Releasing only demos until now and these demos were VERY limited and all of these were hand-numbered, Paysage D'Hiver does not seem to be releasingalbum in the near future, Wintherr being too busy with the next DarkSpace release scheduled for the first quarter of 2008. Then why would I be reviewing a demo out of so many kickass albums? The thing is they had that "something" that others don't..
Okay, Paysage D'hiver hails from Switzerland and is the project of Wintherr (together with Zorgh and Zharaal, you get "DarkSpace"). Yes, a one-man band, but heh, no worries, you won't have time to think about it. The band took the imagery and themes of Immortal, i.e winter and brought it to a level Immortal never even thought about, makes Frostdemonstorms and the call of the wintermoon look like ballads.. Understand something like different from Immortal, Paysage D'hiver is not a kids' game, he IS ABLE TO develop the imagery environment.. Wintherr's black metal is cold and not filled with melodies you'll sing along, far from that.. The true essence of this masterpiece is that you need to listen and let the music take you to the winter landscapes it serves so well. That's what you get when genius is mixed with the will to produce something other's won't and you feel it since the first track.
The first track, let's talk about it: I noticed the sounds of the winds blowing through the trees, wolves's howls (help me for this one?), owls (-_-) and thought that would end after the eerie "Des Lichtes Sterben Part I" (the album starts by an ambient track of 17 minutes). Damn wrong, that winter winds sample would never stop, instead it goes on through the whole album linking (hmm "linking") all the songs by one sound.. winds and it works. If you just close your eyes, you'll be able to picture what that guy wants you to picture.. Coupled with the guitars and the drums that gives you one hell of a weird atmosphere. The guitars and blurry and elegant, not too much, just enough to call it metal, lo-fi, but still metal, one where the instruments are deeply buried in the background.
Speaking of lo-fi, I guess I need to compare this release to Xasthur and Burzum. I suppose Wintherr likes them but it doesn't show that much, if you except the lo-fi music, since this "ambient" is way different from Burzum's definition of "ambient". (Just to make things clear, when compared to Burzum, it's like an Ode to "Filosophem" - one of the best ambient black metal album I've been able to lay my hands on). The productions however is like both aforementioned bands, but anyway, I personally believe that a clear production a la Porcupine Tree would ruin the whole lot.
More clarifications, Nacht is not full of hatred and violence like what say Abyssic Hate has been creating for years, it goes beyond that and with more intensity. Yes, I know the music is hypnotic.. so what? Like I said, this album is not the type that's gonna play every now and then, it's like a Sun O))) album, to enjoy it at its fullest, you need to be calm (probably in the dark before sleeping, I did that
and let the rhythmic prayers play its part.
Back to the album, the second track (I'll describe the 3 tracks) is the nearest to black metal among all the songs, and most probably the one I like the most. The winter sounds in the background, you won't hear it with topnotch Dolby / Surround Systems (en reconnaisance de cause), I managed to understand the structures of the music via my mp3 player, earphones help it seems
. Sooo, brutal at start, double bass in the middle, ambient with electric guitars (I LOVE THAT) in the end and that's it.. 18 minutes of fury et if it still doesn't convince you, go ahead to the third track. Same recipe, but this time without the drums: sound of the winds, the repetitive and hypnotic guitars and the ambient keys.. That's it.. When I hit the third track, I don't even have to continue, I already know the lucky bastard I am to have found this piece of music. So, let alone the black metal fact, you call yourself a metal fan? ambient fan? music true to its sources fan? Then you need Paysage D'hiver's "Nacht".. Beautifully desolate music.. -10/10-
Paysage D'hiver - Nacht (2004) 
Linear Mode
