Atmospheric black metal has to be my favorite black metal genre by far, which is surprising, as it's not the most accessible genre in its umbrella. People simply don't have the patience for the atmosphere to whisk them away into whatever hellish dimension they please. Immediately contrary to that statement is the presence of Winterfylleth, as they've gathered one hell of a following on social media and music forums for their melodious atmosphere and brutality. That cult is presumably quite anxious to hear what I have to say about the band's newest LP, "The Unyielding Season," so I'm ready to sacrifice the next hour of my life to the black metal gods.

This album took ten years to listen to, and what a great decade it was. A decade of melancholic, cold, and crushing music that enveloped me in the most dreary of environs. I had my specialized metal earbuds on full-freaking-volume for the album's duration, and I feel like that's the only way to truly understand Winterfylleth. The completely inexorable waves of distortion on just the opening track ("Heroes of a Hundred Fields") were enough to amaze me. It helps that each track from then on, including it, is of extreme length. Songs like "In Ashen Wake" and "Enchantment" take up to a pop song's duration to build the dreadful soundscapes with crashing cymbals, piano, and guitar feedback. I'm still learning how to adapt to long songs, and Winterfylleth thankfully crafts their extended pieces well. Whether it's the pagan-esque clean vocals in "Enchantment" or the melancholic, soaring guitars in "A Hallow Existence," Winterfylleth doesn't futz around.

"The Unyielding Season" isn't all just ambience and atmosphere - it's unforgivingly technical and rhythmic. The title track's drum groove is a surprisingly bouncy segment that I can chopstick-drum to with ease and immense pleasure. The blast beats in the more straightforward songs, such as "Perdition's Flame," are as satisfying as they are aggressive. Somehow, after all of this brutality, the album has time for acoustic guitar-laden passages like "Unspoken Elegy," with strings and/or keys to duet with. While these calm compositions may be shorter, they provide a break from the chaos that a listener like yours truly. The pagan lyrical themes, most relevant in "Echoes In The After," a song adapted from a 16th-century poem, add even more to the record's brutality and badassery.

I was blown away by Winterfylleth's "The Unyielding Season." This powerful apotheosis of atmospheric black metal is one of the best albums I've heard this year, even though it's an album I may never listen to again. For a guy who almost strictly reviews progressive metal nowadays, this was a mandatory switch-up.