Cineastre (Germany) was just something that I stumbled on quite recently while browsing for releases pertaining to said genres, and as it turns out, I have found myself listening to this raw and atmospheric output a lot during my early and often-times solitary shifts at work. Each project brings two compositions to the table with two of them (being “Call of the Black Forest” by Winterfell and “Wind” by Cineastre) serving as an intro and outro.

There is a calm and hypnotic vibe to the entire affair thanks to the linear and repetitive melodies, and the emphasis is first and foremost on conjuring up evocative visions of bleak and windswept landscapes, which I think both Winterfell and Cineastre succeed in doing. The metal compositions move along at a steady pace too and contain only a few riffs and arrangements each, but thanks to the monotony of it all, they somehow manage to lull you into the desolate and wintry world of theirs in an effective manner, which, I suspect, was the intention all along.

There is nothing even remotely original or new on display here, but what they do they do well. “Songs From a Time Forgotten” is charmingly lo-fi and sounds like a bedroom-production regardless of whether we are discussing Winterfell or Cineastre, which only adds to its obscure underground appeal. If you are on the lookout for somewhat simple black metal or dungeon synth (or perhaps atmospheric black metal would be a more apt description?) that harkens back to the days of old, this brief EP might be worth a try.

https://cineastre.bandcamp.com/album/winterfell-cineastre-split-songs-from-a-time-forgotten