WINDS REFLECTION OF THE I
The End Records - 2002
By Rodrigo
Reflections of The I is yet another excellent album, courtesy of The End Records, to be released in the USA. Winds continues to employ the same musical path of their predecessor, the MCD Of Entity and Mind. The marriage of symphonic arrangements, clean vocals, ambient synths, and dark guitars works like a charm. Winds totally takes you into another world that is both haunting and relaxing. The amazing talents of Lars Eric Si (vocals), Carl August Tidemann (guitars), Jan Axel von Blomberg or Hellhammer (drums) and Andy Winter (keyboards) have created an intensely satisfying listening experience with wonderful melodies and a sublime and regal atmosphere.
Reflections of the I is another concept album following the lyrical ideas from Of Entity and Mind and it flows wonderfully. Its kind of hard to separate and talk about the songs individually because this album has to be listened as a whole to fully experience it. The journey that we are taken into starts off slowly with the first few songs, picking up in the middle and once again slowing down in the final songs. Its a natural progression that works in concordance to the lyrical ideas.
Overall, the dominant musical presence is of the string section (featuring members from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra) as well as Andys keyboards while the other instruments are there to support it. During some of the instrumentals like "Predominance", "Transition" and "Premonition" the driving force are the strings and keyboards and they invoke a true classical music elegance.
Carls guitars arent flashy, technical or overly complex. In fact his playing in this album is subdued and only in moments does he come out with a great lead or solo, two of them being found in "Passions Quest" and "Reasons Desire". Jan Axels drumming is also of a simple nature compared to what he has done in other albums. But with his playing in this album you can still tell that he is one of the greatest drummers in metal. Larss subdued singing molds perfectly to the music. He ranges from a high singing voice to a lower talkative one and he always sounds natural and in control of his voice.
The great promise that Winds showed with Of Entity and Mind is fully realized with Reflections of the I and it should not be missed. Incidentally this release comes with the five songs that comprised that MCD, perfect for those who missed out on that release.
The End Records Website
Winds Official Website
The End Records - 2002
By Rodrigo
Reflections of The I is yet another excellent album, courtesy of The End Records, to be released in the USA. Winds continues to employ the same musical path of their predecessor, the MCD Of Entity and Mind. The marriage of symphonic arrangements, clean vocals, ambient synths, and dark guitars works like a charm. Winds totally takes you into another world that is both haunting and relaxing. The amazing talents of Lars Eric Si (vocals), Carl August Tidemann (guitars), Jan Axel von Blomberg or Hellhammer (drums) and Andy Winter (keyboards) have created an intensely satisfying listening experience with wonderful melodies and a sublime and regal atmosphere.
Reflections of the I is another concept album following the lyrical ideas from Of Entity and Mind and it flows wonderfully. Its kind of hard to separate and talk about the songs individually because this album has to be listened as a whole to fully experience it. The journey that we are taken into starts off slowly with the first few songs, picking up in the middle and once again slowing down in the final songs. Its a natural progression that works in concordance to the lyrical ideas.
Overall, the dominant musical presence is of the string section (featuring members from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra) as well as Andys keyboards while the other instruments are there to support it. During some of the instrumentals like "Predominance", "Transition" and "Premonition" the driving force are the strings and keyboards and they invoke a true classical music elegance.
Carls guitars arent flashy, technical or overly complex. In fact his playing in this album is subdued and only in moments does he come out with a great lead or solo, two of them being found in "Passions Quest" and "Reasons Desire". Jan Axels drumming is also of a simple nature compared to what he has done in other albums. But with his playing in this album you can still tell that he is one of the greatest drummers in metal. Larss subdued singing molds perfectly to the music. He ranges from a high singing voice to a lower talkative one and he always sounds natural and in control of his voice.
The great promise that Winds showed with Of Entity and Mind is fully realized with Reflections of the I and it should not be missed. Incidentally this release comes with the five songs that comprised that MCD, perfect for those who missed out on that release.
The End Records Website
Winds Official Website
