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I'm glad you dug it! I'm not familiar with Sempiternal Deathreign but Delirium is on the list. I've had "Zzoouhh" for a few years now. Killer album.

[@ToxicGriever]

I found these guys by blind buying the 2011 reissue of Into Darkness from Southern Lord. Fantastic stuff. It really was ahead of it's time.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- That's the first version of it I ever owned actually and, while it took a bit, once that one clicked I was a huge fan. These dudes pioneered some of the filthiest deathdoom out there.

[@macabremanscape3226]

From what I remember, this album is great. I'll definitely come back to see what you guys have to say about it. But also: Sempiternal Deathreign dropped The Spooky Gloom in 89.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- It's still a filthy album for sure. I still need to check out Sempiternal Deathreign. I've heard them brought up in the conversation about the origins of deathdoom before. Might have to do a retro review for them as well.

[@helgamitejones]

I need to go back and listen to this again. I was blessed to see Winter at MDF 2015.

[@markgolde4274]

Didn't they play at MDF in 12' too? I can't remember. ..😊

[@helgamitejones]

@@markgolde4274 that could have been the year I saw them. Some of those MDFs around that time frame are a little fuzzy... ;)

[@markgolde4274]

@@helgamitejones I was at that in 12' and I think they played the day I was leaving (I had a 2 day pass for Thurs and Fri - I think they played on a Saturday) I never got to see them live. One of my regrets lol

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I didn't start going to MDF until 2019 so I sadly missed out there. Hopefully they decide to get together and make an appearance again.

[@sam-koudriavtsev-piano-key4559]

Thank you for sharing biographical notes on the reviewed band. I appreciate your passion for music. "Into Darkness" is an important album for the death-doom genre. Lethal simple riffs can work, and Winter showed it very well. "Destiny" is my favorite song on this album.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Hey! Thanks, man! The passion for the music is why we do this. This is one I've been wanting to do for awhile so I was stoked to go over this. Destiny and the title track are probably my favorites but I love Goden too. You really can't go wrong with any track on this swampy beast.

[@adamdestro123]

Fucking love this band/album. This and Disembowelment 'Transcendence Into The Peripheral' are my favourite old school Death Doom albums.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Same here, man! Yeah, I still need to snag a copy of that Disembowelment if I get lucky enough to find a copy for a reasonable price.

[@lutfimakarim8258]

Just in time for my doom metal binge 😂

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Not a bad place to start right here.

[@ThatOneMetalGuy200]

Fucking goated album, thanks for doing a retro review of this 🙏🔥

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! Glad you dug it!

[@jboogedy]

I was gonna say, wait, what about 'Asphyx - The Rack' & 'Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium'? but then I realized damn, those were both 1991, this beat those by just a year, 1990. Besides Paradise Lost - Lost Paradise (1990) this could very well be one of the first.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Even with Paradise Lost's sick debut I still struggle calling that a deathdoom album. I see it more as just classic OSDM with some doomier parts. Into Darkness is pure deathdoom to the point I can't really call it anything else. That was the distinction that really stood out for me.

[@schillinger7814]

The Daddy right there.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed

[@simplebutnotsolongname6642]

If you ask me, that title would go to Celtic Frost (Morbid Tales/To Mega Therion), or Dream Death (Journey Into Mystery). But Winter - Into Darkness is excellent and the next logical step from those bands.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I don't know as much about Dream Death but I wouldn't call Celtic Frost a deathdoom band or any of their album specifically deathdoom. Definitely influential to the style though for sure but I feel like Winter was probably the first band that were a flat out deathdoom band.

[@noogie1]

Hell Yeah.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man!

[@sixfeetunder2229]

Bought this on cd when it 1st came out still have it great album

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I didn't get it until Southern Lord reissued it but that definitely made me a fan.

[@sixfeetunder2229]

​@thrallsofmetal i checked out goden aswell i wasnt a fan

[@halmicroutsicos900]

Serpentine Path...fuck! Forgot about them! The Winter release is great stuff. I'm normally not a death-doom guy but I do fully enjoy that record

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Same here. I have both of Serpentine Path's albums too so they might get added to the list for future retro reviews. Yeah, this album here though is legendary levels of deathdoom filth.

[@mikepenny8940]

Thanks. I knew you were going over this and well this album......i can't describe it but its classic especially for one and done...i went thru two copies of this cd

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! Yeah, this one has been lurking on my retro review list for awhile now. I think I might have been waiting for Jon to be ready for how nasty this album is lol.

