Into Darkness is the first and only full-length album of American doom metal band Winter. The album was released in 1990 by Future Shock Records.The first CD re-issue by Nuclear Blast America (distributed by Relapse in the US) in 1992 had only the "Into Darkness" tracks. It was later re-issued by Nuclear Blast as a digipak with an altered front cover and the Eternal Frost EP as bonus tracks. The album was re-released again, with no bonus tracks, by Southern Lord on April 12, 2011, on black and white vinyl as a gate fold LP with booklet.

Into Darkness
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1990
GenreDeath-doom, doom metal
Length46:08
LabelFuture Shock
Nuclear Blast (Re-issue)
Winter chronology
Hour of Doom
(1989)
Into Darkness
(1990)
Eternal Frost
(1994)

Style

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Author JJ Anselmi said the vocals of John Alman on the album "sit somewhere between hardcore shouts and grindcore growls". The band utilized keys in their sound to create an atmospheric feel, which proved divisive among hardened death metal fans. However, Anselmi concluded that this would evenutally become "another of the group's lasting contributions to funeral and death-doom".[1]

Legacy

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Many consider the album to be the first proper release in the death-doom subgenre.[1]

July 8, 2013: The Village Voice blogger Jason Roche lists Into Darkness as #14 in the top 20 hardcore and metal albums to come out of NYC.[2]

Decibel magazine ranked the album at #13 in the Top 100 Doom Metal Albums of All Time Special Issue.[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Oppression Freedom / Oppression (Reprise)" (Instrumental)5:57
2."Servants of the Warsmen"4:24
3."Goden"8:18
4."Power and Might" (Instrumental)2:44
5."Destiny"8:31
6."Eternal Frost"6:47
7."Into Darkness"9:26

References

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  1. ^ a b Anselmi, JJ (February 11, 2020). Doomed to Fail: The Incredibly Loud History of Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal. Rare Bird Books. p. 102-104.
  2. ^ "The Top 20 New York Hardcore and Metal Albums of All Time". Archived from the original on 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  3. ^ Decibel Magazine (2014). Decibel Presents: The Top 100 Doom Metal Albums of All Time. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Red Flag Media.