Reflections of the I or Imaginary Direction?
- Thread starter Agalloch
- Start date
Will Bozarth
Everlasting Godstopper
Destroyer Of Orden
ArchType
RosesofShadow
Fuck my country
I don't know, but i seem to like Reflection more, have to spin Imaginary more this time i guess...
Johannes 13,18
my confidant
PlatypusJesus
A Dead Sun Serenity
Metal Reigns
Where All Metal Dwells
Imaginary Direction Of Time. Yes both are spectacular. I am just gald to see a band that can make a better record then their previous album. Not many bands accomplish that.
The Grimace
New Metal Member
Why does everyone always forget about 'Of Entity And Mind'?? I still say that it was a songwriting peak for the band, though not the most technically inspired work they've done. Best melodies, darkest atmosphere, awesome lyrics, and more 'feeling' in the drums than anything Jan Axel has done since, including the newer Winds discs.
In All Reflections = Best vocal and guitar lead of any Winds track (I haven't heard the new album yet, if it's out, but there better be some friggin acoustic guitar somewhere!!)
In All Reflections = Best vocal and guitar lead of any Winds track (I haven't heard the new album yet, if it's out, but there better be some friggin acoustic guitar somewhere!!)
PlatypusJesus
A Dead Sun Serenity
I haven't forgotten about it. I'm sure some people also don't think of it because it's included with Reflections of the I. But still, Imaginary Direction of Time beats it also.
The Grimace
New Metal Member
Hieronimus
Music-addict
Reflections of the I has got a much darker ambience, I like it! But on the other hand, The Imaginary Direction of Time's songs are much more balanced. Tough choice, but I'll go for the latter, it's just worked out a bit better. 
Jerich
Progressive doom
Genesis_Revolt
Member
- Feb 29, 2004
- 65
- 0
- 6
Ok, Im just going to go ahead and say for anyone out there who is scared to. My vote goes to Reflections of the I 
Demiana
Member
I think I have a problem; I really love Reflections of the I and expected the same for The Imaginary Direction of Time, but it was a big disappointment. I don't know what it is though, but I can't get a grip on it.
Can somebody tell me which song is beautiful and particulary which part of it, because I don't 'understand' what they are doing. I think the production sucks, Lars' voice is too loud in the mix and the songs are not kicking in... I hope somebody can help me out here..thanks
Can somebody tell me which song is beautiful and particulary which part of it, because I don't 'understand' what they are doing. I think the production sucks, Lars' voice is too loud in the mix and the songs are not kicking in... I hope somebody can help me out here..thanks
Andy Winter
Winds
Demiana said:
Hi Demiana,
I read your post and found it very interesting. I'm sure you didn't expect me to be the person answering this, but in all honstly, who better suited to answer it than me? What I think everything boils down to can summed up in a five letter word: "taste" - and beyond that there is no reckoning.
I have had people tell me Of Entity And Mind is their favorite Winds record and I have also had people tell me Reflections of the I and The Imaginary Direction of Time. In the similar fashion, I've had people tell me they think the guitar solos are too loud, not loud enough, that the vocals are too loud, not loud enough, that the guitars are too heavy, not heavy enough, that the album sounds too much like the last one, that it doesn't sound enough like the last one, and so on so forth. In fact, there is probably not one single combination of things that some people consider "wrong" that I have not heard at one point or another.
It all comes down to what you like, and personally within the band we are definitely more happy with the new record than we were with Reflections of the I, even though we of course are not unhappy with that either. The major difference was that the recording of Reflection of the I was rushed, we had to complete everything within 1 month and we had no time to breathe and let thinks sink in during the production. Due to this time schedule we are therefore not 100% with the instrumental performances we did on that record, they could have been better, something we feel we accomplished more so on The Imaginary Direction of Time than we ever did in the past. This is of course just our opinion and we also respect the opinion of anyone who thinks differently about it.
I will have to say one thing though, the production on The Imaginary Direction of Time definitely does not suck, it was done in a world class studio that far exceeds what 95% of metal bands are able to use on their records. My style of producing is also quite different from the typical "metal" way of producing, and the reason for that is because my background is not from metal. In my opinion, the greatest mistake a lot of metal bands do is that they mix the vocals and drums too low in the mix. The drums being too low causes there to be no punch in the music, no dynamics, and to have the vocals too low takes away from the fact that vocals will always be the lead instrument when they are present. The approach to mixing The Imaginary Direction of Time was therefore to always have something in the lead, be it piano, guitar solos or vocals. You will notice that these three instruments, when they are present, do stand out from the rest of the mix a bit. This was done completely on purpose in order to achieve focus on those elements.
So in my totalitarian way of seeing things, the vocals on The Imaginary Direction of Time are not too loud, it is the standard among metal bands that is too low (as far as mixing vocals is concerned). As far as the compositions and song writing is concerned, some people have complained that there are too many piano intros on the record, yet that was also something I did completely intentionally when composing the music. It was meant to be a similarity between the tracks, and the only reason this is viewed in a negative light is because some people (in my opinion) are too focused on songs and tracks, in stead of viewing the entire album as one cohesive unit. (If people want songs, they can listen to the radio).
As far as specific parts, etc, this is more difficult to answer. Maybe the record just isn't for you (after all, it's not for everyone), or maybe you were expecting something more similar to Reflections of the I that your expectations threw you off a bit. I have found that about 9/10 people consider our newest record to be our best, and maybe 1/100 think the MCD is the best, but in truth there is no right or wrong answer. Only opinions! (and we appreciate that you took the time to share yours)
Regards,
Andy Winter
