Album Review: Svart Vinter – Isvind (Non Serviam Records)

Italian atmospheric black metal band Svart Vinter will release their sophomore studio album “Isvind” on May 30th, 2025 via Non Serviam Records.

Though relatively new to the scene, Svart Vinter has quickly established themselves in the underground black metal community. Their debut album, Mist was released in 2022 and received critical acclaim for its raw intensity and evocative atmosphere. The album captures the essence of traditional Black Metal while adding a fresh, emotional depth. The band were founded in Rome in 2021 by of the doom/death metal band Veil Of Conspiracy and draw inspiration from the classic Norwegian black metal scene of the 90’s but with added atmospheric touches. The band’s name, meaning “black winter” in Swedish and Norwegian, reflects the bleak and atmospheric qualities of their music.

Svart Vinter’s sound is characterised by haunting melodies, cold, sharp riffs, and a powerful, relentless rhythm section. Their lyrics delve into themes of nature, isolation, and existential struggle, exploring both the beauty and the darkness of the natural world and the human condition. Their poetic lyrics reflect on the human spirit’s search for meaning in an indifferent and often hostile universe.

Isvind was mixed and mastered by Svart Vinter’s frontman Andrea Maggioni at Decomposed Design Studio. It’s impactful artwork is based on an original photo by Autumnal Mood Photography.

Svart Vinter is Andrea Maggioni on vocals, Luca Gagnoni and Emanuela Marino on guitars, Jacopo Simonelli on bass and Luca Tiraterra on drums.

With 9 tracks and around 41 minutes of music to get stuck into, Isvind kicks off with the opening track, Torment. For any fan of quality, cold black metal, it is going to take all of about 30 seconds for you to fall in love with this opening track. The guitars, the riffs just fade in with a bit of distortion, bit of echo. The drums jump in and Svart Vinter drop a catchy as hell rhythm that will have your head banging almost from the off. It’s mid tempo, with quick riffs, blasting drums and a higher pitched lead guitar. Vocals are very traditional black metal offering plenty of snarling power. The song switches to chaotic moments where the drums and riffs descend into madness, then they switch back to the catchy riffing and drum beat. It’s a very strong opener.

Frozen Tomb goes a bit further with the atmospheric side, bringing a really cool guitar tone in it’s slower build up. The vocals jump in and the riffs take control bringing a slow thumping beat and powerful roars and growls. Changes in pace bring a bit of anarchy and chaos while the lead guitar blazes out melody over the top of the intense drums and riffs. I really like the vocals – very black metal but with enough variety in pitch and tone to suit the song and not risk becoming repetitive.

The title track, Isvind, is a banger. Really coming at us with plenty of charged atmosphere and devilish intent, it builds a little form the start and then explodes into anarchy with blast beats, speed riffing and mosh pit destroying energy. It’s harsh, cold and heavy but then switches in the chorus, dropping the pace, settling into a pattern and bringing in that lead guitar melody. It’s perfect, and my current favourite track on an album full of favourites.

Ritual keeps the quality bar high, going straight in for the kill with an instant blast of riffs and drums to shake you up a bit. The verses drop the pace to a catchier beat, then the choruses explode back into cold fury. Those verses have some excellent riff work and the vocals are superb, again. I love the guitar melody over the heavier sections and I like the almost isolated drum sounds when the heaviness kicks in. I don’t know if that was done on purpose, but it sounds great. The instrumental section kicks ass, and we get an absolutely killer guitar solo which I was not expecting. This is brilliant.

The quality keeps coming too with Abyss and Where The Shadows Lie. The former offering a resonating atmospheric blast of wonder with a dreamy start giving way to beautiful brutality. It’s bleak, cold and heavy with intense vocal roars and imioned screams while we are treated to a stunning combination of intense riffs and drums but also inspiring melody. The latter has a very dark feel, keeping your mind up in cold mountain scenes, but in the dark now. The common factor across Isvind so far, apart from obviously the style, is the pure quality as each song flows, packs stunning riffs and beats and balances heaviness and atmosphere perfectly.

My Last Winter sees Svart Vinter break things up a bit with a much softer, slower and sadder intro. It calms you down, and even as the heaviness comes in, it feels more weighty, more mournful. The vocals are immense, again and as the song evolves and grows, I find myself carried along with it and lost in it’s sounds and the emotion. It’s a special thing, when music can get so deep into your soul. The gentle slow down, with whispered, spoken word vocals fits the song perfectly and adds even more power and ion when the song kicks back in again. This is a stunning song.

Svart Vinter set a new bar for me with the last track so Of Cold and Grief has a weight of expectation on it. It’s also the longest track on the album but at just over 6 minutes long, none of these songs are too long. Here on this track, we get the now expected quality of riffs, drums, bass and melody, all combining perfectly, all working together harmoniously for maximum effect. The vocals continue to sound amazing, perfectly suiting the songs and styles. The drums are very prominent in the mix again. I like that. I love the lead guitar melodies and adore the absolutely killer instrumental section. When the vocals come back in after that, everything raises a notch. The vocals pack more power, the riffs are harder, the melody screams at you. It’s an atmospheric black metal epic.

Isvind ends with Beneath The Night’s Cold Gaze. A meaty, mid temp beat leads us through the verses and gets your head banging as the track flows through nicely. It’s engaging and heavy, not really doing anything different to what Svart Vinter have already delivered across the whole of Isvind, but just adding one more banger of a track to leave you feeling cold and desolate as it closes out and brings an end to this astonishingly good album.

Svart Vinter deliver a mammoth album here with Isvind. Cold, bleak and dark black metal with plenty of the traditional in there but with added layers. Moments of atmosphere, of emotion all add to the core traditional sound to create a soul jerking experience that leaves you feeling introspective and thoughtful, as well as appreciative of the quality you just encountered.

You can preorder Isvind by Svart Vinter digitally, here, or grab yourself a physical copy, here.

Track List:

1. Torment
2. Frozen Tomb
3. Isvind
4. Ritual
5. Abyss
6. Where The Shadows Lie
7. My Last Winter
8. Of Cold And Grief
9. Beneath The Night’s Cold Gaze

Svart Vinter Links

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