With a sound composed of ferocious blastbeats, crushing guitar riffs, and menacing vocals, Winterfylleth (translated as "Winter Old Moon" in Old English) are a black metal outfit hailing from Manchester, England. Made up of vocalist/guitarist Chris Naughton, lead guitarist Richard Brass, and drummer Simon Lucas, the band was formed in 2007 with the line-up completed after the addition of bassist Chris Westby the following year. Having put out an independent demo titled Rising of the Winter Full Moon in 2007 and gaining attention on the live circuit, they went on to secure a record deal with Canadian label Profound Lore and put out their debut full-length The Ghost of Heritage in 2008. After the release and a nationwide tour, Brass left the group in 2009 and was replaced with Mark Wood; Nick Wallwork replaced Westby on bass. The band then moved to English label Candlelight Records and released their sophomore effort, The Mercian Sphere, in 2010. They promoted the album with an international tour that included appearances at festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Graspop in Europe, and the Bloodstock Festival in Derbyshire, England. 2012 saw the release of their third record, The Threnody of Triumph, before they went on the road to open for Norwegian metal act Enslaved. In 2014, they collaborated with Ukrainian black metal act Drudkh on a split-EP which featured a cover of "The Gates," by Hate Forest. Later that year they appeared on a compilation titled One and All, Together, For Home, which featured various metal acts covering traditional folk songs -- Winterfylleth delivered cover versions of "John Barleycorn" and "Abbots Bromley Horn Dance," two songs that date back to the Middle Ages. Both 2014 releases were put out by French label Seasons of Mist. The band's fourth effort, The Divination of Antiquity, was released in 2014 via Candlelight. In 2015, Dan Capp was brought into take up lead guitar duties, replacing Mark Wood. Later that year, the group won "Best Underground Band" at the 13th Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. After the release of 2016's The Dark Hereafter -- released on Spinefarm Records -- Winterfylleth brought in Mark Deeks to handle keyboard duties and string arrangements. Deeks went on to record with the group for their sixth album, The Hallowing of Heirdom, also on Spinefarm, in April 2018. ~ Rob Wacey