GOD MACABRE — The Winterlong (review)

GOD MACABRE — The Winterlong album cover Album · 1993 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"The Winterlong" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act God Macabre. The album was released in December 1993 by the German label Mangled Beyond Recognition Records. Relapse Records reissued "The Winterlong" in a remixed and remastered version in February 2002. The reissue features the three tracks from the "Consumed by Darkness (1991)" EP which was originally released under the Macabre End monicker. "The Winterlong" was recorded at Sunlight Studios between Christmas and New Year´s 1991.

The Winterlong is actually a posthumous album release as God Macabre already split-up in February/ March of 1992 after bassist Thomas Johansson and drummer Niklas Nilsson had left the band during 1991 ( especially the latter proved to be difficult to replace). Niklas Nilsson recorded the drums for the album as a session member.

The music on "The Winterlong" is classic old school Swedish death metal albeit of the more sophisticated kind if you ask me. Not that sophisticated should be interpreted as being progressive, technical or anything like that. The album is certainly brutal and raw old school Swedish death metal at its core. The vocals are especially brutal ( yet decipherable) and very enjoyable if you ask me. But in addition to the classic Swedish death metal values the album features some really great guitar solos ( again not technically impressive but just really suiting for the music), atmosphere enhancing keyboard backing and other details that keeps the music interesting throughout. Legendary Swedish death metal acts like Entombed and Dismember come to mind but when the band is most doomy there are also nods toward "Lost Paradise (1990)" era Paradise Lost. I´d also mention the first two albums by Edge of Sanity as references.

The musicianship is tight and as mentioned above I really enjoy the guitar work on the album, but the powerful drumming and the very convincing growls also deserve a mention.

The production is a classic Sunlight Studios production but less raw/ muddy than most other early nineties productions from that studio.

"The Winterlong" is one of those albums that deserves the "forgotten gem" tag. If you ask me I´m sure God Macabre could have gone on to become one of the greater acts in the genre had they continued to play, because "The Winterlong" definitely deserves a place among the best old school Swedish death metal albums out there. A 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved. This is mandatory listening for fans of the genre.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Sunmancer - Realms of Dilemma (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
Sunmancer - Lower Cavalier (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed