Biography

Formed in 2007 with the intention of honouring England’s proud ancestral heritage and rich national culture, Winterfylleth (comprised of members culled from the UK’s most devastating doom contingent Atavist) set a solidified mission statement to bring awareness to England’s historical stories, folklore, landscapes and ancestral past through their folk-influenced vitriolic black metal.

Coining the term English Heritage Black Metal (EHBM), Winterfylleth (which translates into Winter Full Moon from the Olde English language) represents the first full moon in October as well as the Anglo-Saxon festival of the arrival of winter. With their “Rising of the Winter Full Moon” demo, they generated a massive response in the underground, causing them to be signed up by Profound Lore Records (Leviathan, Xasthur, Wold, Altar of Plagues etc). Rising of the Winter Full Moon displayed a fierce focused vision of what Winterfylleth wanted to achieve through their music, and with their “The Ghost of Heritage” debut (that was released on the Winterfylleth of 2008), this vision was realised.

By combining vicious yet moody folk inspired black metal that harkens back to the early days of Enslaved and old-school Ulver, Winterfylleth also conjure feelings and moods that reflect with the likes of acts such as Drudkh, Hate Forest, and Forefather, while at the same time, forging new ground to lead a recent movement in UK black metal.

With their music Winterfylleth conjure moods and emotions that range from vicious and violent to melodic and elegant, “The Ghost Of Heritage” signalled a new shift for the underground UK black metal scene, with Winterfylleth being considered by much of the music press to be one of the most distinct acts of this movement, gaining critical acclaim from the worlds music media, most notably of which was being voted in Unrestrained Magazines’ “25 Best Albums of 2008”.

Lyrically, the band delve into tales of England’s archaic history, re-counting major events, battles, and even draw inspiration from certain sites and scenery that grace the countryside of England and have played an integral part in England’s history.

In 2009 Winterfylleth had some personnel changes and regrouped adding to their strong original line up of Naughton & Lucas. At the same time they signed to Candlelight Records to handle the release of their 2010 album “The Mercian Sphere”.

The release of ‘The Mercian Sphere’ signified a shift in the fortunes of English/British Black Metal, with the band being propelled to international status, and helping to push the envelope of British extreme metal to the rest of the world. ‘The Mercian Sphere’ received album of the month/issue in Terrorizer Magazine & in Zero Tolerance magazine (in which Winterfylleth featured on the cover), as well as rave reviews in Metal Hammer (9/10) and Kerrang Magazine (4/5Ks) and the rest of the global press. All of this culminated in the album being voted #20 in the “Top 40 Albums of 2010” in Terrorizer magazine.

Winterfylleth have since featured at a number of major festivals on the back of the successes of this album. Headlining a stage at Bloodstock 2010, as well as being invited to play Roadburn 2011 & Metal Camp 2011.

In April 2012 Winterfylleth went back into Foel Studios to record their third album ‘The Threnody of Triumph’, again with producer Chris Fielding.

2012 saw a short UK jaunt with Primordial and further ventures into Europe with invites to play Hellfest in France, Graspop Metal Meeting Festival in Belgium and Wacken-Open-Air Festival in Germany. Winterfylleth were also invited back for another appearance at Bloodstock-Open-Air Festival in the UK.

On 17th/25th September ‘The Threnody of Triumph’ was released worldwide on Candlelight Records to critical acclaim. The 2xLP vinyl version was released soon afterwards on Back on Black Records.

Winterfylleth are appearing at Damnation Festival in Leeds in the UK on Saturday November 3rd 2012. Winterfylleth have also been hand picked by Primordial to appear at their own personal festival in Dublin Ireland early in February 2013 entitled Redemption Festival. In March 2013, Winterfylleth will be appearing at Hammerfest 5 in the UK.

Winterfylleth are: – Chris Naughton (guitar/vocals), Simon Lucas (drums/backing vocals), Nick Wallwork (bass/backing vocals) & Mark Wood (guitar/backing vocals)

Chris Naughton is endorsed by