Winter: a hostile season of uninhabitable darkness or a sweet, grim cocoon in which to encase one’s self? Metalheads certainly seem to adore winter, as made apparent by the proliferation of snow, ice, frost, and delicious yetis on the album covers of black metal bands. That said, headbangers are also known for their hatred of sleeves and their adoration of big outdoor festivals. This begs the question: what albums really make winter worthwhile, and how cold and frostbitten is any metalhead at heart, truly?
On the latest episode of our heavy metal talk show Last Words, hosts Jordan Olds (Two Minutes To Late Night), Katy Irizarry (Season Of Mist), and Doc Coyle (Bad Wolves/Ex Man Podcast) go full seasonal beer by breaking down their lists of the five best metal albums for winter. Jordan, of course, begins his list with an album by Chelsea Wolfe, who, though wintry, arguably does not slay.
“Me, of course, because I’m the type of person who likes to play devil’s advocate, I just have to push against this idea of winter music, as the aggregate,” says Doc of this pick. “Because look at summer touring season — Chelsea Wolfe was playing festivals in the summertime. Don’t put Chelsea in a box!”
Doc, meanwhile, went with Ghost for his choice — but didn’t even pick a single album. “I feel like they have a lot of that gothy, orchestral feel that almost could be a Christmas rock opera or something like that, but there’s something always fun about the band. It puts me in a good mood at this time. They’re also a band that sounds like an old band, even though they’re not. That in and of itself harkens the idea of nostalgia, which I myself use as a place of comfort in the time of the winter.”
Check out the full episode below:
If you want the fully unhinged, uncensored version of these metal rants on your commute (as though you’re going anywhere in 2020), definitely tune into the podcast version of Last Words to get your shit rocked in full, delicious audio:
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Words by Chris Krovatin
