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Just picture war and those inner feelings of anger and destruction that haunt you when you place yourself in a hopeless world were nothing makes sense and you feel like you just wanna destroy everything around you, then imagine how those would be translated into the rawest metal you could come up with and, most likely, the end result would be something like the music of Operation Winter Mist, a Canadian band that seems pretty determined to leave its mark on the metal scene with their odes of anger and annihilation. Although having released previously some remastered and live tracks, Imperial Grand Strategy could be considered as their debut album, which features 9 songs that will definitely satisfy the tastes of fans of basic (do not confusen this with "easy and lacking talent") and straight in your face full of hatred metal. I personally like the work in the drums a lot and the way they all seem to work together to stand as a whole with the strings and the vocals. The influence from bands such as Bathory, Dark Throne, Celtic Frost, old Sodom, Sarcofago and the likes is notorious but well managed in a way that it doesn’t sound like a rip off of the aforementioned. Instead they seem to feel comfortable with assimilating their influences and processing them in order to develop songs that stand far from boring and repetitive in which you will find a good balance between preludes of an anticipation to battle to fast paced episodes of sonic warfare to eerie and slow passages that sort of make you feel the desolation and creepy silence of a warfield after the carnage has taken place. "Imperial" is probably the song that I like the most in the album as I feel it compiles all the different aspects that OWM develops throughout the CD. As a band whose theme is war, you will also find the typical intro with tanks, explosions and shots being fired over the screams of desperate soldiers but I think it is a valid approach to their message. Overall I find this album is a good addition to a metal scene polluted by a lack of originality and identity where many seem to have forgotten the roots of the genre to follow trends in which they want to sell you the idea that anything with a distorted guitar and some stupid kid screaming bullshit is metal. This band has taken the time and effort to develop a personality not only conceptually but musically as well and deserves to be noticed. Also make sure to check 3 new songs the band have released this year on The Allegiance Of The Profane Pack compilation. These 3 new songs show a more mature OWM not only in their music but also in terms of production,also featuring music and vocals more inclined to Death Metal standards and less Black Metal than Imperial Grand Strategy. For more info on the band make sure to check their website and support them by getting their music which is definitely a must in the collection of any fan of the old school.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Arctic Wolves |
| 2. Imperial |
| 3. Death And Honour |
| 4. The Cold Front |
| 5. Divine Wind |
| 6. Frontal Assault |
| 7. A Call To Arms |
| 8. Northern Aggression |
| 9. Between The Pincers |
: 37:29
| Buy other Operation Winter Mist albums |
