Nuclear Winter - Greystone Review

Nuclear Winter are one of the most prolific bands – or should I say project – I’ve ever seen here at Metal Addicts. This is the third album to review since the first one “Night Shift” in 2020. I said three, but I guess I missed one in the middle. I’m not that sure. The one-man project has been able to put out an album in each six-month period which is really something even mentioned the fact that this is a project where the mastermind plays all the instruments. Very few artists can do it. Of course the recording technology has made the job a little bit easier because it’s possible to record everything separated while having the ideas and then put it all together. Even so, it’s not the recording that is the difficult part, having the ideas is the hard one. Everybody who deals with creativity back me yp on that. It’s not everyday that one wakes up with that sensational riff or drum beat.

This new album “Greytone” isn’t so far from its predecessors. It keeps the same main idea of mixing Metal with Industrial, Gothic and some features from the 1980s gothic and pop to be really accurate with the band does. The band tries to be some kind of cutting edge, or cult, band by done so. The mood sounds to follow the same pattern of anguish, fear, and some doom followed by some electronic effects and background noise. In here, from where I’m standing Nuclear Winter went a bit far. There are more elements of Gothic and Industrial than in the predecessors the aforementioned “Night Shift” and “Stormscapes” which is an EP. Kicking off track “The Wastelands” follows the main idea of the band perfectly with its hard and tight beats, gloomy vocals and dense mood. It’s a song that follows perfectly the idea where it comes from that is to mean a wasteland. From then on “Greytone” gradually adds more electronic and industrial features and on the third track “The Harvest Moon” the work is done. I guess it’s on “The Harvest Moon” that “Greytone” acquires its own personality detaching from its predessors. Out of the electronic industrial features the track adds some techno keyboards giving it the atmosphere that Rammstein love – I really don’t. Out of this Rammstein thing, to me what Nuclear Winter do amazes. I like the effect of the contrasting when it’s well-balanced as the band does here. For instance the contrast of the melodic guitars phrasing with the 1980s gothic vocals duelling with an eerie voice in “Corridor of Shells.” “Hidden Shrine” brings a female voice to duel and add some more eletronic effects to make it the most pop song of the album.

Nuclear Winter “Greytone” isn’t for the average Metal guy, I’m sure. There are too many electronic effects and some pop features. From where I’m standing the mix done here is borderline. As I said before, I like this mix since it doesn’t get too poppy or electronic and “Greytone” gets very near this. Well, to push it a little farther was a bold decision to me.

Nuclear Winter “Greytone” was released on May 21st via MMD Records.

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