Mithraic Magazine

Despite it’s proximity to the epicentre of the black metal movement, The UK’s impact on the scene is often overlooked. At one end of the scale you have Venom’s undeniable influence on the Norwegian scene, or the more theatrical (more theatrical than Venom!?) gothic metal overlords of Cradle Of Filth. At the other end of the scale bands like Bal Sagoth, Heathen Deity, Ardorior, redefined the grit and snarling emotion that’s so profound in the genre and made it inherently British. Right across the board, British black metal has always had it’s own distinct identity, even if it hasn’t always commanded the same global spotlight as it’s Scandinavian counterparts. In more recent years, a new, powerful movement has been making a lot of noise, and some of the loudest noises are coming from the North of England specifically. This region with its stunning, yet bleak, landscapes dotted with the remains of an oppressive industrial revolution has become a hotbed for a new generation of bands pushing the boundaries of what this music can offer.

Someone that seems to live and breath black metal is Steve Blackwood. When he’s not running his label, Blackwood Productions or playing with the (awesome, check them out if you haven’t) Blood Countess, He’s’ working on his own, more personal project, Wynter Myst. Whichever branch of his passion he’s working on, his constant and consistent work is a testament to the fact that while UKBM might not be the biggest on the world stage, it’s producing some of the most creatively potent work in the genre. We got the chance to speak to Steve about (at the time of the interview) WM’s new offering “Cold Hatred”, his creative process, UK metal and how re-listening to older records is sometimes just as exciting as finding something new.

First off i want to say thanks for allowing us some of your time to answer these questions. Can you start by telling about Wynter Myst. Where did this idea come from and what was it that made you pursue this artistic endeavour?

Thanks for taking the time to put this together!

I had been wanting to do some sort of new solo project for a while and during the winter of 2019 I had a burst of inspiration so I locked myself away in my studio for a couple of weeks where I composed and recorded the debut ‘End of an Era’. Inspired largely by Swedish and Finnish styles and given the time of year, a winter theme seemed to fit well so I ran with it. I wanted to retain a sense of “Englishness” to the band as opposed to the more typical Nordic and Scandinavian bands, and thus opted to use Old English spelling in the name.

As far as i can see, please correct me if i’m wrong, Wynter Myst has always been a one man project. Was this a strong decision made in the beginning? Was this always going to be a solo endeavor? What is it about working alone that’s made you stick to this and not recruit other musicians or artists into the creative mix?

With Wynter Myst I enter my own realm when I compose. I shut myself away with my recording setup and my guitar and try to write fairly spontaneously. As a result I could only ever see this happening as a solo project. Wynter Myst is an insight into my own personal winter, it’s a very introspective journey. Here in this mind-set I can compose with the best results, harnessing the darkness, cold and magic of winter. Typically I don’t tend to write or record any Wynter Myst music outside of the autumn and winter seasons but on occasion I do.

I’ve been following Wynter Myst for a while now and It’s been a while since we had any new music, what made this the right time for a new release and what was the reason for releasing it now? How has the initial reception been?

The music for Cold Hatred was actually recorded during the 2023/2024 winter and was originally scheduled to be on a split release. Unfortunately that split never materialised, but what it meant is that I was restricted to a certain time length. After a while I decided to self-release the music as an EP and the response has been excellent!

“Cold Hatred” exhibits a more visceral and raw production compared to your previous works, such as “January MMXXIV” and that excellent split with Vegard that we got last year. Was this shift a conscious decision, was there a thematic focus, or did it arise organically during the creative process? What influenced this change in tone and sound?

Wynter Myst’s origins are much more in the vein of this new EP. I feel that the EP hearkens back to the ‘Frore’ album in terms of sound and production and this was a conscious decision. This is the sound I had always intended for the band although I will always explore the more atmospheric side of the genre, as can be found on the ‘Winter Incantations’ singles and the Vegard split. I expect the future of the project will continue to shift between the two styles and occasionally combine them.

Can you discuss the technical aspects of achieving that rawer sound? Was there any experimentation with recording techniques, equipment, or mixing approaches? 

I think the nature of the actual compositions naturally affects the mixing process. A colder, rawer, more aggressive song tends to make me perform more visceral vocals for example and then when it comes to finding the best sounds, mixes and masters, you want to let these elements shine. Then some of it is just accidental and a natural occurrence of what’s happening at that moment in time.

Of course, it goes without saying that I do spend some time trying to hone suitable sounds, amp tones, synths etc to fit the overall style but often this is done subconsciously and “by ear” with no particular technical approach.

Each track on this record possesses a unique character: “The Avalanche” with its sweeping, almost epic, journey through a more traditional black metal sound, “Cold Hatred” with its punchier, aggressive approach, and “The Mountain of Anguish” with its atmospheric, almost drone-like textures to it. How did you approach the composition of each track to create three distinct landscapes, while ensuring a cohesive experience? Off the back of that, While each track maintains its individual identity, there’s definitely a unifying theme that permeates “Cold Hatred”. Could you delve into the root of these themes and how it manifests across the three tracks? When in the process was the decision made to release these tracks together instead of individually or as part of a larger collection of tracks?

For starters, I try to condense the entire recording into as few sessions as possible. This allows me to compose and record within the same mind-set and results in a release that sounds, as you say, “cohesive” rather than sporadic. I typically have half an idea in my head of what I am looking to achieve, thematically and musically, then just let my mind and my hands do the rest. I feel this has worked well on all my releases to date and will continue to adopt this approach on further recordings. Typically I will record an entire release in maybe 3 or 4 sessions. It may take a further 3 or 4 to make changes, edits and do the mixing.

