The End. 2004. Personnel: Carl August Tidemann (guitar, electric guitar); Vegard Johnsen, Andre Orvik (violin); Dorthe Dreier (viola); Hans Josef Groh (cello); Andy Winter Group (keyboards). Audio Mixers: Carl August Tidemann; Andy Winter Group; Scott Ternan. Recording information: Fagerborg Studio (08/2002-12/2003); Toproom Studio ...

Winds' third album, 2007's Prominence and Demise, took almost three years to record, as the adventurous Norwegian quartet sought new avenues down which to drive its progressive brand of neo-classical heavy metal -- even inviting several guest musicians like Edge ...

Winds' first full-length, Reflections of the I, is a high-minded collection of ornate yet mellow and tastefully executed classical/progressive metal songs. The songs are bound together by soul-searching existential lyrics, which give the album a conceptual feel. In addition, the ...

The End. 2004. Personnel: Carl August Tidemann (guitar, electric guitar); Vegard Johnsen, Andre Orvik (violin); Dorthe Dreier (viola); Hans Josef Groh (cello); Andy Winter Group (keyboards). Audio Mixers: Carl August Tidemann; Andy Winter Group; Scott Ternan. Recording information: Fagerborg Studio (08/2002-12/2003); Toproom Studio ...

Winds CD discography. Winds' third album, 2007's Prominence and Demise, took almost three years to record, as the adventurous Norwegian quartet sought new avenues down which to drive its progressive brand of neo-classical heavy metal -- even inviting several guest musicians like Edge ...

Winds albums. This 21-minute CD is a solid debut by Norway's Winds, demonstrating the band's virtuosic yet restrained style of classical-rooted progressive metal. The presence of drummer Hellhammer and guitarist Carl August Tidemann, two-fifths of the lineup on Arcturus' Aspera Hiems Symfonia, ...

While they bill themselves as a dance group rather than a pop group, the boys of W-inds are still firmly in the realm of the stereotypical Japanese boy band. The album opens with a piece of standard dance fare, careful horn riffs, and repetitive chorus lines aligning just so. With "Reloaded," though, we get a different angle -- the catchier, higher-energy dance track proper. A soft ballad or two, and we get an interesting little funky beat in "New Day." The vocal delivery stays much the same (the trio of vocalists alternately singing together and taking their individual turns to show off their distinct "personalities"), but the backdrop changes to influence the tone of the song. With just a bit of Lil Jon, "Urban Dance" could have been a sibling track to Usher's "Yeah," and "Rock It" keeps the energy and synths but slows the tempo down just a bit -- more insistent, less persuasive. There's a bit of a disco turn in "Love Is the Greatest Thing," and a return to pop proper before the end of the album. There isn't a lot of material here that could really persuade a new listener to turn to ...

Track Listing of songs: New Paradise; What Can; Paradox; Fly Away; Forever Memories; Bye My Love; Show Me the Way; Another Days; Japanese Title; Buddies Mega Mix;

Track Listing of songs: Super Lover; No One Else; Super Lover; No One Else;

Track Listing of songs: You Can't Get Away; Winding Road; Feel the Fate; Winter Story; Give You My Heart; Paradox; New Generation; Forever Memories; Love You Anymore; Round & Round; Endless Moment; New;

Japanese pressing. Canyon. 2005.

BONUS DVD (NTSC/RC-2)