Published: August 14, 2014

This German Black Metal band is at once reminiscent of early Agalloch and that can’t be a bad thing. The band however is trying to find its own voice using the template, so to speak. It has a lot to express and goes about employing several acoustics parts and interludes if you will, to reach a point where it’s Black Metal primarily. That’s probably the only problem I have with this release is that it takes too long to build up. I want to get to the part where the music is rife with emotions, it’s fast, it’s poignant. Too much meandering tests your patience. Agalloch, on its landmark album, ‘Pale Folklore’ only did it initially and went on to carry that momentum almost throughout the album. Frigoris, with its hues of Folk-inspired music reminiscent of also Tenhi among others, takes a bit more time to get to the faster parts which is where the band really shines. It’s only in the third track that the band comes into its own, and carries that enthusiasm on to the album highlight that comes after that one in Frühlingsnacht. When it reaches the crescendo, female vocal parts are employed to accentuate the mood – that’s one memorable piece that I keep coming back to. When the band is in its element, it’s as good as Agalloch and has shades of beauty that even Agalloch doesn’t possess. The band even goes on to play really fast, with the drumming almost being in a blastbeat mode. At such times the Swedish bands such as Dissection come to mind, perhaps Sacramentum and also Dawn and Setherial. The melodies are sharp and flowing, and you’re afraid they’d bleed your soul any time now.

This again is an album that requires you to be patient. For me, initially the band was too reminiscent of Agalloch for its own good, but as the album progresses, the band gets mature and writes more individualistic songs. The placement of songs is a matter of concern because I find the momentum waning because of excessive interludes or long slow openings to epic songs. There’s one song that’s very brisk and promising but has spoken word passages which seems to be detrimental to the overall sound. But then all this is trivial given the depth of music found on this album. It has a beautiful texture that you can’t stop yourself from appreciating and a wonderful balance overall of Black Metal and influences from all over that are subtly infused into the proceedings. ‘Wind’ is an exquisite album, one that requires time perhaps even if it’s again very accessible (too much so) for its own good much like Windbruch. But then again, this is something that despite everything is far more lasting than the faceless harsh bands out there. The emotions here are exposed in all their beauty and you can see them as they are. Some you can relate to, some maybe others will.