Review by Jeger on January 7, 2026.

The timeless art of Black Metal is what will carry some of us through this dawning of a new Dark Age - the music of ancient days and of mystifying realms forlorn. As we succumb to the bewildering paradox of mass communication and global degeneracy - the reality of having all of the information in the known Universe in the palm of our hands as we simultaneously dumb down somehow. A pathetic place the world has indeed become! So, we lose ourselves in the moments that make up our dearest Black Metal recordings. And therein lies the beauty of the genre - the world spirals further into the shitter and true Black Metal stays pure; pure as the blackened lunar curtain that precedes the dawn.

Melodic Black Metal - a lost art in this modern era. Why? Because not everyone gets it. To understand true Melodic BM is to comprehend the majesty of Dissection, Dawn and Sacramentum - the Swedish MBM triumvirate. And with this knowledge comes expectation: a standard and a bar set. Perhaps that's why MBM has become a lost art. Who wants to take on the impossible task of writing an album that could rival "The Somberlain"? Winter Eternal is up for the challenge…

Winter Eternal is a Melodic Black Metal band that got its start in Greece and then later relocated to Scotland. It is masterminded by one Soulreaper and backed by the percussion of V. Nuctemeron, the cello of Varvara Tsotra and the violin of Dimitris Charisis. On February 13, Winter Eternal will bestow its highly-anticipated fifth LP benefaction upon us, "Unveiled Nightsky", via the venerable Hells Headbangers.

Long lost and yet stark as daylight. Music that harkens back to those Golden Days of yore while maintaining a crisp modern edge. Cutting through the mix with laser precision are the guitars during the opening track, "Born Of Winter's Breath" - uplifting tremolo riffs radiate into the atmosphere with an ethereal yet blanketed quality like the thick oily smoke of pipe tobacco as it absorbs into its surroundings and every bit as rich, bold and characteristic. The following track, "Omen Of The Cosmic Order", unfolds to a myriad of varying tempos as alternations between mid and low-intensity progressions give way to swift blast-beats and dense tom-rolls. Conceptually, "Unveiled Nightsky" details the wonder of Greek mythology, Algonquian Folklore and the vastness of the Cosmos - a thematic smorgasbord to keep you fat, happy and fulfilled for the duration. A gout-initiating level of melodic richness to debauch in the title-track: rolling melodic sequences unfold to martial rhythms and intrepid bass lines until eventually all elements converge into a maddening but calculated crescendo of Black Metal.

When you get it, you get it, and in the case of Winter Eternal, it's like all of the very best elements of Melodic BM funnel into a multilayered influential hearkening back to the sub-genre's best releases, but don't expect the same approach on the engineering front. "Unveiled Nightsky" is a contemporary specimen of sound engineering: crisp, layered and fulfilling through and through. No Dungeon Synth dork love and nothing too flamboyant as far as atmosphere and composition to talk about. This record can be summed up in three words: elite, classy and austere.

Following the epic, "Echoes Af A Fallen Crown", with its cozy even flow of warm tremolo riffs and soothing blast-beats, comes the outro, "Drifting Into The Depths Of Oblivion". An acoustic guitar-driven, violin-accented beauty. Fit for dying to and a gorgeous cap off to what's been a truly great Black Metal record. What an important album. More of this, please! So many Underground Black Metal bands are so concerned with sounding like they're straight outta Norway that this Sverige-honoring work just feels a bit more vital to BM. May the Art of true Melodic Black Metal find its way back home to our hearts once again, and may Winter Eternal continue to crush the status quo beneath their boots. Hail!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10