Looking across your social media, nature and the great outdoors obviously play a huge part in the overall influences of Wynter Myst. There’s some wonderful pictures of mountains and forests that all add to the music. I really enjoy seeing these sorts of sides of musicians, it’s like an artist’s sketchbook. I like to see where the final piece started. There’s something about the vastness of the mountains that inspires us all but what is it specifically about the outdoors that speaks to you, speaks to the force behind Wynter Myst?

Nature is a vital ingredient in almost all of black metal music. It sounds very cliché but without it, I struggle to get inspired. Now, England is not exactly known for its snowy forests, but we still live the experience of grim and miserable winters. Through this we can witness the harsh contrast of beauty and disaster and the feelings that come with it and this is part of what drives me to create the music the way that I do. I can transfer those contrasts and emotions of our natural world into a musical form, combining cold and bitter harshness, with radiant and atmospheric beauty.

That cover image is great by the way. There’s something raw about it but beauty and mysticism too. I have to ask, where is the image from? Did the decision to use that specific image come before the music or did the music influence the decision?

There’s a lose theme running throughout the EP, where I see myself as a metaphoric mountain. My own rage is channelled through the principle of natural disasters such as storms, avalanches, earthquakes and the like. When searching some Instagram artists I found this piece which I believe perfectly captured the essence of the release, in that I can introspectively look at myself and the impending internal chaos to come. The music can therefore be seen as a way for me to channel my own anger and negative thoughts into something positive and creative. This is more or less how all Wynter Myst music is themed, amongst other things.

I want to talk a little on the UK scene at the moment. It feels like a black and extreme metal renaissance. For so long it was feeling quite stale but there’s a real drive now and a huge number of excellent artists coming through. What do you think has caused this shift in this direction? Not just in music but in art, literature?  Has there been a change in how we consume this type of content? Is there more of a call for the obscene and extreme? 

I do find this quite a difficult question to be honest. I’m not entirely sure the UK has ever had a particularly strong black metal scene. That of course does not mean that I don’t think there aren’t some incredible bands and musicians from the UK because I do. But largely I feel we lack massively in talent compared to most other countries. This is of course just my own opinion from my perspective as a relatively active person in the UK scene.

I do believe in general, the black metal world is much more accessible and open to everyone these days. In the past it was much more elusive and harder to access, and I confess I loved those days more. But one can’t deny that the advance of technologies, online music and the digital era has paved the way for thousands of new musicians within the genre that maybe wouldn’t have existed otherwise. You could see this is both a positive and a negative. More music is always welcome, but I do find it much harder to find the true gems in the midst of a huge sea of mediocrity.

The North of England has produced some fantastic music in the past few years. How do you find both the scene in the north of England (which is buzzing at the moment) and the UK as a whole? Is there anyone that’s really standing out to you? Is there anyone that we’re potentially missing? 

The north of England definitely stands out in the scene right now, just look at what the guys from Reaper Agency are doing on the live front and it’s clear that there’s a good live scene right now. My stand out band from the live scene would be Ninkharsag who I think deserve way more attention. Delving a little deeper into the rawer underground I’d recommend Aad Sleck, White Medal, Odious Hiss to name a few…

You’ve already got a substantial body of work, plenty for any fan to get their teeth stuck into. What’s next for Wynter Myst? Are there any projects in the works? Any other artists you’d like to collaborate with?

There will be a sequel to the Cold Hatred EP which is largely written but I plan to record that this autumn. I have a few things which I’d like to have some physical reissues soon also. I’ve had several talks about splits and collaborations but as yet nothing concrete. There’s always more projects that I’m involved with, always something on the go. I do like to keep myself busy and am constantly writing, demoing and recording. Some of these things you’ll hear about very soon, some you may never know about… 

And lastly, I like to ask everyone i speak to, is there any music, any books, films or artists we should be checking out? What’s out there that’s got your attention and got you captivated?

I do try to keep up with modern music but I confess I’m not the best in recent years and find myself wallowing (happily) in the classics. As for films and books I am well out of the loop in terms of anything recent too!

Sticking to music, I’ve actually been really enjoying recently just rediscovering bands that I maybe never fully cared about back in the day. Something I’ve noticed is that the older I get, the more I’m able to appreciate a band that I maybe once didn’t bother with. It’s opened my ears to an absolute ton of new (but not new) music I’d actually highly recommend this to people, especially if you let lost in the sea of constant releases thrown to you on Black Metal Promotion etc these days. That’s not to discredit the good work any musician, just merely a point that it is very hard find the true gems these days when hundreds of new releases come out every week.

Once again, Thank you to Steve for taking the time to go through a few things with us. I always like these interviews that make me think about the way I think about the music and the scene. You can keep up to date with everything Wynter Myst, Blood Countess, Blackwood Productions, check out the links below:

Bandcamp
Instagram

For more of Steve’s work you should 100% check out the intense Blood Countess at:

Bandcamp
Instagram

And for an awesome selection of vinyl, cassettes, and an incredible digital library of music, head to Blackwood Productions at:

Bandcamp

And I cannot agree with Steve more on rediscovering those albums that you overlooked or even ones you just haven’t listened to in a few years. On a personal level, my 13 year old is listening to a lot of Maiden, Judas Priest, Sabbath at the moment. And going back to some of those tracks that I haven’t listened to in probably a decade in some cases, it reminds me why I love this music! 

– Zero