Track Review: “The Darkest Winter” by Hilltops Are For Dreamers

Our first introduction to Hilltops Are For Dreamers came back in 2020 as they gave their self titled records to the world and since then we’ve followed them down the left hand path from their heaviest Gothenburg scene Melodic Death Metal inspired moments through to some Gothic Rock inspired ones. While musicians have come and gone from the project over the past eight years, mastermind and multi instrumentalist Vasileios Papageorgakopoulos has remained at its black beating heart. Mastered by Steve Lado (Sunburst, Astarte, Enemy Of Reality), for this one Papageorgakopoulos is joined by vocalist Jesse Heikkinen (The Abbey, Iterum Nata) and drummer Fernando Guerrero.

This time out Hilltops Are For Dreamers cite HIM, The 69 Eyes and Sentenced as influences and you can certainly hear that in the stylings of “The Darkest Winter”. A song with a distinctive Scandinavian melancholia that also has a cinematic quality with depth, texture and nuance, this one sounds as if it belongs on the soundtrack to a gritty, dark crime drama series like The Killing. Lyrically Jesse Heikkinen explores themes devotion, romantic misery and self-sabotage in English, a couple of moments where his accent isn’t quite right adding charm to the piece rather than taking away from it. Those vocals carry a weight of emotion that is bolstered by the music to create something truly captivating. The chorus is one as an instant sing-a-long quality to it before the final third which makes the track as the slick riffs drop into a flamenco acoustic guitar moment. What follows is a warm, tasteful solo and a little piano, all of which adds to the whole because little moments make all the difference. “The Darkest Winter” maybe the first song from the project in a year but there is no mistaking who it belongs to, this spellbinding cryptic writing very much in keeping with their previous burnt offerings. So you’ve never heard of Hilltops Are For Dreamers then this new song is a mighty fine starting point from which you can hear all the qualities they have offered in the past in one single composition. Hopefully that’s enough to send you in search of their discography because they have plenty more where this came from [8.5/10]