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Fester: Winter of sin (2010 reissue)

30/03/11 || Khlysty

Fester used to be one of Norway’s few proponents of death metal, back in the late ‘80s – early ‘90s, when time was young and the land was filled with bands whose sole ambition seemed to be the creation of the most obnoxious music and attitude possible. According to Metal-Archives, “Winter of Sin”, Fester’s first and penultimate record, came out in 1992 and was a reworking of an older demo of the same name. Abyss Records, seeing that “Winter of Sin” was long out of print and sensing a demand for old-skool death metal rising among the fans, decided to re-release the album last December, giving it the once-over, at least as far as the layout and the artwork were concerned.

Now, to begin talking about the band and the album at hand, I got a little question for you. Do you think that this guy,
UncleFester
a famous member of a somewhat sui generis, but at heart typical American family, has anything to do with a death metal band from the land of Vikings and Blashyrkh and all the other cuddly and cute things that characterize Norway’s underground metal scene? If you say “yes”, you’d have to explain your opinion; if you say “no”, I would suggest that you take a good look at the picture below…

↓ (look here, that’s below, you twerps!)
FesterBand
Uncanny resemblance, don’t you think? (By the way, if that’s Jørgen Skjolden, Fester’s bassist, who O.D.ed in 2000, I’m making no joke on behalf of a dead man, I just don’t know who’s who, okay?…)

But, strange “kinships” aside, what about the music? First of all, I decree that it’s death metal. But with a few kinks. Like, say, it seems to be influenced more by Obituary than Grave or Entombed, in that the songs contain lots of slow and doomy parts, interspersed with faster – but almost never blasting – parts. Like, the singer, instead of the usual death grunt, uses a raspy quasi-black metal scream-howl when singing about things that obviously upset and unsettle him. Like, if one pays attention one will easily find nods towards thrash or, even, classic metal thrown here and there in the songwriting. Now, do all those things a great record make? No. “Winter of Sin” is no landmark recording in the annals of death metal. Look, I won’t say that it’s the shits, ‘cause it’s not. But it’s not brain-crushing either.

Obviously, Fester’s idea of what death metal is, was pretty idiosyncratic. It’s just that their obvious Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influence seems to deter them of making something more interesting and ground-breaking. And, of course, the less-than-stellar production values of “Winter of Sin” never let the songs attain the dark and desperate attitude and ambiance the band obviously aims for. Bottom line is that “Winter of Scene” is a fun listen, if one needs a dose of stone-age death metal. But, if one’s looking for something more brain-liquefying, one should look elsewhere.

Information
Released: 1992 (2010 reissue)
Label: No Fashion Records (2010 Abyss Records)
Website: Fester MySpace
Band
Bjørn “Tiger” Mathisen: vocals, guitar
Rolf Tommy Simonsen: vocals, guitar
Jørgen Skjolden: bass
Jan Helge Skjolden: drums

Tracklist
01. Winter of sin
02. Sences are the true you
03. The ancient gods wore black
04. Entering…
05. Victory!!!
06. Liberation
07. As the swords clinch the air
08. A dogfight leaves a trace
09. The commitments that shattered
10. When darkness confirms (bonus track, live ‘91)

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