Live Review: Winterfylleth at The Garage, London (15/04/26)

Winterfylleth have certainly had a good month. First, by releasing their incredible new album ‘The Unyielding Season’ at the end of March and then by rampaging across the UK (and Ireland briefly) alongside Blackbraid and Noctem. A tour that has officially come to an end following one final night of black-infused heaviness in London. A sold-out night in London too, though is that really a surprise when you look at the line-up!?

I’m not here to talk about Noctem or Blackbraid though, sorry. I’m here to talk about Britain’s finest, Winterfylleth, who were well and truly propelled on to the Garage’s stage by the roar of an appreciative crowd. They may be supporting Blackbraid, but many are more than happy to declare that the iconic atmospheric black metal band is who they’re actually here to see.

Can you blame them though? Not only is the new album special, but their back catalogue is filled with beloved tracks and, importantly, Winterfylleth’s live reputation is one of the strongest in the black metal scene.

I’ve never seen a bad Winterfylleth show and they just seem to be getting better and better with age. I stood in this London crowd and marvelled. If you saw me (wearing a Cryptopsy cap) I might have looked super-serious, but I was entranced. Especially when some of the new tracks are aired.

Heroes of a Hundred Fields, Echoes in the After and The Unyielding Season, sounding bolder, more potent, more emotional, more venomous, and grander than on record. These are fresh Winterfylleth tracks that already sound like they’ve been part of the band’s catalogue for years and you can feel the satisfaction that they get from performing them live.

Though there is a strong argument that a portion of the crowd derive more of their satisfaction from earlier releases. Were we go back as far as 2010 with A Valley Thick with Oaks from The Mercian Sphere and 2014 with Whisper of the Elements from The Divination of Antiquity. That’s cool, but do you know what’s even cooler? Getting to hear Upon This Shore from 2024’s The Imperious Horizon. One of my favourite Winterfylleth tracks and live, it just sounds so damn epic.

They played for an hour, and it still wasn’t enough. Once again, I have come away from a Winterfylleth show in awe of what they can do.

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