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APESHIT

REVIEWS

WINDS - Reflections of the I

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Not all of Norway’s quality bands play black metal. WINDS is a fine example of this. I can only describe this as a unique style of progressive classical metal. The band is composed of highly skilled musicians, the most well known members being Hellhammer (MAYHEM, ARCTURUS, THE KOVENANT, etc) on drums and Carl August Tidemann (ex-ARCTURUS, TRITONUS) on guitars. _Reflections of the I _ is a very subtle, beautiful album. It flows like a classical piece of music with parts of piano, forte, and crescendo. Tidemann’s guitar solos are absolutely jaw dropping during these crescendos! The middle section of “Passion’s Quest” is a perfect example. His guitar crunch on this album would bring a tear to James Hetfield’s eye. Andy Winter’s piano playing and string arrangements do a great job in adding a nice dimension to the sound. Hellhammer manages to utilize his amazing skills to yet another style of metal. A strong point of Reflections of the I is that overkill and self-indulgence are absent. With a band where each member could play endless solos, it nice to hear that they understand that songwriting is the key. One piece of advice that I can give to everyone is that it takes a good number of listens to really get into this album. Most will not like it upon the first few listens but once you get over that initial hump, it will become an enjoyable experience. (The End Records)