Winterfylleth

Winterfylleth emerged from Manchester, England, as a black metal outfit whose sound fused ferocious blastbeats, crushing guitar riffs, and menacing vocals; the name itself translates from Old English as “Winter Old Moon.” The project began in 2007 with vocalist/guitarist Chris Naughton, lead guitarist Richard Brass, and drummer Simon Lucas, then reached its initial full configuration when bassist Chris Westby joined the following year. An independent demo, Rising of the Winter Full Moon, appeared that same year and helped the group attract notice through live performances, ultimately leading to a contract with Canada’s Profound Lore label and the issuance of the debut album The Ghost of Heritage in 2008. Following that release and an extensive domestic tour, Brass departed in 2009; Mark Wood assumed lead guitar duties while Nick Wallwork took over bass from Westby. The band subsequently signed with England’s Candlelight Records and delivered its sophomore album, The Mercian Sphere, in 2010, supporting the record with an international itinerary that encompassed festival slots at Wacken Open Air, Graspop, and Derbyshire’s Bloodstock Festival. Their third album, The Threnody of Triumph, arrived in 2012, after which the group toured as openers for Norwegian metal act Enslaved. In 2014 Winterfylleth teamed with Ukrainian black metal act Drudkh for a split-EP that included a rendition of Hate Forest’s “The Gates”; the same year they contributed to the multi-artist compilation One and All, Together, For Home by supplying medieval-era folk covers of “John Barleycorn” and “Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.” Both 2014 projects surfaced on France’s Seasons of Mist imprint. Candlelight issued the band’s fourth album, The Divination of Antiquity, later in 2014. Dan Capp replaced Mark Wood on lead guitar in 2015, the same year Winterfylleth received the “Best Underground Band” honor at the 13th Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. After The Dark Hereafter appeared on Spinefarm Records in 2016, keyboardist and string arranger Mark Deeks joined the lineup and participated on the sixth studio album, The Hallowing of Heirdom, released by the same label in April 2018. Two years afterward the concert recording Siege of Mercia: Live at Bloodstock 2017 was issued.