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LAST REMAINS took shape around 1989/1990 after guitarist Adam Tranquilli parted ways with New Jersey thrashers Blood Feast, joining forces with former Killigy drummer Adam Kieffer, Bob McLynn on bass, and initial vocalist Rich Caputo. The group set out to develop a heavy-yet-melodic sound that would remain powerful without venturing toward the "balls-out speed thrashing" Tranquilli had explored with Blood Feast.

While the debut album "Vinsta Wiads" (2017) portrayed an "Impending Darkness" in the Alpine mountains, Austrian metal innovator VINSTA now focuses on wintry landscapes with the new album "Drei Deita" ("Three Foreboders").

Multi-instrumentalist Christian Höll continues where he left off: his compositions blend epic melodic Death Metal with acoustic folk passages into landscape-painting music of its own kind. When was the last time you heard hammered dulcimer and yodeling in harsh metal - and it worked?!

VINSTA's second album tells the story of a wanderer facing the forces of nature, taking up traditional motifs and the primeval dialect of the Salzburg Alps. At the end of his seemingly errant hike through the Alpine winter world, the protagonist meets three foreboders and finds himself confronted with perspectives larger than (human) life...

Vinsta wiads – it gets dark. On its debut album, VINSTA leads us into the mountains of the Salzburg Alps.

The seven dramatic compositions allure with sceneries rich in contrast and with vocals sung in the regional dialects of the home lands of band founder Christian Höll.

Thus, the music might sound familiar and eclectic at once: While some influences obviously shine through, VINSTA undoubtedly develops its own approach, blending grim melodic death metal with folk inspired acoustic arrangements (performed a.o. on violin and hammered dulcimer).

Christian realizes his stirring compositions with the help of talented musicians who share his passionate approach to creating music.

“Vinsta Wiads” explores dark aspects of challenges which might bring you to your knees – and finally let you grow. In Christian’s own words: “It's passionate music which takes the listener on a journey through darksome, yet beautiful emotions.”

 
Tracks 1 to 3 were originally released as the Troops Of Unfeigned Might 7".
Track 4 was originally released on the split 7" with StarGazer.
Track 5 was originally released on the split 7" with Morbid Upheaval.
Track 6 was originally released on the If You Can't Eat It Or Fuck It... Then Kill It! (A Tribute To Carnivore) compilation CD.
Track 7 was originally released on the split 7" with Der Stürmer and Mudoven.

Norway's ILDFAR are something of an enigma. The band formed all the way back in 1994, by vocalist / multi-instrumentalist Favn, but left behind only one demo in 2003. However, upon reactivating in 2018, ILDFAR began blazing a trail of ancient-days Norse black metal with a quick succession of albums. So pure, so cold, this trio of records landed on such esteemed labels as Northern Silence and Wolfspell, but now under the banner of PURITY THROUGH FIRE, ILDFAR are prepared to blaze a new "old" trail.

Witness Der ligger et land. Immediately, ILDFAR's fourth album distinguishes itself with the much-more-measured mid-tempo pace and, most strikingly, largely clean vocals. However, before any worries of a slackening of black metal ethos arise, one need only listen to Der ligger et land to understand that Favn is picking up the torch left behind by Isengard's Høstmørke and expanding the (old, icy) canvas in compellingly new ways. To be sure, there's plenty of ILDFAR's previous, strictly-Norse fire here - just the recording alone evokes a solemn nostalgia for those forgotten realms - but Favn is stretching apart those sensations in a manner that's mystical, mesmerizing, and AMAZING. ​Also to be sure, there've been other sympatico souls who've likewise reinvigorated Isengard's template - ​namely, the axis of LIK, Lönndom, and Ehlder as well as Sweden's stalwart Grift - but ILDFAR's songwriting here is noticeably more melodic, utilizing clean(er) guitars to stunning effect, and overall textures that suggest stargazing rather than forest-roaming. 

Whatever way you arrive at Der ligger et land, it's guaranteed you'll be possessed to press "play" over and over again, luxuriating deeper into those textures and finding ever more new details with each spin. In short, ILDFAR have delivered an unsuspecting masterpiece.