Swiss black metal enigma Paysage D’Hiver unleash ‘Urgrund’ (‘Bedrock’) as the first single taken from their forthcoming third album “Die Berge” (‘The Mountains’), which is slated for release on November 8, 2024.
Parallel to the release of “Die Berge”, Paysage D’Hiver will also put out their “Schnee” (‘Snow’) cycle, which was sold as a A5 Digipak CD in 2020, for the first time in the formats typical for the band on vinyl and cassette tape.
Paysage D’Hiver: ‘Urgrund’ taken from the album ”Die Berge”: https://youtu.be/JL-Q56Da2Xg
Paysage D’Hiver comment: “The name of the track, ‘Urgrund’, refers to the foundation – or the roots, if you will – of ‘Die Berge’ – this winter world’s eponymous mountains”, mastermind Wintherr explains. “The pillars of this world, which is Paysage d’Hiver, are based on the ‘Urgrund’, the primal ground.”
Tracklist: 1. Urgrund 2. Verinnerlichung 3. Transzendenz I 4. Transzendenz II 5. Transzendenz III 6. Ausstieg 7. Gipfel
On picture postcards, the mountains of the Alpes are idyllic places where the sun always shines over green meadows and smiling faces. In truth, these ragged peaks that unfathomable tectonic forces have crushed upwards and out of the thin cold crust of this planet create a harsh and hostile environment for humans.
On the third regular album “Die Berge” (‘The Mountains”), Paysage D’Hiver mastermind Wintherr has perfectly captured the essence of his mountainous Swiss home within the sound of raw black metal. Note for note, these grey giants of rock come awake to life in song. Majestic, powerful, dangerous, threatening, and yet also inherent of a fierce beauty, these massive tracks of epic length echo the huge proportions of their source of inspiration and amount to a playing time of more than 100 minutes.
Paysage D’Hiver relentlessly drag souls into their winter world of darkness and ice. With each release, Paysage D’Hiver narrate a new chapter of a continuing story about a mysterious protagonist called ‘Der Wanderer’. “Die Berge” takes the wanderer into its 14th chapter, which might end up as his last. The main theme of “the album is death and this time the enigmatic wanderer’s journey is comparable to that of a Zen monk who hikes to the peak of a mountain on feeling that his time has come.
Founded in 1997 in the Swiss region of Bern, Paysage D’Hiver remained a strictly underground phenomenon at first. Wintherr unleashed a steady stream of 10 full-length “demos” and 4 split-EPs that earned him an excellent reputation while a massive following grew by word of mouth. When the Swiss came “out of hiding” with “Im Wald” (“In the Forest”) in 2020, their regular debut album even entered the German charts, which meant mainstream recognition despite standing firmly with both feet in the underground.
With “Die Berge”, Paysage D’Hiver continue to expand the horizon of Nordic black metal without ever stepping away from their roots.
Paysage D’Hiver line-up: Wintherr – vocals, all instruments, all music and lyrics
Recording & mix by Wintherr at home studio, Burdorf (CH) / Mastering by Fredy Schnyder at home studio / Artwork & layout by Wintherr
Shop: http://lnk.spkr.media/paysagedhiver-berge
Available formats: “Die Berge” is available as A5 Digipak 2CD, ltd. black 3LP in wax sealed, handmade sleeve (300 handnumbered copies), gatefold black 3LP, and on a double-cassette (ltd. 300 handnumbered copies).
