Mists of Poveglia - Ambient Winter Tape

Among the myriad of black metal bands currently guarding our island nation, there exists an ambient world. A world of haunting noises and calming soundscapes that threaten to lead you to an underground world that could either guide you to madness of solitude. Mists of Poveglia is one such entity that sits within that ambient kingdom. The Ambient Winter tape was released in late December 2012 via Glorious North Productions. It was meant as a precursor to a release that will be coming out later this year. The tape was a collaborative release with fellow black metal/ambient label Winter Forest Industries.

The tape itself comes in a pro case with a fully printed, thick card six-panel insert, featuring liner notes and credits. The tape is entirely plain black apart from hand placed Mists of Poveglia sticker on one side.

Tracklist:-

1. Riding Under Threatening Sky
2. Whispers In Cold Kisses
3. Final Colours of The Evening
4. Vinterlands I Walk Alone Forever
5. Tracking Back Across The Range
6. Bitter Days of White & Beauty
7- 18. 20 Minutes of Ice Drift Loops

19. The Bridge (Bonus track)

The music contained on Ambient Winter is almost beyond description. Not because it's nonsensical, but because it’s almost futile to try and describe music such as this.

Opener, Riding Under The Threatening Sky is made up of looping, droning piano and faint voices. Whispers in Cold Kisses has more of an all-encompassing sound to it. The ambience sounds like one continuous note or group of notes, as opposed to the looping opener. There are subtle whispers placed within the track, which give it a haunting atmosphere. There are tracks on this tape, like Final Colours of The Evening that are very minimal to the point that you barely know they're playing. That minimalism disappears as the horns herald in Vinterlands I Walk Alone Forever. This is more of a majestic song, one that would stir emotions in even the hardiest of souls.

The tape stays focused because the song lengths are not overly long, so the effect of the music is magnified in a positive way. Tracking Back Across the Range is a perfect example of this. The ambient keys and horns last for almost five minutes, but those five minutes allow the song to breathe. The last song on side A of the tape is Bitter Days of White & Beauty. This closes the side with a rousing horn filled ensemble, which sees the volume level rise slightly. It's more purposeful and after the quieter moments in earlier songs, it reminds you of ambient music’s alignment to black metal.

Side B consists of around twenty minutes of icy noise loops, before ending with the bonus track The Bridge. The Bridge follows on from where Side A finished. This time though it's the strings that add the stirring effect to the music. The distant piano pulses in that background, almost like an echo in a distant valley. Even though this review seems short, it was intentional. There is no need to use too many words when describing this release; it's better to let the music guide your thoughts and opinions. 

Overall, this tape is a great bedfellow for any of your stark, cold black metal and something that you will crave to listen too, to help you escape from the crazy world in which you live.

You can listen to the whole tape (minus the icy loops) via the Glorious North Productions Bandcamp page below:-

The tape itself can be purchased physically by clicking on the link no the above Bandcamp page.

Mists of Poveglia - https://www.facebook.com/MistsOfPoveglia
Glorious North Productions - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Glorious-North-Productions
Winter Forest Industries - https://www.facebook.com/WinterForestIndustries