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Windthrow is a one-man black metal band from Sweden. Behind Treacherous Beckonings’ unassuming cover, though, lurks something a bit special that shines through the haze of bedroom black metal proliferating on Bandcamp. It’s a great little debut that showcases the band’s sound, never overstays its welcome, and hints at where the band could go next.
Windthrow doesn’t exactly do anything new, but the influences it brings together work extremely well. Riffs are split between blistering black metal tremolos and galloping heavy metal. Though the album itself is quite short the songs and riffs are long and epic, twisting and turning into and out of solos and twin lead guitar passages.
The performances by lone member Robin Petterson are very good. The riffs all hit and the leads are epic and memorable, even the nyckelharpa interlude is well done. Drums are what really set Windthrow apart from the pack. Lots of single member black metal bands use programmed drums and, unless they’re very well programmed or the artist wants the cold, clinical sound of drum samples, it can detract from the music. Petterson plays real drums on Treacherous Beckonings, and it brings the whole package together.
To top things off is a lovely dynamic master for the digital (DR 10). I’m sure the limited LP run sounds fantastic with a master like that but, thankfully, those of us going digital aren’t left out in the cold.
The most interesting part of Treacherous Beckonings is that it stands as a good debut, but also screams out for where Petterson can go with the project. He’s got the riffs, the chops, the leads, a cool folk instrument and, most importantly for a one man band, the ability to edit. All the pieces are there to develop something a touch longer, integrating the nyckelharpa into the metal songs and giving the whole project its own sound completely.