Before I even pressed play on As The Snow Falls by Der Schneefall, I was already intrigued — and slightly confused. Six tracks, two of which are intros and outros that don’t even break the one-minute mark, and not a single song that crosses the three-and-a-half-minute line? That’s not exactly the standard operating procedure for Symphonic Black Metal, a genre that usually prides itself on sprawling compositions and grandiose theatrical excess. So, my expectations were somewhere between “this could be a fascinating experiment” and “this might crash and burn faster than a cursed cathedral.”
Thankfully, Der Schneefall (that’s “The Snowfall” for the non-German speakers among us) clearly know what the fuck they’re doing. In just over twelve minutes, this Canadian outfit crafts a record that feels expansive, icy, and full of heart — proof that you don’t need 10-minute opuses and 15 layers of orchestration to capture that wintry, bombastic essence of the genre.
The opening track, My Return To The Filth From Whence I Came (Intro), sets the stage with a brief but beautifully frigid atmosphere — as ghostly bells ring out. Then Moonlit Black Ritual rips straight through the fog with tremolo riffs sharp enough to skin a wolf and drums that burst like cracking glaciers. The vocals are buried deep, almost hidden beneath the storm, but that’s entirely the point — they’re another instrument in the blizzard, howling like lost spirits caught in the gale.
By the time you hit Secluded, Triumphant, the EP’s standout, Der Schneefall show that brevity doesn’t mean lack of complexity. The track moves with precision — riffs rising and falling like blinding snowdrifts, while the drums fill the empty space like an oncoming march if death, and keyboards swell and vocals howl against it all.
Solen Skal Aldri Stå Opp keeps the energy going, more straightforward but equally powerful, while As The Snow Falls closes out the chaos with melancholic beauty — a final breath before For The Church Bells Will Toll (Outro) takes us full circle with the sound of chimes haunting your every existence.
There’s something to be said for a band that understands how to make every second count. Der Schneefall have delivered a concise, razor-sharp example of how to do Symphonic Black Metal without the bloat — cold, calculated, and crushingly effective.
As The Snow Falls EP is available from the Der Schneefall Bandcamp page.
CHOICE CUT: Secluded, Triumphant
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: A masterclass in making minimalism feel massive. As The Snow Falls is short, sharp, and utterly spellbinding — an ice-scarred, blizzard-borne hymn that proves less really can be more when you know how to wield the frost.
