Swiss black metal enigma Paysage d’Hiver unleashed Urgrund (‘Bedrock’). It’s the first single taken from their forthcoming third album Die Berge (‘The Mountains’), slated for release on November 8th, via Kunsthall Produktionen.
Paysage d’Hiver commented:
“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.”
About the new album
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, 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… Yet, also inherent of a fierce beauty… Indeed, 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, the band narrates 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.
About the band
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. Indeed, those 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, the band continues to expand the horizon of Nordic black metal… Without ever stepping away from their roots.
Lineup
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
Tracklist
2. Verinnerlichung
3. Transzendenz I
4. Transzendenz II
5. Transzendenz III
6. Ausstieg
7. Gipfel
