Richard HolmesSong
Heroes of a Hundred Fields
Artist
Winterfylleth
Winterfylleth backstory
Winterfylleth have held UK black metal’s banner aloft for two decades.
Frankly, it’s hard to imagine what the scene would be like without them.
They’ve championed UKBM, becoming a festival mainstay, inspiring countless acts and crafting soaring, evocative music as majestic as the landscapes on their album sleeves.
The Reckoning Dawn was our black metal album of 2020: “It cascaded over ancient England’s ancient fells and plunged into its oak-filled valleys, sweeping all before it.”
2024’s The Imperious Horizon bagged that slot in 2024.
And those albums showed just how much the Northern quintet had grown as musicians and writers since their 2008 debut, The Ghost Of Heritage.
This year, Winterfylleth are entering a new era.
Newly signed to Napalm Records after a lengthy stint on Candlelight, they’re set to release their ninth full-length, The Unyielding Season, next month – and it will be the first to feature new bassist Mark Doyle, who replaced long-time bassist Nick Wallwork last spring.
Heroes of a Hundred Fields is our first taste of that record.
In the band’s own words
“Heroes of a Hundred Fields is framed in a wartime, battlefield setting and uses the premise of soldiers coming together, united as brothers, to fight against a foe who are powerful, oppressive, and domineering.
“It talks about how people should come together and fight for the freedoms they have and not succumb to those who would attack them and try to weaken them (or take them away entirely).
“There have been so many ideas and schemes pushed into the world over the last few years that only serve to erode people’s personal freedoms, slowly, little-by-little, until they are gone.
“This song talks about ‘lighting the beacons of rebellion’ against those who would seek to undermine the way of life and freedom that we all – hopefully – hold dear.”
The verdict on Heroes of a Hundred Fields
Winterfylleth will take you to centre of a fierce winter storm, atop one of Albion’s ancient peaks. They’ll batter you with stinging wind and rain, and cleave the air asunder with lightning. There’s something elemental about their music. There always has been.
Heroes of a Hundred Fields doesn’t step away from that. But in keeping with the theme, the song smoulders with rage… and its second act shows Winterfylleth at their heaviest and hardest.
Seldom have we heard the band deliver this level of aggression.
Yet shafts of light also beam down on the torrent, illuminating its melodic depths as it reaches a dramatic conclusion.
Thanks to Heroes of a Hundred Fields, Winterfylleth’s new chapter has opened with a flourish.
What’s next for Winterfylleth?
The Unyielding Season is set for a March 27 release on Napalm Records. The band have lined up a string of festival appearances this year, including at Hole In The Svn Festival in Rauschenberg, Germany (June 25-27) and Hellfest in Clisson, France (where they’ll be appearing on June 18).
Winterfylleth band photo by Aaron Scott.