[@mikepenny8940]

@thrallsofmetal I went back and listened to it again after watching your review. Definitely as doomy, riffy and good as I remember. John was right about the production now that I think about it

[@oildini8174]

Ahh yes a Retro Review... My prayers have been answered and a fucking killer one at that!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Glad you dug it, man! There's plenty more to come.

[@silverpawfox642]

Fun bit of homework: Listen to Winter's "Servants of the Warsmen", then go listen to Darkthrone's "In the Shadow of the Horns." Two songs released two years apart. It's veeeeeery interesting~~

[@asafoetidajones8181]

Fenriz is pretty transparent about being a metal nerd/superfan of a ton of bands, with darkthrone being very much a summation of it's influences, as opposed to the work of some mysterious iconoclast that draws his influences out of obscurity.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I mean... It's kinda close but I think in both cases you can make the argue they were both aping Celtic Frost/ Hellhammer too.

[@mindful2864]

I love this album. Even though it is the only album Winter ever did, it still remains a classic in death/doom.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Same here, man! I would have loved to hear a follow up but in terms of nailing a sound that really hadn't been done before this still crushes.

[@spencergrady736]

Ah, yeah, Jon - listened now to this. You need to hear those Göden albums, though you can probably survive without that Winter live album - doesn't sound far removed from the classic album.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- This is one I've been wanting to expose Jon to for years since he's become a big deathdoom fan. I also still need to check out the Goden albums as well honestly. I've heard good things.

[@spencergrady736]

@@thrallsofmetal I mentioned Göden to you a few years back I think.

[@markgolde4274]

I own multiple copies of this album! Someone in the comments section nailed this description- slowed down Celtic Frost /Hellhammer (think "Triumph of death"). Great stuff

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Hell yeah! It's honestly worth it to get multiple copies of this one and yeah that description is fuckin' spot on.

[@markgolde4274]

@@thrallsofmetal The band that came out of Winter- Goden- has similarities to Triptykon- Beyond Darkness is pretty badass. Vale of the Fallen is also recommended!

[@Godlobber]

This album always reminded me of the direction that I wanted to Celtic Frost to go... instead of where Tom went. I love the low budget production, mostly because I am 53 and record labels would give a band like Winter $50 then tell the band to fuck off and make an album. This led to a lot of really creative ways to try to get a sound, and it led to a lot of unique sounding albums. Admittedly I forgot about this one but about 10 seconds in listening again I was like, Fuck I remember this and how did my dumb brain let it slip.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- There's a ton of Celtic Frost/ Hellhammer energy on this one for sure. I guess Tom wanted to "evolve" the band's sound and I cold see him saying that doing something along these lines would almost be regressing back to the Hellhammer days. I would have taken that over Cold Lake in a heartbeat. The only thing I don't like about the production are where the guitars sit in the mix. The swampy, filthy tone is exactly what this album needs but it needed to be up in the mix in my opinion. This album definitely doesn't scream "huge budget" and the fact they were kinda pioneering new ground here I think they did a pretty solid job with what they were given. Yeah, I've had the reissue for years but I got one of the OG Nuclear Blast CDs when I was out in Colorado and I rediscovered my love for this one.

[@blackwaterrust476]

still arguably one of the most important Death/Doom, Death metal albums ever. Great album.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed on both accounts. Pretty much every trope I love about filthy deathdoom is on display here.

[@dimitrilemieux4142]

Such a sick record! I personally much prefer the live version they put out, but still, the original is great as well! 🤟🔥

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Agreed. I still need to check out the live version honestly. I'm generally not big on live albums but I think it would be worth hearing these songs with some slightly better production.

[@Yaummers]

Good record. I never liked the production, but the songs are good.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- My only issue with the production are where the guitars sit in the mix. They needed to come up in the mix but outside of that this album is amazing and I'd even say genre defining.

[@derrickkowalewski9239]

Winter is my shit dood, loved these guys from day one mang!

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I love the band infinitely more than the season lol

[@derrickkowalewski9239]

I like the band and the season. We don't get real winters here in Buffalo though anymore. I much prefer cold and snow, to extreme heat and bugs. Been into the band since sometime in the early 90's

[@AngusMurdie-v5w]

I will check this out. Bit off topic but I'm worried you missed out on Adorior 'Bleed on my teeth ' from last year and you may really like it , or not. Very blackened death , unhinged , confontational yet understandable female vocals of a very occult nature , lightning fast guitars , super aggressive yet varied , satanic , slower sleazy blackened punky Motorhead sections , blasts and again confrontational and Satanic....And the album cover!...

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- I didn't know about that album or that band until I did a year end stream over on Gas Masks & Hand Grenades a couple days ago. A few people mentioned that one as a year ender for them so I wrote it down along with a ton of other stuff for me to check out.

