Black Metal

On the third regular PAYSAGE D’HIVER album “Die Berge” (‘The Mountains’), mastermind Wintherr has perfectly captured the dark essence of his mountainous Swiss home beyond those pretty picture postcard landscapes. Ragged peaks that unfathomable tectonic forces have crushed upwards and out of the thin cold crust of this planet create a harsh and hostile environment for humans, which is reflected within the sound of raw black metal. Note for note, these grey giants of rock come awake to life in song. Majestic, powerful, dangerous, threatening, and yet also inherent of a fierce beauty, these massive tracks of epic length echo the huge proportions of their source of inspiration and amount to a playing time of more than 100 minutes. With each release, PAYSAGE D’HIVER narrate a new chapter of a continuing story about a mysterious protagonist called ‘Der Wanderer’. “Die Berge” takes the wanderer into the 14th chapter, which might end up as his last. The main theme of “Die Berge” is death and this time the enigmatic wanderer’s journey is comparable to that of a Zen monk who hikes to the peak of a mountain on feeling that his time has come. Founded in 1997 in the Swiss region of Bern, PAYSAGE D’HIVER remained a strictly underground phenomenon at first. Wintherr unleashed a steady stream of 10 full-length “demos” and 4 split-EPs that earned him an excellent reputation while a massive following grew by word of mouth. When the Swiss came “out of hiding” with “Im Wald” (“In the Forest”) in 2020, their regular debut album even entered the German charts, which meant mainstream recognition despite standing firmly with both feet in the underground. With “Die Berge”, PAYSAGE D’HIVER continue to expand the horizon of Nordic black metal without ever stepping away from their roots.

PRE ORDER: release-date is November, 11th 2024 – all orders including this article will be shipped as soon as it arrives.

Black Metal / Ambient

The most introspective material of PdH available as CD.

Packaged in a sealed black envelope, shrinkwrapped, with the barcode given on a sticker on the shrinkwrap. Assembled by hand.

Black Metal

Founded in 1997 in the Swiss region of Bern, black metal solo-project PAYSAGE D’HIVER remained a strictly underground phenomenon at first. Mastermind Wintherr unleashed a steady stream of 10 full-length so-called “demos” and 4 split-EPs that earned him an excellent reputation and large following When the Swiss came “out of hiding” with “Im Wald” (“In the Forest”) in 2020, his regular debut album even entered the German charts underscoring the organically achieved status. Each full-length release, including the so-called “demos” and regular albums, constitutes a chapter of a continuing story, which PAYSAGE D’HIVER narrate about a protagonist called “Der Wanderer”, who roams an otherworld realm. In “Geister”, the Wanderer has a lucid dream in which he meets beings from another dimension, which is in fact our world. To him, we terrestrials appear as the ghosts. Our only means of contacting the Wanderer in the world of PAYSAGE D’HIVER is through the rites of winter, such as the Tschäggättä, which is a traditional mask cult from the Lötschental, a valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Such a hereditary mask is depicted on the album cover and the lyrics are set in the local dialect.

Black Metal

With 120 minutes playing time, “Im Wald” is not only Paysage D’Hiver’s longest effort so far but also another chapter in the tale of winter travel (thus the French name Paysage D’Hiver) that runs through the project’s entire work like the proverbial golden thread. In the context of his highly detailed narrative, Wintherr locates it after “Steineiche” and “Schattengang” (both 1998) which describe the beginning of the travel, and before “Das Tor” (2013), “Kerker” (1999) and “Die Festung” (1998), which are set at the end.

Limited edition of 500 hand-numbered copies in a wooden box with a poster of the cover art, and a lyric/art booklet.

Black Metal

A unique journey through the desolation of the night.

Packaged in a sealed black envelope, shrinkwrapped, with the barcode given on a sticker on the shrinkwrap. Assembled by hand.