Imaginary Direction of Time

Winds | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The End Records
• ASIN: B0001XAP3I
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,135 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. What Is Beauty

2. Sounds Like Desolation

3. Theory Of Relativity

4. Visions Of Perfection

5. The Fireworks Of Genesis

6. Under The Stars

7. A Moment For Reflection

8. Time Without End

9. The Final End

10. Beyond Fate

11. Silence In Despair

12. Infinity

Editorial Reviews

The End. 2004. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Sit back and watch the game unfold...", August 27, 2005

By 

Nicholas Adam Chupka "Metalhead" (Derwood, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imaginary Direction of Time (Audio CD)

For those of you who are uniniterested in wasting your time reading a review, I will simply say, buy this album. If somehow you have stumbled upon this page/review, then you have fulfilled the only requirement towards having this album suggested to you: you like metal. Quality, technical, beautiful metal.

What this quartet accomplishes in the world of neo-classical technical prowress continues to impress me after countless listens.

Winds, for those of you who don't know, is somewhat of a side project, turned almost main attraction, which is undoubtedly one of the top shelf employees of the avant garde The End Records label.

Though all of the musicians in this group (yes, even the vocalist) possess unbelievable technical prowress, it is Hellhammer of Mayhem, Kovenant, and Arcturus fame who delivers the punishing blows.

This singular musician made me morn the day I chose to wield the axe over pounding the skins of doom.

Coupled with the schizophrenically fast yet controlled licks of Carl Lindemann, and the song-writing and piano playing genius of Andy Winter, Hellhammer emphatically obliterates any pre-exisitng notions of how to showcase drums in classical music.
Most impressive are tracks five and six where Hellhammer literally climbs the tempo chart, one step at a time, with his patented and unrivaled double bass blasts.

Though I will agree with many other reviewers here that it may be the vocals that leave the most to be desired, they are by no means bad, and they in no way detract from the overall effect. In addition, with the exception of a few overly-complex and abstract passages, the lyrics are among my favorite to read. They are insightful, atypical, and are often coupled well with the music to create a nice dramatic effect.

Andy Winter also impresses on the keys, which, to my liking, are almost enitrely acoustic. This composer graces every song with at least one flourish of the stuff that solidifies the position of classical music as an ancestor of metal.

Behind Hellhammer though, It is Carl on the axe who draws the most attention. This man's licks are sharp and complex, but you get this undeniable feeling that they are being played with the greatest of ease. Those of you who deplore the absence of solos in most of today's metal will drool over the solos that I can only, and inaccurately (but I don't know how else to say it!) describe as Yngwie Malmsteen playing on the Candlemass classic, "Epicus, Doomicus, Metallicus."

So please, for the sake of preserving the still and always existing world of metal that IS interested in pushing the genre forward while retaining the aggression and attitude which has always set it apart from all other popular music forms, buy this album, and float upon the "Imaginary Direction of Time". It is a journey you will never regret.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Talented, April 5, 2006

By 

Matthew Teal "Trevorismatt" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imaginary Direction of Time (Audio CD)

Folks, you may not find a more talented band on the planet. Violins, Cellos, crazy guitar, one great singer + Hellhammer. Need I say more? This one of the most intelligent bands that has been put together to date. Don't just listen to the sound clips, buy the album. You will be very pleased.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's STILL all about Scandinavia..., July 29, 2004

By 

R. Asher "Halcyon Dusk" (South Texas, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imaginary Direction of Time (Audio CD)

Their first EP, 'Of Entity And Mind', was atmospheric, tight, and powerful, and 'In All Reflections' is probably the greatest songwriting peak the band will ever reach. The first album, 'Reflections Of The I', was a bit less atmospheric but a bit more confident, and definately much tighter. And the band really started to find that crushing prog-groove that makes Winds one of the few acts in the genre doing something worthwile and, honestly, quite new.

Now, with 'Imaginary Direction Of Time' Winds has apparantly become very aware of what the fans enjoy (Hellhammer?), and they seem to understand well the successes and failures of their debut. No more thin orchestration or clicky, tappy beats. This album is all about power and the individual musicians pushing their talents to extremes. That means cleaner, faster, more memorable solos, multi-layered keyboards that fill in every tiny space but still command the melody, even more of Lars Eric Si's seamlessly off-key throat power and a new-found confidence in exploring the higher end of his range, and of course, of course, of course, more damn drums! Any Hellhammer fans who've heard Mayhem's 'Chimaira' know that, finally, Jan von Blomberg is done with the minimalist session-player phase he's been in for the last 5 or 6 years, and now it's time to remind everyone that he is truly the best drummer in the world. His stunning double-bass acrobatics on 'Time Without End' is among the best I've ever heard (and it's definately the tightest).

All in all, this album is everything I loved about their debut taken to the logical extremes, with a few new and welcome additions that make this anything but the same old Dream Theater worship.

(Oh, and for anyone who doesn't know already, check out Spiral Architect's 'A Skeptic's Universe' to really appreciate why Scandinavian prog owns everything else.)