Three years after being recorded, WINTERTHRALL’s debut album, Nightmares for the Sleepless, is finally here. While the band are from Orange County, California, they sound as if they born in Sweden in the mid to late 90’s. Their style of extreme metal draws much inspiration from the sound that bands such as DISSECTION, DARK FUNERAL, NECROPHOBIC, NAGLFAR, and DAWN helped forge. There’s a thread of darkness, malevolence, and melancholy running throughout Nightmares for the Sleepless. In addition to the blazing melodies and fevered pace, there are plenty of dynamics such as the use of different tempos, a strong sense of feeling and atmosphere, and most importantly, catchiness. Tasty riffs can be found all over Nightmares for the Sleepless and there are even interludes that are reminiscent of early OPETH and middle era-KATATONIA. The cover of CARCASS’ “Death Certificate” is a great homage to one of the greats and will surely warm the metal hearts of faithful extreme metal fans. The album is solid in its quality, performance, and consistency. While we live in a current era where much of underground metal has been demystified and commercialized for mainstream metal consumption, WINTERTHRALL keep it true and deliver a strong album that is purely underground. (self-released)