WINDS is an incredible classic epic prog act coming from Norway. They already impressed the world with its first two albums and now they give us the third full-length, released by the legendary American label THE END Records. "The Imaginary Direction of Time" is an incredible masterpiece of deep epic & progressive metal, an album to put WINDS in the hall of fame of the prog metal idols. Krepuskulum talk with Carl Tidemann (guitars) & Andy Winter (Keys).

KREPUSKULUM: Talk to us a little about the trajectory of the band from the beginning until now?

Carl: Basically the band came together based on some musical ideas Andy had and wanted to put to life. He gathered some musicians he had contact with and went into studio to record what became the debut mini album "of entity and mind". One day I was called up and asked if I could do some solos, and so I did. It turned out me and Andy worked well together, and I we figured it would be cool if I joined the band. From then on the line-up has been the same, and we are continuing to develop our musical path from each album as we grow both as individual musicians and as a band. I think our trademark sound was really established on "Reflections" however, even further developed on the new album.

The musical proposal of WINDS is very personal. Do you consider WINDS a prog metal band?

Both yes and no. I consider it progressive in the way that we definitely do not choose to go for the ordinary in arrangements or sound, and yes we do have elements of what you will find in bands in the prog-metal genre, but no in the way that we do not sound anything close to bands that are usually labeled with the prog-metal stamp. That being said, I must admit I have always been a huge fan of prog-metal, and my other band Tritonus is definately under that banner. I am a great fan of Dream Theater, fates Warning, Queensryche etc. but with Winds we wanted to go in other directions, which represents a wider blend of all our influences.

WINDS compositions present very inspired and complex arrangements, with a lot of climates and epic-classic atmospheres. Did you study classic music? Which are the musical formation of the members and your personal influences?

As for myself, I have background and training from both classical music and jazz, fusion and rock oriented music. I have studied both in Norway, and at G.I.T in California. Andy has a backround from classical training. I believe Jan Axel is mostly self-taught, and I think Lars has done some studying of rock and popular music.

The lyrics of the new album have a lot of references to the Cosmos and Time, the title is an exemple, but this kind subject are the theme of all lyrics, including the interestings "Theory of Relativity", "Under the Stars" & Time without End". Is the album conceptual? Talk to us about the inspiration to create this lyrics. Did you know the band VINTERSORG (they talk about same subjects in their lyrics)?

Andy: You can say it's a concept album, yes, and those things you mention are a part of the lyrical concept. I'm not familiar with Vintersorg's lyrics but I think these themes are inspiring for a lot of artists, being whether they choose to write about it, paint it or what have you. The inspiration to write the lyrics comes from an interest in existentialism and philosophy related to how we view ourselves, what our purpose is and where we came from.

Do you belive in a kind of superior conscience?

Andy: I'm not sure what you mean but I will try to answer. Do I believe there is more between earth and sky than what we know and what we can see? Yes. Do I believe in a godlike figure as described in the world's popular religions? Certainly not. But I think these questions are up to each person to decide for themselves and nobody else can judge others based on their beliefs. Personally I am very skeptical in nature so it would be very difficult for me to believe in the existence of a superior being. But the truth to the question is that nobody can really know for sure one way or another, so to be entirely convinced is not really possible, and to go as far as to force ones conviction onto others is to me completely insane. Thus I am careful expressing my views and I would never try to make anyone view things one way or another.

The cover art and booklet images of the album are very strange and curious. What are the meaning of it? Is it a picture or illustration?

Andy: The cover art is an interpretation of the album title through the creative talents of Travis Smith, a fantastic designer that we have a very close working relationship with. We always try to depict what the concept looks like visually though our artwork and this is something we spend much time working on together with Travis. To answer your question, it is both a picture, an illustration, a water color painting and computer generated images combined into one.

Some people accuse bands as Dream Theater and Stratovarious of self indulgence and excessive virtuosity. Did you agree with them? Is WINDS a virtuous band?

Carl: I dont agree with them, but can relate to what they feel. As previously mentioned I am a huge fan of prog-metal, and enjoy virtuosity if it suits the song and arrangement. I always thought Dream Theater managed to balance this well in their extremely well arranged music. Stratovarious, I am not really that familiar with as I have only heard their early material which to my opinion was more straight forward (but good) powermetal.

We know that the members of WINDS play in another projects. Which are those projects? Is the Winds your main band? Do you live of your music or you have other jobs?

Carl: I also play in a prog-metal band called Tritonus, as well as doing solo stuff. Andy has "Age of silence" and also a solo project. Jan Axel has Mayhem and Arcturus, and does a lot of session stuff, and Lars has another project called "Honcho" which I believe is more stoner rock. Neither one of us live of our music, but it would definitely be cool to do so.

In music as " Theory of Relativity " some parts remind the climates created by David Gilmour for Pink Floyd, other keyboard arrangements of classic influence remember YES & KING CRIMSOM. Do you like progressive rock? What are the bands of this style that you consider your main influences?

Carl: Personally I like both Yes and Rush, and of course Pink Floyd. Lars is also a huge fan of prog-rock, and I know Jan Axel likes Rush.

Carl August Tidemann is a marvelous guitarist with a intense sense of melody. Talk to us about the creative process to create your beautiful and powerful riffs & solos.

Carl: First of all, thanks a lot for the nice words. I have spent a lot of time developing my style, so the soling comes quite natural. Usually I improvise a solo to the point where I am happy, and then record it. Some times I record alternative takes, and sit back and listen to each one, and I might end up taking something out of one, and then something out of the other, put it together and record it again. As far as the riffing I try to create room for the other instruments, at the same time as getting the song to "groove" and drive forward. In Winds it's actually very challenging to write the rhythm guitars, due to the fact that there is a full string section and a piano in addition to the "ordinary" rock instruments. However, I believe I found a formula on "Imaginary" that worked very well.

Your country (Norway) is famous by the legendary Black Metal bands that borned there. Do you like black metal? What are your relationship with these bands (Darkthrone, Emperor, Arcturus, Thorns,Ulver, etc.)?

Carl: Personally I was never into Black Metal, even though I recorded with Arcturus. I never really considered that Black metal anyway. The Norwegian metal scene is not very big, so both Jan Axel and Lars know a lot of the people. I know the guys from Arcturus (obviously...), and the guys from Fleurety are friends of mine as they grew up in the same area. Andy knows some of the people, but I don't believe he is to much into that music either.

Thank you very much for this interview and congratulations again for your marvelous new album! Give your last words to the WINDS fans around the world.

Carl: Thanks a lot for your support! It is truly inspiring when people like what we put a lot of work into.