Seldom does artwork perfectly embody a band’s sound, but Phantom Winter’s four-album streak of black-and-white portrayals of the horrific and fantastical is dead-on. While lightless and unceasingly dreary, there is a stillness that silences the cacophony. Like a barren forest in the last sigh of winter, Her Cold Materials is a scream receiving no echo, the soft “thump” of a body in the snow, the mockery of the woods’ constant and uninterested witness. In the bleak model of consistency, Phantom Winter once again proves the grit of its mettle in a frostbitten silence that proves less is more.
While post-metal stalwarts Isis and Neurosis are clear influences, Phantom Winter emerged from the ashes of instrumental post-metallers Omega Massif. Following 2011’s underrated Karpatia, the guitarist Andreas Schmidtfull and drummer Christof Rath formed Phantom Winter, forsaking their instrumental roots with vocalist Christian Krank. Ultimately a dark form of post-metal/sludge, the act’s three full-lengths have nonetheless maintained a range: the sprawling, dark, and patient debut Cvlt, the noisy and suffocating Sundown Pleasures, and the violent and pulsating Into Dark Science. In many ways, the stillness that pervades Her Cold Materials constitutes a honed version of their debut, while the noise and energy still makes tasteful appearances, it settles cold and heavy into the bones in ways few albums can.
TCM 144 – Phantom Winter – Her Cold Materials by Phantom Winter
When Phantom Winter excels is to infect its relatively predictable Neurosis-esque plodding formula with haunting dissonance or melody. “Shadow Barricade” and opener “Flamethrowers” offer noise-infused walls of sludgy abuse that ebb and flow with swelling crescendos of hostility and staccato chugs that recall the predictable post-metal punishment, but Her Cold Materials’ most formidable material lies elsewhere. “Her Wound is Grave” and “When I Throw Up,” in particular, offer haunting melody woven into each movement utilizing piano and reverb-laden guitar that waver between tones of mournful and menacing, utilizing a simple string of notes tied together with little backing it – feeling tastefully raw and vulnerable in an album dedicated to vicious saturation. Moments of clarity allow different elements to shine, such as Krank’s vicious, almost blackened, vocals and nearly metalcore melodic guitar run in “The Unbeholden” and the ambiance/drum build alongside simple strums in “Dark Lanterns.” Krank features a charisma that oozes from each performance, particularly the back half, and his tasteful cleans offer an exhausted and fed-up aura that adds to the bleak attack. Of special mention, Rath’s rock-solid percussion adds another dimension to Phantom Winter’s sound, guiding the energy levels nearly singlehandedly: ritualistic and pulsating reminders in Her Cold Materials’ more gentle moments and injecting an edge of upbeat energy when crescendos swell.
Most prominently, while many might see atmospheric safety and wonder amid the bleakness, Phantom Winter’s sound can come across as boring and safe. Her Cold Materials remains slightly top-heavy, with openers “Flamethrowers” and “Her Wound is Grave” weaponizing noise to a tastefully suffocating degree, while the capitalizations of crescendos in “Dark Lanterns” and “The Unbeholden” recall the tension of Milanku more than a sound of their own. “Shadow Barricades” is a bit of an uneventful song, its melody falling short of its predecessor “When I Throw Up” and its clarity falling short of follow-up “Dark Lanterns.” Spoken word permeates passages throughout, and while not detrimental, offer little to the songs at large. Some songwriting snafus haunt, as otherwise powerful tracks “Her Wound is Grave” and “The Unbeholden” abruptly shift gears midway through the track for a new, albeit solid, passage to follow.
While imperfect, Her Cold Materials offers the frigidity and viciousness its cover implies, but more than that implies safety in the snow. Drawing from its solid catalog for an album as patient as Cvlt, noisy as Sundown Pleasures, and urgent as Into Dark Science, it offers a taste of all for prospective listeners without sacrificing its monochromatic coherence. However, it will likely not change your mind about post-metal, sludge, noise, or this particular brand of it. Phantom Winter offers a punishing sound as frostbitten and ghostly as its name implies, and you will find treasures aplenty if you choose to venture deep into these woods.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: This Charming Man Records
Websites facebook.com/wintercvlt
Releases Worldwide: October 27th, 2023
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