┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Northwind - Seasons + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Jul-21-2013 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │ │║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2002 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........08 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Northwind Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Seasons Label : Z Records ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ There is a definite somber quality to the image ║ │ │║ of an unknown grave in a soldierÆs cemetery. ║ │ │║ There is no epitaph to declare to any passerby ║ │ │║ what it was that this person did aside from ║ │ │║ being part of some awful armed struggle between ║ │ │║ two sides somewhere far from or maybe even close ║ │ │║ to the graveyard. For every grand tale of heroic ║ │ │║ sacrifice on the battle field, for every grand ║ │ │║ monument standing above the ground where a ║ │ │║ well-known soldier is laid, there are likely ║ │ │║ many with humbler or no knowable legend to ║ │ │║ attach to their resting place. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Perhaps less somber but still rather poignant is ║ │ │║ the story of the unknown soldier who didnÆt die ║ │ │║ on the battlefield, but instead served his tour ║ │ │║ of duty and came home with no amazing tales of ║ │ │║ heroics that could be readily vouched for due to ║ │ │║ few or not witnesses. These men didnÆt come home ║ │ │║ adorned with metals like the known heroes, but ║ │ │║ nonetheless made their contribution despite the ║ │ │║ lack of recognition. French power metal outfit ║ │ │║ Northwind basically falls into this category, ║ │ │║ contributing a solid piece of work in the early, ║ │ │║ ôFourth Dimensionö era Stratovarius style with a ║ │ │║ tiny hint of early Edguy. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Although by 2000 (which is when a lot of this ║ │ │║ was written), there had been a good deal of ║ │ │║ precedence for this sound, it wasnÆt nearly as ║ │ │║ common as when Dragonforce and Twilightning put ║ │ │║ out their debuts. It compares pretty largely ║ │ │║ with HeavenlyÆs debut, which makes sense as ║ │ │║ guitarist and co-songwriter Chris Savourey had ║ │ │║ worked with the better known French power metal ║ │ │║ mainstay in their early days as the lead ║ │ │║ guitarist on ôComing from the Skyö. At its most ║ │ │║ complex and ambitious, particularly ôItÆs a ║ │ │║ Warningö and ôWasted in Paradiseö you can hear ║ │ │║ things similar to the longwinded epic on Dust to ║ │ │║ Dust ôThe Miracleö, which was written sometime ║ │ │║ in 1997 or 1998 and appeared on the Heavenly ║ │ │║ demo. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The bulk of shorter songs on here mostly follow ║ │ │║ the earlier Stratovarius model, relying on ║ │ │║ simple song structures and mostly humble guitar ║ │ │║ work. The keyboards are heavily present ║ │ │║ throughout the mix, bringing a strong Sonata ║ │ │║ Arctica character to much of the listen. Most of ║ │ │║ it is executed quite well, save perhaps one ║ │ │║ rather disjointed sounding guitar harmony ║ │ │║ towards the end of ôForever and a Dayö and an ║ │ │║ annoying rattling sound that occasionally phases ║ │ │║ in and out of the albumÆs closer ôWinterö. If I ║ │ │║ had to pick a single song that captures the ║ │ │║ spirit of this style the best, IÆd have to go ║ │ │║ with the catchy as hell title track, which ║ │ │║ listens like a better version of StratovariusÆ ║ │ │║ first big hit song ôHands of Timeö. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ If you wonder what 90s style Finnish power metal ║ │ │║ would sound like with a French accent, and if ║ │ │║ you think that Heavenly is just a little too ║ │ │║ technically oriented for your taste, NorthwindÆs ║ │ │║ ôSeasonsö will treat you quite well. Although ║ │ │║ the only thing really original about this album ║ │ │║ is the off-kilter cover art, it gets the job ║ │ │║ done in the quality department. The band has ║ │ │║ since been defunct, despite a brief stint with a ║ │ │║ different vocalist who now sings for heavy metal ║ │ │║ newcomers Edensands. Perhaps this forgotten ║ │ │║ soldier will rise again and make his way onto ║ │ │║ the battle field for another blaze of melodic ║ │ │║ power metal glory, but regardless its exploits ║ │ │║ have not been lost on me. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Seasons [05:39] │ │ 02 - Forever and a day [05:09] │ │ 03 - Dreaming [06:47] │ │ 04 - It's a warning [09:42] │ │ 05 - Masquerade [05:07] │ │ 06 - Out of the fire [06:49] │ │ 07 - Wasted in paradise [07:09] │ │ 08 - Winter [01:51] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [48:13 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