Behind The Tracks: Atavistia - Through The Hollow Raven’s Eyes (Reforged) (Single) (2025)

“Through The Hollow Raven’s Eyes (Reforged)” emerges as the fastest and most intricate piece on the album, a track reshaped with precision and intention. When Atavistia returned to it, they trimmed away unnecessary elements, reshaped vocal melodies, and refined the pacing until everything hit with sharper impact. These changes reflect the band’s present direction and showcase how time, experience, and growth can fundamentally reshape a song. Even the lyrics were adjusted to better suit the new flow and atmosphere, giving the track a renewed sense of energy and purpose.

The story of The Winter Way (Reforged) as a whole begins in a very different place. The original album, released in 2020, had become something the band viewed as a dark and distant memory. Its performance and production left them unsatisfied, and over time, it became a chapter they preferred not to revisit. Despite this, the album held enormous ambition. Atavistia has always blended extreme metal with massive orchestrations and immersive soundscapes, and The Winter Way still represents a peak of that intense, layered approach. Yet, in their own eyes, it was not the version they wanted the world to hear.

Mattias Sippola, the band’s founder, recalls feeling that the album simply was not ready when it was released. In his words, “It was simply not even close enough to being ready. From fat trimming, performance during the recording stage, and the overall production of the album were just not there.” The timing of its release, falling just before the pandemic, only added to its troubled legacy.

While working on a completely new album, unforeseen circumstances halted their progress and left an unexpected creative void. During this pause, Mattias recognised an opportunity. Instead of waiting out the interruption, he decided to return to The Winter Way with the intention of rebuilding it from the ground up. This was not a remix or a remaster. It was a full reconstruction of the songs, complete with new recordings, fresh arrangements, modern production, and entirely rewritten atmospheric and orchestral elements. Some original drum and bass tracks remained, although even these were tightened and reshaped. The addition of Spencer Budworth’s powerful growls introduced a new dimension to the album, expanding its weight and grandeur.

The difference between the original release and the reforged version is striking. Hearing them side by side feels like encountering two separate bands from two different worlds, each interpreting the same material through entirely different lenses. The Winter Way (Reforged) is not simply a corrected version of the past. It is the album Atavistia always believed it could be, finally brought into focus with the clarity, skill, and vision they possess today.