Winterfylleth is an English black metal band from Manchester. Since their inception in 2006, the band has released seven studio albums and have become a popular act in both the English underground metal scene and the wider international metal arena. Winterfylleth are self-described as "English Heritage Black Metal"[1] and are often considered to be musical 'brothers-in-arms' with fellow English black metal band Wodensthrone owing to the common lyrical and aesthetic themes they share.[2][3] The band takes its name from the Old English word 'Winterfylleth', which translates into modern English as 'Winter Full Moon' and is signified by the arrival of the first full moon of winter.

Winterfylleth
Winterfylleth live at Party.San Open Air 2015
Winterfylleth live at Party.San Open Air 2015
Background information
OriginManchester, England
GenresBlack metal, dark folk
Years active2006–present
LabelsCandlelight, Profound Lore
MembersChris Naughton
Simon Lucas
Nick Wallwork
Russell Dobson
Mark Deeks
Past membersRichard Brass
Chris Westby
Mark Wood
Dan Capp
Websitewinterfylleth.bandcamp.com

History

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Formed in 2006, and releasing a demo (Rising of the Winter Full Moon) in 2007, Winterfylleth rapidly gained attention in the metal underground, earning them a record deal with Profound Lore Records on which they released their debut 2008 album The Ghost of Heritage.[4] The release was critically well received and garnered the band considerable attention within the English black metal scene. Following this release, Richard Brass (also a member of Wodensthrone) departed the band and Chris Naughton and Simon Lucas were joined by Nick Wallwork and Mark Wood, completing the line-up that would remain until 2015. During the period between their first and second albums, white supremacist slogans were discovered on the bassist's MySpace page. This led to the band being removed from the lineup for a festival in Manchester and the bassist's departure from the band.[5] Winterfylleth then set to work on their second album, The Mercian Sphere, which was released on Candlelight Records in 2010.[4] Again, the release was a critical success (Terrorizer magazine album of the month and twentieth best album of 2010[6]) and propelled the band to international success. This new found recognition landed the band high-profile appearances at a number of top metal festivals including Wacken Open Air,[7] Hellfest, Graspop[8] and Bloodstock Open Air.[9] Winterfylleth released their third album in 2012, The Threnody of Triumph,[4] once again to widespread critical acclaim: this release again obtaining Terrorizer magazine's album of the month and 15th best album of 2012.[6] It also was ranked as the 12th best album of 2012 by Kerrang![10] and made the top ten lists of many Kerrang! contributors that year as well.[11]

In March and April 2013, Winterfylleth toured with and supported Enslaved in seventeen shows out of their eighteen show Spring Rite European tour.[12] Later in the year the band returned to Graspop Metal Meeting for the second year running[13] and soon after made their Summer Breeze Open Air debut.[14] The first half of 2014 saw two releases from Winterfylleth. The first, released in January, was a split EP on vinyl with Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh entitled Thousands of Moons Ago / The Gates which featured covers of bands that have influenced Winterfylleth and Drudkh.[15] The second, released in May, was a compilation album in which Winterfylleth participated entitled One And All, Together, For Home, featuring folk songs recorded by various metal bands including Primordial, Kampfar and, once again, Drudkh.[16] In July 2014 Winterfylleth announced that they planned to release their fourth album, The Divination of Antiquity, in October 2014.[17]

In 2015, they received the award for "best underground band" at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards.[18] On 2 August 2016 the band announced the album cover and title of their fifth album, The Dark Hereafter.[19] On 4 August, they confirmed the release date as 30 September.[20] They released the track 'Ensigns of Victory' in advance of the album's release.[21] The band released their sixth album titled The Hallowing of Heirdom on 6 April 2018. The band released their seventh album, The Reckoning Dawn, on 8 May 2020. Metal Hammer named it as the 28th best metal album of 2020.[22] Metal Hammer Germany voted the album as the #1 Black Metal album of 2020.

Discography

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Studio albums

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Demos

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  • Rising of the Winter Full Moon (2007)

Splits

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  • Thousands of Moons Ago / The Gates (2014, with Drudkh)

7" singles

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  • Latch to a Grave (2018)

Compilations

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  • One And All, Together, For Home (2014)

Live albums

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  • The Siege of Mercia; Live at Bloodstock 2017 (2019)
  • Live at Bloodstock 2021; Live at Bloodstock Festival 2021 (2021)

Chart positions (The Reckoning Dawn)

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Year Chart Peak

position

2020 UK Albums (OCC)[23] 75

Members

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References

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  1. ^ "Winterfylleth Interview: "If you want to look at people wearing corpse paint, then don't come watch a Winterfylleth show."". Eyesore Merch. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Todd Robinson's Top 15 Albums Of 2012". Thesleepingshaman.com. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Wodensthrone - Curse". Rockfreaks.net. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "Winterfylleth: The Threnody of Triumph | Album Reviews". Pitchfork.com. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  5. ^ Spracklen, Karl (2017). "Developing a Cultural Theory of Music Making and Leisure: Baudrillard, the Simulacra, and Music Consumption". In Mantie, Roger; Smith, Gareth Dylan (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Music Making and Leisure. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-19-024470-5.
  6. ^ a b "Rocklist.net Terrorizer Magazine". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  7. ^ "WACKEN OPEN AIR: Winterfylleth Added to the Line-Up". Metalrecusants.com. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Graspop Metal Meeting 2012 - All Metal Festivals". Allmetalfest.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Bloodstock Open Air 2012: Winterfylleth @ Sophie Lancaster Stage - 11 August 2012". Thrashhits.com. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Rocklist.net...Kerrang! Lists Page 1". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Kerrang!". Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  12. ^ "and so it begins: the Winterfylleth/Enslaved Tour Diary". Terrorizer.com. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Graspop Metal Meeting 2013 - All Metal Festivals". Allmetalfest.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Summer Breeze 2013 - All Metal Festivals". Allmetalfest.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Winterfylleth To Release Split With Drudkh". Terrorizer.com. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  16. ^ "'One And All, Together, For Home' Compilation: Album Stream And Review". Terrorizer.com. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Winterfylleth Reveal New Album Details". Terrorizer.com. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon & Babymetal win Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards". 16 June 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  19. ^ "Winterfylleth - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  20. ^ "Winterfylleth - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  21. ^ "Black Metallers Winterfylleth Release New Single the "Ensigns of Victory"". MetalSucks. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  22. ^ "The 50 best metal albums of 2020". Metal Hammer. Future plc. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Winterfylleth 'The Reckoning Dawn' | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
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