There are certain record labels which I trust on dealing with bands that have a lot of “artistic credibility”. The End Records has built up a really good reputation for finding bands that are both different, while at the same time are known for creating high-quality material. That’s why I really have to admit that I’m having a bit of a hard time with progressive metal/rock. I’ve heard of the band WINDS for quite some time actually, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad review for these guys, and being on The End Records certainly gives them a bit of a plus in my book, but at the same time, I find myself getting hung up on some of the elements about prog that I had difficulty getting past before.
My interpretation of what progressive rock/metal was, is that it was supposed to be a genre about pushing both creative and technical limitations, although I’ve heard many substantiated complaints that technically proficient players are basically abusing the genre to show off how well they play, while drawing out needlessly long songs.
The keyboards on “Prominence and Demise” make use of fluttering pianos, and get their chance to take center stage, along with back the rest of the band up with counter-melodies in the background, or by imitating strings. The band makes use of a female guest vocalist, as well as even a few hidden harsh vocals very rarely. Most of the songs have a bit of a slow relaxed pace, which move between simple support for the other instruments to become technical, mixed with other bits of technicality, such as the band playing a run together. And of course, there’s those long songs that stretch up to eight minutes. The points of interest that I always get hung up is that the construction of the music seems more like a vehicle for the band to make off-time parts rather than going out for unbridled passion. The lyrics seems to reflect the same thing, pondering lots of philosophical questions, such as our own existence. Certainly it might be subject matter to get you thinking, but it’s more intellectual than it is emotional.
The recording of all the instruments themselves came off as a little soft to me, especially the drum tuning and the electric guitars, which almost always used with a distorted tone. I was reminded of what movie studios do to make synthetic imitations of heavy music. While I’ve heard a few heavy metal riffs made just for commercials that get close to biting, the guitar tone is usually scaled back in some way. In this case I couldn’t find much distinction in the guitar tone. Perhaps it’s because I’m so used to dealing with harsh, caustic music so often that I’d like to have drums give me a boot-stomp to the face, and have the guitars come out and rip me to pieces.
I’d like to think that having varied ratings in reviews adds some validity to the bands that get reviewed here. Would it really be a good thing for me to say that I think that “Prominence And Demise” is not my thing, but it’s good for a prog album? I felt a little bit insulted when back in the 90’s, I read a guitar magazines review of a Malevolent Creation album, saying it was a good album because it does everything that death metal fans want. I’ll admit that this latest album from WINDS is probably out of my field, and from what I’ve heard, they’re supposed to be masters in their field. As much as I try to give anything and everything that lands in my mailbox a fair shot (and I’m surprised at what I’ve ended up liking) I can’t help but feel that WINDS isn’t quite pulling in fans from outside their chosen field by experimenting with something that’s truly grand. I hope that makes sense. You know how certain bands don’t play out of their field, but hook in new fans by making an album that’s so creative, it’s hard not to get sucked in?
While I’m rating this album a 3, perhaps the more discerning prog fan would give “Prominence And Demise” a 4.
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