Old Wainds – Where the Snows are Never Gone

Old Wainds is a dark nordic black metal from the icy wastes of Murmansk. As many of you may know, Murmansk is a Russian city situated north of the Arctic Circle near the Norwegian and Finnish borders. Previously on these pages we have reviewed their third full-length instalment, Scalding Coldness. Usually, I prefer reviewing materials in a chronological order, but in this particular case I am very pleased for beginning with their third album, and now going back to the time when it all started.

Where the Snows are Never Gone is legendary Old Wainds’ first full-length from 1997, initially a 1997 demo, then re-released as a full-length in 2011, and finally available again, remastered and re-released (in a complete restored layout) by Darkness Shall Rise Productions in February 2026.

Already by the time of its release, Where the Snows are Never Gone gained huge following among worshippers of a cold, icy and raw black metal, as the unholy Russian trio projects this freezing, unpolished, raw and primitive, buzzsaw-style sonic onslaught from the very first tone of the opening track “Unholy Norland Fire”. The main riffs are relatively simple and straightforward, but that’s what’s giving it a ‘charm’, exclusively relying on a desolate and cold landscapes, and emotional extremity. It’s featuring a menacing tremolo riffage, the vocals that are screeching and throat-raspy, blasting, blistering and relentless drums, and finally the bass which is at the low-end, heavily buried beneath an icy wall of the guitars and the drums.

The atmosphere is harsh, subterranean and frostbitten, just like the nature in the region of Murmansk. At the same time, I would like to praise the album for its ability to convey physical cold and desolate winter landscapes of a purely Arctic sound. Talking of the sound, it draws comparisons to early Scandinavian pioneers like Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal, Ildjarn and Moonblood, so it would be an exaggeration to call it unique nor groundbreaking, but it’s perfectly composed and as such recommended for the fans of a raw, filthy, emotional and primitive black metal.

My favourite cuts from Where the Snows are Never Gone are “Gods Gazing from Beyond” and the self-titled “Where the Snows are Never Gone” – both delivering punishing, uncompromising and unforgiving mix of raw guitar tones, pure drum blast-beats and chilling/low-end bass lines. Actually, almost every track here does involve (with changing tempo and pacing of the instruments) with some fraction of the blasting, with only exception of the closing track called, “Cold Mourning of the Pale Moon”, which for a change, features mostly clean and chanting vocals, followed by the ditto slower pace of the instruments.

Where the Snows are Never Gone is a worthy acquisition is you’re interested in hearing what Russian extreme metal scene had to offer in the late 90s. For further information on this re-issue of the first full-length from an unholy Nordic black metal trio from Murmansk visit DSR bandcamp.