Into Darkness (album)
| Into Darkness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1990 | |||
| Recorded | April–May 1990 | |||
| Studio | S.O.S. Studios | |||
| Genre | Death-doom | |||
| Length | 46:08 | |||
| Label | Future Shock Nuclear Blast (Re-issue) | |||
| Producer | Greg Marchak, Winter | |||
| Winter chronology | ||||
| ||||
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.
Music
In the book Doomed to Fail, 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 eventually become "another of the group's lasting contributions to funeral and death-doom".[1]
Critical reception
Eduardio Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, and said that "the album is metal at its most unpalatable and indigestible, but it's so purposeful and convincing that it naturally transcends most accusations of, well, just plain sucking."[2]
Legacy
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.[3]
Decibel ranked the album at #13 in the Top 100 Doom Metal Albums of All Time Special Issue.[4]
Track listing
- All lyrics by Joe Goncalves. All music written and arranged by Winter.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Personnel
Winter
- Jon Altman – vocals, bass
- Stephen Flam – all guitars
- Tony Pinnisi – keyboards
- Frank Casey – drums
Production
- Produced by Greg Marchak and Winter
References
- ^ a b Anselmi, JJ (February 11, 2020). Doomed to Fail: The Incredibly Loud History of Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal. Rare Bird Books. pp. 102–104.
- ^ Into Darkness - Winter | Album | AllMusic, retrieved November 28, 2025
- ^ "The Top 20 New York Hardcore and Metal Albums of All Time". Archived from the original on July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ Decibel Magazine (2014). Decibel Presents: The Top 100 Doom Metal Albums of All Time. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Red Flag Media.