Prominence and Demise (CD - 2007)

Audio Mixers: Andy Winter Group; Shaun Thingvold.

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 of Sanity's Dan Swanö, Borknagar's Lars Nedland, and ex-Ulver Oysten Moe to the sessions, while working once again with members of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra on select cuts. And, as a result, the album may well qualify as the band's most eclectic yet, as creatively ruminating tracks like "Universal Creation Array" (featuring backing vocals from Madder Mortem's Agnete Kirkevaag), "Fall and Rise," and "The Last Line" waste little time in abandoning the musicians' heavy metal comfort zone to explore ambient soundscapes and complex symphonic arrangements. All four of Winds' core members are masters of their craft, but if anyone stands out above the rest it's keyboard player Andy Winter, whose classically steeped piano contributions both define their unique style and mesh beautifully with the metallic instrumental flurries of guitarist Carl Tidemann and drummer Jan Axel Blomberg (aka the legendary Hellhammer) on highlights like "The Grand Design" (containing rare Cookie Monster vocal parts), "The Darkest Path" (which still sneaks in a Spanish guitar bit), and "Where the Cold Winds Blow" (boasting yet another stunning piano intro). Conversely, if anyone lets the band down, it's singer Lars Eric Si, whose voice is simply not powerful or rich enough to round out such ambitious compositions with worthy melodies, given his rather limited lower range. But then, vocals are probably the lowest priority in the minds of most Winds fans, who, due to the career pedigree of these musicians, inevitably hail from the black metal end of the extreme music spectrum. So if the caliber of an album's instrumental portion is ever going to outweigh the importance of its vocals, Prominence and Demise is one such album. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia minimize