CoC : Vinterland - Welcome My Last Chapter : Review

Vinterland - _Welcome My Last Chapter_
(No Fashion, 1996)
by: Drew Snow (7 out of 10)

Another slab of melody from No Fashion, though Vinterland tend to lean more towards the blacker side of things. Much darker than a few other of No Fashion's recent releases, Vinterland have an album comparable in some aspects to Dissection's godly debut epic, _The Somberlain_, but not quite as variant or skilled. That's not to say that there aren't any good things about _WMLC_, because there are a few to mention, probably most notably the intangible feeling of darkness, sadness, and emotion present in most of the songs, among them the best probably being "Still the Night is Awake", a high velocity storm of stirring melody and fierce percussion. However, on the down side, a few of the songs tend to lapse into a very similar sounding structure, and the lyrics have got to be some of the most cliched pieces of writing I've ever seen. It's easy to see why only one song's lyrics were printed, with such original lines as "Let the wings of grief carry me to the kingdom far beyond all light." But really though, put the trite lyrics out of your mind and focus on the music, and there are enough quality elements here to warrant more than a few listens, although this is the type of album you don't just pick up and play any old time, it's more of a mood-oriented release. Nonetheless, if you can forgive some sameness among the songs and don't listen with headphones on for too long (will make you go deaf, -quick-), _WMLC_ can be pretty enjoyable.

(article published 13/5/1997)