This. This kind of music works more like ambient music, it is not inherently complex in structure. It is all about the atmosphere with sound/production included as part of it. There is no punchline, it is all about being hypnotic with repeating, straightforward melodies. A complete opposite from, say, progressive music.
Damn, straight into the deep end! When it comes to production Paysage D'Hiver is very extreme. And this album isn't even the worst example. 😅 Also originally Paysage D'Hiver albums were only sold on tapes! No CD's, fullstop, until lately. You mentioned the sound strerchint at one point, I would guess that is where it came from. 😁 Anywho both Paysage D'Hiver and Darkspace (both bands are by the same person, but former is one man project and latter is 3) are one of my favourite bands ever but if I were to introduce one of them to someone Darkspace is the one I would choose as Paysage is more of an acquired taste that needs a certain (depressed?) state of mind to enjoy at its fullest. Darkspace does use similar elements (repetition, more "feel" based music) and you can tell it does have the same mastermind behind it but the sound is much, MUCH clearer especially on later albums and there is more going on in the background like keyboards, samples from movies/series (like 2001 Space Odyssey, Twilight Zone etc...) and the music at the times even goes punchy with heavy powerchors chugs in some songs.
Oh, and I also have to mention that not all PDH albums are even Black Metal! There are quite a few full on Ambient albums, no guitars or drums and just keyboards amd samples. Winter themes, obviously. Die Festung is a good ambient album from him.
@@ashleymarsden8676 Seeing them live is something I've yet to experience even though I have been a fan right from the first Darkspace album. And now that there is some bad blood between them (bassist left and not on good terms as far as we know) I am not sure if the future live gigs are the same as before. 😭
I've been loving binging your videos with them relaxing me in the background. This might be too much flattery for a random commenter to throw out but you have such grace when talking about music and your passion really shows through. Keep doing you Bryan!
^ i was about to say this, I think Das Tor's first track is a better execution of Paysage's atmosphere. I personally wasn't a fan of the clean vocals in this song.
Lo-fi/atmospheric black metal is kind of my little-fi hip hop to… It’s relaxing for me, hangs out in the background for me, great to write to, tends to help me focus. “Music I can ignore and focus on something else” might not be what a lot of bands want to hear, but I find I keep coming back to it, so there’s clearly something compelling about it for me. Black metal for me tends to evoke water imagery in my head. Stuff like this would be a cold, grey day with a slow, steady drizzle or mist so thick it feels like you can cut it. The more aggressive side of things, like say Emperor’s Curse You All Men, tends to feel more like a thunderstorm, tornado, or the like.
This is a band that's been on my radar for a while, though I know of them from their more recent albums. Apparently they've been around for a while and releasing a lot of "demos" with this kind of super lo-fi production. While I can enjoy BM with rough production if I find the music compelling enough, in this case the production almost completely prevents me from even hearing what the music is. At some points it sounds like trying to pick out abstract shapes among the massive snowstorm of distortion... and maybe that's part of the point, but it's not really something that appeals to me. Maybe their later material is more "listenable." It kinda sucks because what music I can hear seems interesting, almost like a mix of black metal and ambient music with the chants and stuff. What you say about the static -> snow -> black & white -> bleakness connections is dead on and are key components in a lot of black metal. In fact, black & white covers and "winter" are such common ideas in black metal they're practically cliches. One of my favorite black metal album is called At the Heart of Winter (from Immortal), and that title really gives an idea of how common the idea is. Further, and more generally, that whole metaphor chain you noted is something in linguistics (that's also hugely relevant to cognitive aesthetics) called "cross domain mapping." It's basically a fundamental aspect of human psychology in terms of finding these metaphoric connections between elements from different domains, and part of the power of music is that it's so abstract it readily invites this kind of cross-domain mapping and has a huge influence on why we love the music we do. There are undoubtedly a lot of people that love black metal precisely because of the atmospheric/mood associations created by the music and the snow/winter/black & white/bleak stuff. Of course, this kind of cross-domain mapping has existed for almost as long as music has. There are Renaissance and earlier composers doing things like "word painting" and finding musical ways to express non-musical ideas; but it's cool to think of black metal being arguably the metal genre that's most focused on that style or mode of music.
plzplz do Time Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972. Paysage D'hiver (Wintherr/Tobiad) recorded everything before 2020 all on tape. no pitch correction, nothing digital at all.
![Paysage d'Hiver - Schnee l [official]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YF6ttV1PbbE/mqdefault.jpg)
this kind of music doesnt even try to have a punch or a hook, its meditative. relaxing depressed people by cramming even more
This. This kind of music works more like ambient music, it is not inherently complex in structure. It is all about the atmosphere with sound/production included as part of it. There is no punchline, it is all about being hypnotic with repeating, straightforward melodies. A complete opposite from, say, progressive music.
It does sound pretentious, but this type of black metal is felt. You can't make yourself enjoy it.
The artist is from Switzerland and they speak both French and German there.
huge props for pronouncing "paysage d'hiver" properly
Thanks. I listened to a correct pronunciation about 20 times before hitting the record button just so I could get it close.
