Fantasies In Flesh by Winter Tales: A Brutal Symphony of Chaos and Beauty
Alright, buckle up. This isn’t your average review—this is a gut-punch to the senses. Fantasies In Flesh by Winter Tales slams together Electronic, Rock, Symphonic Rock, Death Metal, Ambient, and Black Metal like some unholy Frankenstein monster that somehow works. Released back in 2014 under Earth And Sky Productions and self-released through their own label, this Finnish-Norwegian hybrid doesn’t just sit there; it rips your face off while whispering poetry into your bleeding ears.
First track that sticks? "The Ebony Within." Holy hell, this thing hits hard. It’s got these massive symphonic layers crashing over blast beats so fast they make your heart race. Like, if you’re not gripping something solid while listening, you might fall over. What makes it unforgettable is how it flips between crushing heaviness and these hauntingly beautiful ambient sections. One second, you're getting pummeled by riffs sharp enough to cut glass, and the next, you're floating in this eerie soundscape that feels like staring at a frozen wasteland. It’s disorienting as fuck but goddamn addictive.
Then there’s "In The August Break Of Dusk," which feels like someone took all your emotions, threw them into a blender, and hit puree. The melodies are razor-sharp, slicing right through the atmospheric haze. There’s this moment near the middle where everything drops out except for this fragile piano line—it’s almost tender before the chaos roars back in. You don’t expect it, and it fucks with your head in the best way possible. Tracks like this remind you why Winter Tales deserves respect—they aren’t afraid to experiment even when it gets messy.
Now, here’s the kicker: for an album born from such extreme genres, Fantasies In Flesh has this weird ability to feel both intimate and overwhelming. Listening to it feels like being lost in a forest during a storm—you’re terrified, yeah, but also kinda awestruck. And honestly? That’s rare. Most bands can’t pull off blending black metal shrieks with lush orchestration without sounding like they’re trying too hard. But Winter Tales nails it.
So yeah, this record ain’t perfect. Some parts drag, and the production could’ve been tighter. But who cares? It’s raw, ugly, gorgeous, and completely unapologetic. If you’re looking for cookie-cutter music, go stream whatever pop garbage dominates the charts. But if you want something that’ll chew you up, spit you out, and leave you wondering what just happened, give this one a spin.
Oh, and hey—if you ever meet the dudes behind Winter Tales, ask ‘em how many arguments it took to mix all those styles into one album. Bet it was brutal.
