Bernd Seeberger (vocals/keyboards), Larsen Beattie (guitars), Christian Reichel (bass guitar) and Marek Karakasevic (drums).
With this formation Cryptic Wintermoon played a few local concerts. At the end of 1994 Bernd Seeberger decided to leave the band because of personal reasons. Ronny Dörfler, the vocalist of a local Thrash band called Terrible Somnium took the place behind the Cryptic Wintermoon microphone. Later drummer Marek had been replaced with the former Terrible Somnium guitar player Alexander Pöhlmann. With this line-up the band recorded the demo-tape "Voyage Dans La Lune" in August 1995, which was mainly sold in the underground. As Ronny decided to concentrate on his part as singer, Andrea Walter came into the band to play the keys.
Musicial and personal differences between Christian Reichel and the rest of the band almost lead to the end of Cryptic Wintermoon. So the split in summer of 1996 was unavoidable. Christian Ender took upon the part of the bass and background vocals. A second guitar player, Jochen Kressin, completed the line-up.
In March 1997, the MCD "Cryptic Wintermoon" was recorded in the Frost studios in half a year later in October the MCD was published without a label. In the same month, Jochen decided to study and was no longer possible for him to play with Cryptic Wintermoon. He was replaced by Michael Schürger. In this formation the band played a lot of concerts in Germany with bands like Desaster, Night In Gales, Purgatory, Agathodaimon, Ancient Rites, Impending Doom... And managed to make a name in the underground as a Black/Death/Thrash Metal band.
In autumn 1998, Cryptic Wintermoon released a split EP with the band Lord Astaroth, containing “Shadowland” (re-recorded) and “Beyond The Night”. The split EP was distributed by Perverted Taste Records. Because of still no label deal, a promo-tape with four songs was recorded. After that tape, Ars Metalli offered a contract in December 1998. And so the recordings for the long player "The Age Of Cataclysm" started in May 1999 in the famous Frost studios, which had developed into a professional studio. In November the album was released. It contained eleven songs with 60 minutes playing time. “The Age Of Cataclysm” got best results Metal magazines like Rock Hard (9 of 10 pts), Heavy Or What (10 of 12 pts). After the recordings Christian Ender decided to give up active music and Alexander Pöhlmann had to give up because of his eardrum. Both were replaced by Jens "Jason" Löhner (bass) and Andreas "Goatie" Schmidt (drums) known from the Death Metal band Violation.
Cryptic Wintermoon finally quit the record deal with Ars Metalli cause the label didn’t pay anything and also didn’t do shit for the band.
Again without deal a new 5 track promo CD was recorded and later on the complete "A Coming Storm" album; the band managed to sign a deal with Massacre Records. After the recordings of the album, the bass player Jason lost interest in the band and the music, and was replaced by Gary Kietz. “A Coming Storm” was released in May 2003 and got again very good reviews: 8,5/10 RockHard, 10/12 Heavy Oder Was, 89/100 Metalreviews.com…
After the release of "A coming Storm" the new guy on the Bassguitar had to drop out of the band because he wasnt able to play Bassguitar anymore cause of a serious injury. A new Bassplayer was found in the 18 year old Nicolaj Rüster woh also plays guitar in the Band "Angelus Mortis".
Discography
Voyage Dans La Lune Demo, 1995
Cryptic Wintermoon EP, 1997
Franconian Frost Split, 1998
The Age of Cataclysm Full-length, 1999
A Coming Storm Full-length, 2003
of Shadows...And the Dark Things You Fear Full-length, 2005
Portals of Nightfall
Cryptic Wintermoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here at the keep of all darkest nights – where the source of your sorrow lies
All your nightmares – only worse – have become bitter truth for your infected mind
And nothing could save you from torture and grind – slowly fading – from your world
No more spring will thaw your frozen heart anymore – forever, forever, not anymore
Uncertain stumbling through the haze – thousand eyes staring at your face
How that the gleam of your eyes went out – your frightened glance betrays rising doubt
About what soon is to come for you – bad fate, you can rely onto
Guardians of nightfall, lead me behind – the borders I'm loosing for the peace to find
Never meant to be a sinner in religious ways – "why the hell no one hears my prayers"
Portals of nightfall, open your front – and grand me entrance to the world beyond
But please don't forsake my death – yearning soul -...I hear the demons of embers call
Unbearable the burden gradual becomes – drags me down the maw, and deeper down below
My corpse aglowed a long time ago yet – while passing through the chambers of the dead
There are no words to define all this dismay – nothing you have known is destined to remain
When I made you inhale my toxic breath – for I am the everlasting death
Portals of nightfall, open your front – and grand me entrance to the world beyond
But please don't forsake my death – yearning soul -...I hear the demons of embers call
Just take a look around you my son – and be aware of the shades to come
Then you forget what the bible taught – consolation in rain be sought
So this will be your true fate, old friend – welcome back to your journey's end
Here all the keep of all darkest nights – where the source of your sorrow lies
All your nightmares – only worse – have become bitter truth for your infected mind
And nothing could save you from torture and grind – slowly fading – from your world
No more spring will thaw your frozen heart anymore – forever, forever, not anymore
The lyrics of Cryptic Wintermoon's "Portals of Nightfall" describe the journey of the singer into the domain of death, where he encounters the guardians of nightfall and enters the world beyond. The song follows the singer's gradual descent into despair and hopelessness as he approaches the end of his journey. Throughout the lyrics, the singer becomes increasingly aware of the futility of his past beliefs and the inevitability of his fate. He realizes that his nightmares have become a bitter reality and that no force can save him from his torment.