Damn, straight into the deep end! When it comes to production Paysage D'Hiver is very extreme. And this album isn't even the worst example. 😅 Also originally Paysage D'Hiver albums were only sold on tapes! No CD's, fullstop, until lately. You mentioned the sound strerchint at one point, I would guess that is where it came from. 😁
Anywho both Paysage D'Hiver and Darkspace (both bands are by the same person, but former is one man project and latter is 3) are one of my favourite bands ever but if I were to introduce one of them to someone Darkspace is the one I would choose as Paysage is more of an acquired taste that needs a certain (depressed?) state of mind to enjoy at its fullest. Darkspace does use similar elements (repetition, more "feel" based music) and you can tell it does have the same mastermind behind it but the sound is much, MUCH clearer especially on later albums and there is more going on in the background like keyboards, samples from movies/series (like 2001 Space Odyssey, Twilight Zone etc...) and the music at the times even goes punchy with heavy powerchors chugs in some songs.
Oh, and I also have to mention that not all PDH albums are even Black Metal! There are quite a few full on Ambient albums, no guitars or drums and just keyboards amd samples. Winter themes, obviously. Die Festung is a good ambient album from him.
Darkspace are one of my favourites. The astral angle really makes them stand out. And the flashing drum cabinet on stage!
I just discovered these guys a few days ago. Brilliant stuff.
@@ashleymarsden8676 Seeing them live is something I've yet to experience even though I have been a fan right from the first Darkspace album. And now that there is some bad blood between them (bassist left and not on good terms as far as we know) I am not sure if the future live gigs are the same as before. 😭
@@MaaZeus Saw them at hellfest in 2012
State of mind plays a huge part of the listening experience.
I've been loving binging your videos with them relaxing me in the background. This might be too much flattery for a random commenter to throw out but you have such grace when talking about music and your passion really shows through. Keep doing you Bryan!
Thanks and I'm glad it's resonating with ya.
Omg my fav bm band thank u for reacting!🙏
Check out "Das Tor" is Paysages best Recording.
^ i was about to say this, I think Das Tor's first track is a better execution of Paysage's atmosphere. I personally wasn't a fan of the clean vocals in this song.
*sees title*
oh noooooo who did this to him lmao (i say this as a fan of some PDH albums)
Pretty much my reaction too. 🤣 And I love PDH myself!
@@MaaZeus Sorry guys, couldn't help myself, it's a personal favourite. My compromise was not linking him the version from the Vinterriket split 🤣
Wow pdh nice name
@@RoRo-vr6wx Rolls of the tongue better than me trying to butcher french. 😁
@@MaaZeus it's not that hard haha it's also a beautiful name
Lo-fi/atmospheric black metal is kind of my little-fi hip hop to… It’s relaxing for me, hangs out in the background for me, great to write to, tends to help me focus. “Music I can ignore and focus on something else” might not be what a lot of bands want to hear, but I find I keep coming back to it, so there’s clearly something compelling about it for me.
Black metal for me tends to evoke water imagery in my head. Stuff like this would be a cold, grey day with a slow, steady drizzle or mist so thick it feels like you can cut it. The more aggressive side of things, like say Emperor’s Curse You All Men, tends to feel more like a thunderstorm, tornado, or the like.
"Macht Des Schicksals" is a good pick I think
Oh boy PdH, that's gonna be a fun video
man, i really really like your channel...
Thanks!
This is a band that's been on my radar for a while, though I know of them from their more recent albums. Apparently they've been around for a while and releasing a lot of "demos" with this kind of super lo-fi production. While I can enjoy BM with rough production if I find the music compelling enough, in this case the production almost completely prevents me from even hearing what the music is. At some points it sounds like trying to pick out abstract shapes among the massive snowstorm of distortion... and maybe that's part of the point, but it's not really something that appeals to me. Maybe their later material is more "listenable." It kinda sucks because what music I can hear seems interesting, almost like a mix of black metal and ambient music with the chants and stuff.
What you say about the static -> snow -> black & white -> bleakness connections is dead on and are key components in a lot of black metal. In fact, black & white covers and "winter" are such common ideas in black metal they're practically cliches. One of my favorite black metal album is called At the Heart of Winter (from Immortal), and that title really gives an idea of how common the idea is. Further, and more generally, that whole metaphor chain you noted is something in linguistics (that's also hugely relevant to cognitive aesthetics) called "cross domain mapping." It's basically a fundamental aspect of human psychology in terms of finding these metaphoric connections between elements from different domains, and part of the power of music is that it's so abstract it readily invites this kind of cross-domain mapping and has a huge influence on why we love the music we do. There are undoubtedly a lot of people that love black metal precisely because of the atmospheric/mood associations created by the music and the snow/winter/black & white/bleak stuff.
Of course, this kind of cross-domain mapping has existed for almost as long as music has. There are Renaissance and earlier composers doing things like "word painting" and finding musical ways to express non-musical ideas; but it's cool to think of black metal being arguably the metal genre that's most focused on that style or mode of music.
Cross-domain mapping, huh? Very cool concept and certainly a huge deal about how I hear black metal.
My favorite Schnee Song of Paysage d'Hiver is Schnee IV
it is a one man band from Switzerland*
plzplz do Time Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972.
Paysage D'hiver (Wintherr/Tobiad) recorded everything before 2020 all on tape. no pitch correction, nothing digital at all.
I liked the part it snowed 🤔
So your comment towards anonymity and isolation is really perceptive.
💚💚💚