Ever heard of a group called Winter?  Not Edgar Winter, just Winter. No? Me neither, until I got a hold of this re-release from Metal Mind Productions. As it turns out, this release completely encompasses the band's entire output. Yes, every song they released is contained within the 71 minutes of this compact disk.

However, despite their very limited catalog, they left a mark on the genre of doom metal that resonates to this day, or at least that is what I am told. Not having intimate knowledge of the genre, I cannot attest to accuracy of this fact. Even without being able to verify their influence, I can say that this is one of the darkest, slowest, sludgiest metal recordings I have ever heard. To take what I witness here a step further, I hear their potential influence in a couple of my favorite acts that rose to prominence shortly after Winter emerged, those acts being Type O Negative and Alice in Chains. Don't believe me? Listen to the music; your tune will change.

The band formed in New York City in the late 1980s where they recorded a self-titled demo, getting them signed to Future Shock records. This led to the release of Into Darkness in 1990, however lack of promotion led them away from Future Shock and into the welcoming embrace of Nuclear Blast records in 1992. The album, only then, got a proper release. Unfortunately, prior to recording any more material, the band called it quits and were scattered to the winds. Nuclear Blast did move forward and release their original demo EP, re-titled as Eternal Frost.

Long out of print, all of their material is once again being exposed to the harsh light of day, and the metal world is better for it. This is depressing music that would play well against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, filled with despair, destruction, and little hope for the future. The sound is experimental, ahead of its time, and completely engrossing. For full effect, play through headphones in a darkened room, just be sure to have something cheery nearby so as not to fall completely into despair.

I was listening to this while at work the other day, and I had my cubicle neighbor give it a listen. He could not place the band (I am sure not many people could), his first comment was: "They remind me of Black Sabbath." I had to agree. Now, the band is really nothing like Sabbath, but there are a lot of Sabbath tracks that could inspire a direction such as this, especially if combined with some Celtic Frost.