Interview: Sascha Latman of Winterhorde

On May 3, 2016, Glacially Musical reviewed the new Winterhorde album "Maestro", which is an absolute masterpiece of symphonic black metal.  It was a privelege to be able to follow up the review with an interview of Winterhorde's bassist, composer and lyricist Sascha Latman.

Danny Nichols of Glacially Musical: I think the Israeli metal scene is much more extensive and has produced so many more great metal bands than many American metal fans realize.

How has forming in Israel contributed to the sound of Winterhorde?

Sasha Latman of Winterhorde:  Hello Danny! Actually forming in Israel didn’t contribute that much to our sound, because most of us are immigrants from post-Soviet republics. 

We carry our culture and musical influences from the areas of our origins. Be it Ukraine or Belarus, the Soviet musical roots are still deep within us. 

We had always a different sounding from the other  Israeli metal bands. Moreover, we were inspired mostly by European metal scene, which is recognized with its melodic approach.  

Album Review: "Maestro" by Winterhorde

Winterhorde: Maestro

Until heavy metal came along few types of music adequately captured the epic scale and intricacy found in classical symphonic music.  

I have long believed there are many sonic similarities between progressive metal and the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and their kind.  Both have epic themes, are bombastic in scale, atmospheric in nature and feature complex compositions. At the very least, these similarities lend themselves to a merging of the two genres which should be encouraged.  

However, within the black metal subculture this seems to be somewhat of a point of contention.  Although not the first to incorporate symphonic elements into their black metal bands Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, were arguably the best at doing so.  

Maybe it was their superior production, or more likely a jealous reaction to their incredible popularity, but many followers of the genre deride them for their failure to be “true” black metal.  Which is a shame, because I think this trend should be encouraged for producing some of the most innovative and resonant music of the past twenty years.  Israeli band Winterhorde continues in this proud tradition and is a fine example of the best symphonic black metal has to offer.