The song can be interpreted as an exploration of the theme of death and the afterlife. The lyrics suggest that the journey into the afterlife can be a painful and terrifying experience, where one must confront the inevitability of one's own mortality. However, the lyrics also suggest that there may be a sense of peace and release in accepting one's fate and surrendering oneself to the unknown.
Line by Line Meaning
And so we meet here again, old friend – welcome back to your journey's end
The singer is addressing someone they know and welcoming them back to a place where their journey will end.
Here at the keep of all darkest nights – where the source of your sorrow lies
The singer is describing the location as where the person's sorrow began or has been concentrated.
All your nightmares – only worse – have become bitter truth for your infected mind
The singer is saying that the person is experiencing a terrible reality that is even worse than their worst nightmares and that their mind is affected by it.
And nothing could save you from torture and grind – slowly fading – from your world
The artist is saying that the person is slowly losing their life and being tortured, and that there is no hope of them being saved.
No more spring will thaw your frozen heart anymore – forever, forever, not anymore
The artist is saying that the person's heart has become cold and numb, and that there is no hope of it ever thawing and becoming warm and alive again.
Uncertain stumbling through the haze – thousand eyes staring at your face
The singer is describing the person as being lost and unsure of where they are, and surrounded by many eyes staring at them.
A savage unintortured chase – don't expect any help from grace
The singer is saying that the person is being chased and hunted in a brutal and merciless way, and that there is no hope of divine intervention to save them.
How that the gleam of your eyes went out – your frightened glance betrays rising doubt
The artist is describing how the person's eyes no longer show any hope or life, and that their glance shows that they are losing faith and becoming more afraid.
About what soon is to come for you – bad fate, you can rely onto
The artist is warning the person that they are facing a terrible fate and that they can only expect the worst to happen to them.
Guardians of nightfall, lead me behind – the borders I'm loosing for the peace to find
The artist is asking for help from the guardians of the night to cross a border to find peace.
Never meant to be a sinner in religious ways – 'why the hell no one hears my prayers'
The singer is saying that they never intended to become a sinner in the eyes of religion, and that they are questioning why no one is answering their prayers for help.
Portals of nightfall, open your front – and grand me entrance to the world beyond
The artist is asking for the portals of nightfall to open and allow them to enter the world beyond death.
But please don't forsake my death – yearning soul -...I hear the demons of embers call
The singer is asking not to be abandoned during their passage into death, and is hearing the call of demons in the flames.
Unbearable the burden gradual becomes – drags me down the maw, and deeper down below
The singer is describing how their burden is becoming too much to bear and is dragging them deeper into darkness and despair.
My corpse aglowed a long time ago yet – while passing through the chambers of the dead
The singer is saying that their body has been dead for a long time but they are still moving through the world of the dead.
There are no words to define all this dismay – nothing you have known is destined to remain
The artist is saying that their situation is too terrible to describe in words, and that everything they have known or believed in is destined to fade away.
When I made you inhale my toxic breath – for I am the everlasting death
The artist is revealing that they are the cause of the person's suffering and their inevitable death, as they represent the permanent end of life.
Just take a look around you my son – and be aware of the shades to come
The singer is telling the person to observe their surroundings and be prepared for the dark things that are coming their way.
Then you forget what the bible taught – consolation in rain be sought
The singer is saying that the person will forget what they learned from the Bible and will instead seek comfort in the rain.
So this will be your true fate, old friend – welcome back to your journey's end
The artist is confirming that the person's fate is sealed, and that this is the end of their journey.
Here all the keep of all darkest nights – where the source of your sorrow lies
The artist is reaffirming that the location is where the person's greatest sorrows have occurred.
All your nightmares – only worse – have become bitter truth for your infected mind
The artist is again emphasizing that the person is living through a nightmare worse than anything they could have imagined, and that their mind is affected by it.
And nothing could save you from torture and grind – slowly fading – from your world
The final lines of the song repeat the theme of the person's slow demise and the lack of hope for their salvation.
No more spring will thaw your frozen heart anymore – forever, forever, not anymore
The final lines reinforce the idea that the person's heart has become irreversibly cold and that there is no hope of resurrection or renewal for them.
Contributed by Kaylee W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.