heavy-metal-darkness: Winter’s Breath |Eine Düstre Winternacht |Running Wild Productions

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Winter’s Breath |Eine Düstre Winternacht |Running Wild Productions

Release Date: December 6^th, 2025
Format: CD/Digital
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Austria

Winter's Breath is the one-man black metal project from Vienna, Austria, run by BL (Burkhard Lettner), who handles everything, guitars, drums programmed, vocals, the whole damn thing. Started back in 2020, it's his third full-length, following a bunch of earlier releases and splits. This guy's been grinding in his home studio, building up from influences in symphonic and atmospheric black metal with some melodic death touches, all while keeping it raw and independent.

"Eine Düstre Winternacht" clocks in at about 50 minutes of cold, depressive black metal that drags you through isolation, inner demons, and that faint pull toward some kind of redemption. The German lyrics hit hard with themes of frozen wastelands, emotional collapse, and clawing out of despair, all wrapped in harsh screams and atmospheric layers that actually add depth instead of just fluff. BL mixes in symphonic keys and choirs that give it an epic, wintry feel without turning into cheesy power metal crap. The production is solid for a home job, raw enough to be underground but clear so the riffs and blasts cut through the murk.

This album delivers solid atmospheric black metal that sticks to its guns. Freezing tremolo riffs, blasting sections that rage, and slower parts that build real tension and gloom. Tracks like "Befreiung" stretch out with massive payoff, while shorter ones like "Schwarzer Engel" slam in with vicious energy. It keeps a consistent dark mood, shifting between outright aggressions and brooding melancholy, making the whole thing feel like one long, miserable winter night that ends with a glimmer of dawn. No weak spots drag it down, and the flow holds up across the runtime.

It's a strong, honest effort from a dedicated solo artist that nails the cold, introspective black metal vibe. Worth checking if you dig atmospheric stuff with real emotional bite and don't mind a bit of symphonic edge. Solid addition to the scene, nothing groundbreaking but it delivers where it counts.

Score: 7.5