Band/Artist: When Bitter Spring Sleeps
Song: What The Rain Knows
Album: When Bitter Spring Sleeps
Style: Ambient/Atmospheric/Natural Black Metal
country/location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
release: 2008
First of all, I just realized that it's been an entire year since I started doing the MOTD in an official capacity! Wow, kinda proud of myself for this! haha
Second of all, I'm sorry I'm getting lazy in my old age! This week has been unusually busy in the sense that I didn't get around to writing this until today! hehe I have so much stuff for you guys that I wish I had time to do it every day!
FINALLY I GOT THIS POSTED! Ok enough exclamation points!
Anyways, back to the black metal series. Not all black metal is about dark emotions such as hate and anger, and not all is about being as extreme and noisy as you can. Some black metal bands focus on other dark themes such as nature, and then create atmospheric and almost beautiful pieces of music. All this while keeping with the extreme nature (pun sorta intended) of black metal. Go out on a cold, dark and rainy night and you'll feel the chill, but it'll be a beautiful and haunting chill. There's something mystical about the dark aspects of nature. A lot of bands try to capture that feel in their music.
When Bitter Spring Sleeps is one of the few bands that combine a real ambience (or seemingly real) with the musical atmosphere. They supposedly construct their music outdoors in natural settings while recording the ambient sounds around them, thus creating amazing sonic textures and dark feelings. The music itself is a wall of sound tremolo guitars that are haunting and surprisingly melodic. Occasionally a melodic and sorrowful lead guitar breaks through the ambiance. The vocals are like a gruff drone, adding onto the coldness of the music. There are no drums or any percussion so it's smooth and flowing. It's mystical and mesmerizing, and even strangely soothing. Hypnotic would be another word for them. The music itself is incredible I think, but the natural sounds add a realistic feel to it. I suppose I have no actual proof that their novelty is true hehe, however I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for they do what they do so well. When Bitter Spring Sleeps is one of my favorite discoveries of 2008. If you get the chance, I'd recommend purchasing their EP for the packaging is pretty nifty. The paper that makes up the liner notes is made from aged parchment which adds to the whole natural feel. Highly recommended!
When Bitter Spring Sleeps - What The Rain Knows
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