Winterfell

[Cheiron]

They put out their first album in August 2005--The Veil of Summer. A mix of prog and power metal. One bad note against them, is it seems that since that album they've gone through some various lineup changes. But overall the album is pretty good. I'm not a fan of their singer. His style is just not one that I enjoy. In a way its like Manticora's singer Lars Larsen, but I prefer Lars.

Curious what others think.

 

[Curufin]

The singer posts/used to post on the BG forum, and I could swear I remember him sounding more like Matt Barlow than anyone else. Might be getting mixed up, though.

 

[Cheiron]

Well he does. But yeah... Lars Larsen and Matt Barlow also sound a bit alike. My issue with Winterfell's singer is that he is often pitchy.

 

[Kenneth R.]

The best thing about the band is their whole pretense is a tribute to George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in the same way Blind Guardian loves LoTR. And the quality of the series of books is comparable too

 

[Yippee38]

Lars Larsen and Matt Barlow also sound a bit alike.

Really? I never heard any similarity.

 

[Curufin]

Really? I never heard any similarity.

Same here...

 

[Iced Ray]

I got their EP from a couple of years back and its pretty good. Yeah, the singer does sound a bit like Matt Barlow.

Have not heard the new album yet. May have to check it out soon.

 

[BlackenedDawn]

Very good band. We saw them perform live last fall; they were awsome. Haven't heard the full album, though. I have an mp3 or 2 and they all sound great. I haven't been to their website in quite some time I am going to venture my way there now. Cheers!

 

[Pellaz]

The best thing about the band is their whole pretense is a tribute to George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in the same way Blind Guardian loves LoTR. And the quality of the series of books is comparable too

Wow, that's pretty cool, since the first thing I thought when I saw the band-name in the topic was "Hey, didn't Winterfell get sacked and burned to the ground?" Great books; nice to see a band using them as an influence.

 

[Rick Pierpont]

We played with Winterfell back in November at the Kamelot show at Jaxx. Very nice guys, very good band, but they suffer from a severe lack of hard work at promotions. I had never heard of them until that show so imagine my surprise when i found out they are from my area of PA (like 20-30 minutes away).

The singer was very cool and he holds Matt Barlow in very high esteem which is where y'all are hearing the influence. They had recently lost their drummer and had a friend from IN come and fill in for the show. I was truly impressed at how well they did considering the circumstances. I do have the entire CD and it is pretty cool. There are a couple of tracks that stand out as extra cool too -- I particularly enjoy "Threnody." My only real complaint with their sound is the guitar playing. They are competent, but "immature" in their playing so their leads tend to sound "whiny" and flat and the shredding was a bit messy. Give them some time and those problems can be solved. However, they could play and sound just like Symphony X or Dream Theater, but without a little elbow grease in the promotions department, nobody will ever hear them. I was surprised that they even got mentioned up here.

I haven't heard anything from them or about them besides this since November. I hope that they get things together! It is always good to have more bands in the area! One or two bands does not constitute a "scene."

 

[jaimek]

Winter is coming!



...sorry, had to be said.

/geek

 

[Mephistopheles]

Winter is coming!



...sorry, had to be said.

/geek

I was thinking the same thing. I've never heard of the band though... If they write songs about ASoIaF I would shit myself.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Holy shit they really do write music based on A Song of Ice and Fire...

I must aquire these albums right away!

 

[Mephistopheles]

Wow, that's pretty cool, since the first thing I thought when I saw the band-name in the topic was "Hey, didn't Winterfell get sacked and burned to the ground?" Great books; nice to see a band using them as an influence.

I'm in the middle of Clash of Kings now and I'm guessing taht you just tossed a pretty big spoiler at me

oh well. in the grand scheme of things it couldn't be the worst spoiler I could have read. Considering Winterfell has lost a lot of importance after the end of the first book and I don't know when or by whom or any other such details.

::sorry for the tripple post btw::

 

[Pellaz]

I'm in the middle of Clash of Kings now and I'm guessing taht you just tossed a pretty big spoiler at me

Shit, dude, I'm totally sorry about that. I kinda figured since it was a few books ago that everyone's already read it.

Errm, don't worry. You're still in for a helluva ride. With G.R.R.M., it's not the destination as much as the journey getting there.


I must say I'm curious about Winterfell's CDs, too, since they base their material on the books. What's next, a band basing their stuff on Tolkien?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I must say I'm curious about Winterfell's CDs, too, since they base their material on the books. What's next, a band basing their stuff on Tolkien?

I just bought both of them. From what I can tell in the samples on their site (www.winterfell.org if it wasn't posted already) it sounds like solid/slightly generic power metal but the source material is so bad ass that it makes up for a lot of the problems it might have.

and, as I'm sure you know, power metal bands do this kinda stuff all the time. Blind Guardian did it for Tolkien with an album, Jag Panzer did Macbeth, Manticora did Hyperion... this is the first time I've seen an entire band dedicated to one work though. Even though I'm only in the middle of the second book I can already tell A Song of Ice and Fire more than justifies it though. Lord of the Rings aint got nothin on this shit.

 

[Cheiron]

Hopefully nobody bases their album on Wheel of Time. It would have to be a 12 disc album, and still nothing would have happened.


I'm mean. I enjoyed the first few books of that series... actually all the way up to Winter's Heart I think.

 

[Pellaz]

Hopefully nobody bases their album on Wheel of Time. It would have to be a 12 disc album, and still nothing would have happened.

"The melody seemed to drag on and on, without advancing the theme or plot of the album."

There are a few bands who are based on RJ's books..... The Forsaken, from Sweden (at one time they included a current member of Evergrey), and also Lanfear, of course. Seems like I'm forgetting someone, too.

I'm mean. I enjoyed the first few books of that series... actually all the way up to Winter's Heart I think.

That's more than a few. I like the series a lot, but JR needs to wrap it up soon, before he shuffles off this mortal coil.

 

[Cheiron]

Well I figured Lanfear was, but perhaps I didn't pay much attention to their lyrics, because I didn't hear an influence that way.

Now... we need a group called 'Uigenna'

 

[Pellaz]

Well I figured Lanfear was, but perhaps I didn't pay much attention to their lyrics, because I didn't hear an influence that way.

Off the cuff and based only on their song-titles, I don't think their material is closely tied with the WoT books....I could be wrong, though.

Now... we need a group called 'Uigenna'

* nose in the air * Those barbarians! I would never associate with any of THEM!

--Oh, wait.


BTW, there is at least one band named after/drawing influences from the Wraeththu books (aside from Christian Death, perhaps). Oddly enough they are not named "The Closets of Emily Child," which was Caeru's band at the club in Ferelithia. I'm trying to remember who it was.