Everybody who's into more extreme metal knows of Paysage d'Hiver and their excellent mix of black metal and frost ambient synth stuff. While they/he certainly sits on the throne of atmospheric black metal there are other bands who strive for that sound with Battle Dagorath being a solid contestant.
From what I gather they're an international band and this was their first album (presumably done over the internet? dunno). After this one they went on to make two more albums but with different lineups. So far I heard this and their second one but their second album did not really click with me. Its production and overall sound just kinda threw me off, mostly the drums which were programmed.
Their first one on the other hand is pure bliss with no drum machine (I think, or it was better programmed). Not only does it manage to do atmospheric black metal well it also has audible enough sound so that the guitars and bass don't just sound like background hiss. The moment this album starts it envelops you into its cold embrace and it holds tightly throughout the record. Surprisingly there's enough variety here that keeps things interesting. Vocals help with this because they don't shriek all the time, the guy who sings/shrieks switches up tempos every now and then so it's not monotonous dribbles all the time and there's always something happening on the songs. Either the singer switches tempo or a riff changes or some synths kick in or an occasional sample happens to pop in. Basically something is constantly happening and trying to get attention. For being atmospheric black metal they sure keep away from the monotony that's supposedly hypnotizing, riveting etc. Some people might find this as a problem but I rather like it. I have my share of monotonous bands already.
If you ever get bored of Paysage d'Hiver and want to hear something more like it, this would be a good album to grab.
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