After only a few short months, Nuclear Winter descend upon us all again. The Zimbabwean one-man outfit is ready to blast the world with “Stormscapes,” his fourth release. After the collaboration on “Night Shift,” mastermind Gary Stautmeister decided to strike out on his own and mold these tracks alone, taking on a new twist of an already unique blend of melodic death metal, industrial, and alt-rock.
“Hearts of Stone” starts the record off in the vein of his previous output – Gary layers synths, reverb-heavy guitar, and multiple vocal styles (à la Hypocrisy and Scar Symmetry) over a pummeling rhythm in a way to make Wintersun proud. There’s even a neat solo later on to showcase his guitar chops. Tracks like “The Northern Winds” and “The Wide Water,” however, read more akin to a black metal tribute – both in the Dimmu Borgir-esque snarling growls / soaring clean vocals, and in the dissonant riffing. Finally, “Stormscapes” leaves a little surprise in closing track “New York, New York,” a cover of a classic done in his own singular style.
In summary, Gary Stautmeister proves with “Stormscapes” that not only can he create a rare twist on the tried-and-true melodic death metal formula, but he can push his own envelope in new directions – and make excellent new material in the process. If any of the bands mentioned above are of interest, then Nuclear Winter will no doubt hold you in its grip. Zimbabwe’s metal scene, and melodeath in general, has much to be proud of in this project.
Nuclear Winter is:
Gary Stautmeister – Everything
Read our review here.
