Winter’s Breath – Stories left behind

Winters Breath is an Austrian (Vienna-based) metal project founded in 2020 and highly influenced by symphonic/progressive black & melodic death metal.

‘There are always stories, Stories not worthy to be told, Stories containing to much truth, Stories from the heart, These are a few of those stories, They should not be left behind and forgotten’. Thus is how this one-man project present his music and latest release, a 2023 full-length entitled Stories left behind. All music and lyrics by this one sole member, BL. From the very foundation of this project, his main intention has always been on having a focus on melody and catchiness. Sometimes he achives this goal, sometimes not, but more on that further on in this review.

As briefly mentioned before, Stories left behind is the second full length album from the mastermind, BL. Prior to the release of this sophomore nine-tracker album, he has also released two EPs and four splits under the moniker. Musically, I find most of the nine compositions presented here to be dreamy, atmospheric and kind of adventurous and imaginative. Unfortunately the leak and flat production is not supportive to lift up his musical escapades in the best possible way. Having said so, his handling of the instruments and storytelling lack for nothing. Vocals vary both in quality and delivery. It ranges from some atmospheric harsh to more monotone and clean ones. His song-writing skills are undisputed, and songs are well-written and with a clear idea what he wanted to achive. Lyrics bounce between English and German, with each of the stories being pretty intriguing and a refreshing break from the typical black metal themes of Satanism or Hell. Thus, his lyrics are always packed in a story, reflecting various aspects of daily life, something most of us can relate to. That’s also the biggest pros of this album.

The album opens with “Stories untold”, an instrumental opener, mainly driven by this soft keyboard sound. Next track called “The Watcher” is quite excepcional and different from the rest of the album, mainly due to the mid paced black/death metal riffs, supplemented by some hash & slow snarls and also additional clean vocal parts.

Stand-out tracks from Stories left behind are “Irrglaube,’ featuring a nice build-up with keys mixing well with the harsh riffs and “Endless” due to the most massive and encompassing sound of all tracks. Another track worth of a mention is “Zerstörer”, where BL puts an emphasis on thrashier elements and raspier vocals. In general, despite of the nature of this release, I prefer more faster, aggressive and harsher parts. Stories left behind closes on another instrumental, “Stories told”, again in an atmospheric black metal department, although this one being a little heavier compared to the opening “Stories untold”.

I think most fans of symphonic black and melodic death metal (esp. those who enjoy the frightening aspects of the genre!), but also those into acts as Agalloch, Xasthur, Darkthrone, Dimmu Borgir or Moon, will definately find something interesting on this new opus from Winter’s Breath.

For more info on this nice symphonic one-man’s sophomore release visit https://wintersbreath.bandcamp.com/album/stories-left-behind