[@AngusMurdie-v5w]

Great! , on that note then you might also enjoy Mordant rhed's 'Eat Pussy for Satan' . It's everything the title suggests and more!

[@EnemyKnown]

Music to Mangle your mind. I've had that album since it came out in 90 and your right Nick there was nothing like it before, slow, plodding, and downright cavernous. Another death/doom band that came out back then was Sorrow with the album Hatred & Disgust in 92.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- This is like musically waterboarding your brain with the partially melted slush you find on the side of the road in January lol. I didn't get into this band until the 2010's but when it clicked I was hooked. Yeah, I went looking through my collection and online and really there wasn't much like this in 1990. I've heard of Sorrow but I've never jammed them. I'll have to check them out.

[@EnemyKnown]

@thrallsofmetal Nick, Sorrow is a little more uptempo in some of their songs not quite as lumbering as Winter but still good.

[@john.whitney]

First!!! Guys i am sure you know that Paradise Lost released Lost Paradise in February 1990 plus they had 2 demos in 1988. And actually the songs on Lost Paradise are way more memorable and well structured than those on the Winter album which is kinda boring with all the songs sound the same.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Honestly, I personally consider Paradise Lost's debut to be more of a straight forward death metal release rather than deathdoom. Stylistically Lost Paradise and Into Darkness are very different but in terms of the hallmarks of the deathdoom sound it's harder to argue Winter were anything but deathdoom.

[@john.whitney]

@thrallsofmetal Ah ok i see your point.

[@g-man4744]

Winter has everything I like sound wise and influence wise, but somehow find them boring, riffs just put me to sleep, not for me

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- For me, it's that cool kind of monotony that this band delivers. I love simplistic, primal, droning riffs and slow, lumbering grooves in my deathdoom and hearing it done in it's most raw for is awesome to me. I can see where this wouldn't everyone's thing even when it comes down to deathdoom though.

[@paulh2126]

There's no point having two reviewers when you have the same opinion and give the same rating. It just makes the video drag on far too long.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Yeah. I hate that shit too, man.

[@wallbarr]

@@thrallsofmetal Looks like he's right, Nick. You should have hated this album since Jon likes it. How dare you?

[@deanvassalloroxxx]

Do u have the winter album on cd It seems to be rare these days And do have disincarnate : dreams of the carrion kind on cd I can’t seem to find it at a good price but maybe cause I’m in Melbourne Australia

[@paulh2126]

30 minutes to review one album. Ha ha. No wonder the views are terrible.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- ^ How to say you didn't watch it without saying you didn't watch it lol.

[@paulh2126]

@@thrallsofmetal Being serious - why are your videos soo long. Are people actually watching to the end?. It makes no sense to do this, especially if you want to attract more viewers.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Being serious myself: We based our style on what we like to do when we talk about music. It's generally a longer discussion and we like going into detail. Sure, we could sum it up real quick, skim over the surface and give you the cliffnotes version of a review but to me that's boring. Hell, we could do minute shorts and just slap text on the album saying what we rate it if we wanted to put even less effort into it but again, to us that's boring and low effort. We like to have discussions and these retro reviews in particular are more than just reviews. We go into the history of the band we're talking about and, in this case, talk about why they're not around anymore or why there's only one album and what became of them. That to me is far more interesting but, much like with music, taste is subjective here. Personally, I don't want to make content that I don't feel proud of just to gain viewers. Whether this channel got to 20K subs or just 1K subs I would still enjoy it because I'm about the music than I am about being famous or anything.

[@paulh2126]

@@thrallsofmetal If you drop the length to 15 minutes, you'll still have plenty of time to cover the relevant topics, and they will be more digestible by viewers. I find myself scrolling to the end of the videos just to hear the conclusion. Also, rope in people that have alternate opinions. For example, the Blood Incantation was very polarizing and was a great opportunity for discussion.

[@thrallsofmetal]

Necrotic Nick- Here's the thing: so far you're in the minority here. Most of our viewers like what we do and honestly we like our format. We're still growing and again whether we become "famous" or not isn't our drive. We just want to talk about music and have fun with it. As far as guests: we have them on streams every now and then but in terms of bringing people on the show, well, a) our town is brimming with metalheads that want to be on camera b) part of our dynamic is we're all long time friends c) I'm down for polarizing views on albums/ bands because that does lead to more in depth (and by that longer discussions) but we do listen to a lot of the same stuff. There's a lot of variables here when you break it down and again, most of the people here seem pretty comfortable with what we do.