Review by JD on May 28, 2012.

English heritage Black Metal...a term I had not heard yet, but I am getting to understand. There is only a few bands like this (Wodensthrone is one of the others I have found), as I have investigated into this. Its like the Pagan Metal, but it seems to be more akin to some regular Black Metal with folk parts. The other band in this very new sub-genre is whom I am reviewing... the UK’s Winterfylleth.

With lush orchestrated acoustic flowing parts that inevitably lead into powerful mid-tempo explosions of Black Metal that arrest the soul, Winterfylleth is in a class by themselves. Using the rich and many times blood soaked violent history of Great Britain as a strong catalyst for their songs, Winterfylleth explodes with power mixed with this very surprising subtle sort of nuances of folk and acrid Black Metal that forces the listener to actually sit and listen while enjoying the cutting edge music.

Each of the songs are so powerfjul and excellently written, it is next to impossible to choose the one or two that I love. With so much feeling going on... from acoustic instruments that breath out blissful yet haunting melodies to soul blackening heavy and baleful riffs that show the violent side of their lyrics with such clarity. This album needs to be heard from start to finish to get the full effect of what the Winterfylleth is doing.

I love this album more than just a lot. It comes close to being one of my favorite Black/Folk bands, but has not cracked the top ten as of finishing this review. Still, I am impressed enough that I want to hear the album after this one ("The Mercian Sphere"). Some tweaks could've been made in recording with this album in terms of vocal tones and guitar clarity in spots, but it is minor. This clearly is a benchmark album in a fledgling genre. Impressive stuff, Winterfylleth.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8.5
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.1 out of 10

Review by Allan on April 7, 2002.

Lately, the death metal scene has been highly over saturated with bands that play some boring, similar, and just plain predictable music. Every once in awhile a band comes along that just hits the metal scene hard and throws a bit of diversity into the scene instead of playing what everybody else is playing. Sorry, but Bludgeon are not one of those bands.

Sure, the band members can play their instruments, have a few nice or maybe great riffs here or there, but that’s about it. For those moments that do grasp the listener, there aren’t enough of them to keep the album entertaining. The guitars are just boring! They are cliché and don’t hold an ounce of individualism. The drummer is probably the strongest link in the band, but really doesn’t do much to take back my attention. And the singer... well, he does death vocals. I must say that in the whole spectrum of death vocalists, he’s not anywhere near the top. He really just doesn’t have any range at all. As an overall a band the songs just don’t have any shape to them and run into each other, creating what is ultimately a boring and repetitive record.

For their somewhat old school death metal style, it just doesn’t cut it. They borrow too much from other bands that played this same style. They try to spice up their somewhat simplistic approach on death metal with a few modern elements, but it certainly seems a bit forced. “Crucify The Priest” serves the purpose of being aggressive death, but it’s too bland.

Bottom Line: If you like your death metal boring and unoriginal, run to your nearest store and get a copy of this. You wouldn’t want to miss it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 5
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 5
Overall: 6

Rating: 5.8 out of 10