Artist: Winterlong CD Title: "Valley of the Lost" Reviewed by: Nick Martinelli Reviewed: 12/10/01

     Hot of the presses is newly signed young Swedish rockers Winterlong.  Their music is packed with power and metal spirit.  It's great to see young artists carry the flame on for Heavy Metal, and their music does just that.  Powerful guitars, driving drums, pounding bass and vicious singing makes up the foursome.  The music is very tight and has lots of balls.  Lion music has a key eye for new artists and they made a good catch with Winterlong.  The album is very strong and carries itself the whole way through.  Great lead guitar work and true power metal riffing.  Lars Eric Mattson produced and recorded this album, which helped make it shine.  Great song production and tight recording.  The keyboard performances by Mattson fit into the songs and give them plenty of atmosphere.  

     Track one "From Heaven to Hell" begins with a great lead intro that really gets the song going.  The rhythm guitar drives the song up to high levels.  The lyrics are very cool as well.  This song seems to be somewhat complex in nature, featuring lots of riffs and leads.  It's not over kill though each section leads into the next so easily.  3:22 marks the main lead section, and it's packed with some great shred lines a  few arpeggios.  I really like how Thorbjörn combines his lead lines together to make an interesting solo.  He is also a very bright lead player, he combines tasty lines with lots of fast playing.

     "Sky Travellers"  track two starts kicking your butt from the first second with a super fast moving power metal guitar riff.  For those of you that haven't heard much power metal, it involves super fast 5ths and lots of palm muting.  Check out the great arpeggio section at 2:34, they are executed very well and clean.  Thorbjörn's lead playing shines in this song with lots of speed and bends.  Hussni's vocals are very strong and powerful as well.  For being such a young singer, it's amazing to hear such deep and powerful vocals.

     "Winterlong" track three opens with a cool bass intro from Erik.  Then in comes some wild trem bar, and the song takes from there. Toni's drum work really rocks in this song with double bass and some cool beats.  I love the main lead in this song that starts at 3:38. Its' a very happy and upbeat with a dash of harmonic minor.  Take notice to the way Thorbjörn doubles his leads near the end.

     Track four "Valley of the Lost" starts of as slower paced song with some effect ridden bass playing from Erik that gives the song great atmosphere.  One thing I noticed about their song writing style is that the song intros usually last about a minute, which is a lot different from most metal songs were used to hearing.  The chorus in this track is very cool, with sing along lyrics.  And the lead in the song really takes off with high speed antics.  This defiantly is one of my favorite songs from the CD.  It's very melodic and it drives itself very well.

     "The Water Spirit" song five is another head banger!  Written about witches, warlocks, goblins and trolls.  It has a cool rhythm and lots of killer lead brakes.  Again, Hussni's vocals really deep and dark in this song.  His voice really fits this style of metal. Also, another highlight is the bass and drums tight playing together.  They really lock together and give a solid foundation for the song.  These guys really have their playing in gear, and they fit together as a band very well.

     "Nosfertu" track six, takes off from the first second.  The lyrics in song are very cool, there is a huge vampire theme in this song hence "Nosfertu."  The chorus and bridges in this song really kick butt.  Winterlong have lots of energy and their music shows that power and aggression.  The main lead section starts of dark and then seems to get happier as it goes.  It's packed with lots of shred and hook lines.  One of the best solos on the CD I might add.  Hussni even gives us a dark yell near the end of the song.  I was actually surprised by it.  He has a deeper voice and stays away from the high notes, but that scream was just plain evil sounding!

     Track seven Mystery of Life"  is a medium paced song compared to the rest of the CD.  I really like the restating hook line in this track.  It's very in your face and melodic.  Husssni's rhythm guitar really gets a great groove going on. This song is very riff packed, so if you like tons of powerful riffs this track will hit you hard.  Toni and Erik really lock together in this song and give a great supporting foundation.  The chorus in this song floored me, you can easily sing along with it and Lars Eric Mattson's keyboard playing really added life to it and the rest of the song.  Thorbjörn's lead really stands out in this song.  He gives a great performance with some great catchy licks and shred lines.  I like his use of palm muting to accent notes. Then from 4:45 to 5:03 he really takes off!  This is my favorite lead sections on the CD.  It's very upbeat and melodic with some cool bends and hum along lines.

     "Victory" breaks up the album with some great classical guitar playing on a nylon string guitar. Then soulful guitar leads really calm down the listener.  This song is a great lead in for the next song "Written in Blood."  It was put together very well and you really get a good representation of the guitar talent in Winterlong.

     "Written in Blood" track nine rocks down the house with lyrics about Viking ancestry.  The rhythm guitar playing to me really stands out.  It's very powerful and is the heart of this songs fury.  This song is also packed with some killer double bass drum work and pounding bass lines.  Mistheria chimes in here and there with some very tasteful keyboards that give the song lots of atmosphere and depth.  Thorbjörn's lead is a high octane shred fest.  Pay close attention to some of the runs he does, their really great.

     Finally song ten "Driven By Insanity" next to "Vicotry" is the slowest song on the CD, and is a great exit song.  I love the clean guitar playing that is the heart of the song.  It really pulsates and gives the song life.  I think this song displays some of Hussni's lighter vocal work.  He's not as deep sounding and dark.  Hussni shows off his range very well in this one.  I also enjoyed the vocal harmonies.  To me they were a real treat throughout the track. Mattson's keyboard playing also adds a lot of feel and atmosphere to the song. 

    Looking back Winterlong had a very strong first release with "Valley of the Lost."  Lion music found some great talent with these young metal warriors.  They are very tight and sound players when it comes down to it.  Lars Eric Mattson did an excellent job recording and producing the work.  Not many bands have a chance to have a great producer on their first album.  I really think that good recording and production really gave Winterlong the chance they deserved to show the world that Heavy Metal isn't dead and that us young people still want it around.  Not many young metal bands are popping up these days and it's great to hear when one does.  I can't wait to hear the next release from them and I hope it won't be that far off. So if your into high octane powerful metal than you can't go wrong with Winterlong. They will blow you away with powerful vocals, thundering drums and bass, and killer guitar playing.  I was really impressed with the musicianship and writing that went into "Valley of the Lost."  The songs are well put together and can get pretty intricate at times.  Overall, I really enjoyed reviewing this CD, and it has a permanent place in my CD rotation!

Visit Lion Music to purchase and find out more about this new and upcoming Metal act.