WinterStrain

[johninblack]

WINTERSTRAIN TO PLAY LIVE IN THE UK!!!!

It is confirmed that WinterStrain will appear at Z Rock 06,
at the Limelight in Crewe, on Sunday the 2nd of April!


So were you gonna tell us about this then Mr Nyland, or were we spose to miss it?

[Appelmoes??]

I saw that on the site too and was waiting for Deenfan to tell us

btw Deenfan, an übercool dude on the Ayreon-forum has ordered your album for me

[PH]

Are you coming to the continent too?
If you come to The Netherlands I'll be there!

[Deenfan]

Uhm... I'm not good at promotion, am I?! I've had less free time the last few months than ever before in my life, and that's saying something. I think I'll be having myself a vacation next year. That'll be the first in 15 years, then...

Playing Z Rock was really great. A very special day, and a lot of fun. And now, The Netherlands are my main priority. I have a good feeling about the musical taste down there. Arctic Prog would do a lot of good, I think!

[PH]

Uhm... I'm not good at promotion, am I?! I've had less free time the last few months than ever before in my life, and that's saying something. I think I'll be having myself a vacation next year. That'll be the first in 15 years, then...

Playing Z Rock was really great. A very special day, and a lot of fun. And now, The Netherlands are my main priority. I have a good feeling about the musical taste down there. Arctic Prog would do a lot of good, I think!

Just let me know when you've decided to come over to The Netherlands (it would be best if you came over to "De Flint" in Amersfoort, 'cause I'll be there for sure! Promise! But near Utrecht is also fine with me... )

[Appelmoes??]

Just let me know when you've decided to come over to The Netherlands (it would be best if you came over to "De Flint" in Amersfoort, 'cause I'll be there for sure! Promise! But near Utrecht is also fine with me... )

Me too! Anywhere in the Netherlands that accessible for me!

[stranger_x]

  Dear Nyland, Arnulf, Lars, Karl and Fredheim! Tack så mycket!

I have registered here few days ago and I am slowly trying to catch up with all the topics and the parts of this wonderful forum. It was a real pleasure to read all of the messages posted here from the very beginning, from the moment when you were putting up sound clips on-line to the moment of your giving excellent interviews and playing shows. At first, I want to congratulate you all, guys, with a record deal! 
About an hour ago I have checked out the sound clips from your web page and was totally blown away with the music, lyrics and vocals. The first comment that was born in my head was "it does not sound like anything else! It's totally unique!"
And it has a great Scandinavian feeling in every song which I appreciate very much! Your music captures all the best elements of progressive music and all the best heavy metal can offer. And at the same time it does not get too much hard and does not dive in progressive pool way too deep. And I really like the voice of a singer. Great thanks go out to everyone who did the mixing. Every instrument can be heard, but at the same time it allows vocals unite everything into one. Great!!!
My favourite track is probably "Broken Defence". I have listened to the sound clip for many times and each time I like it more and more. To be honest, this song has got in a list of songs that touch me to tears.  But all the sound clips have sent shivers down my spine... My older sister, mamma and brother liked it very much too. It really sounds classic!
Also I wanted to notice the strong musician which can be felt very strongly and you can see the experience you all have. It is possible to see that you have put all of your lives into the music, all the things you have been through. This is also one of the reasons why I got into Arena - had the same deep feeling about them.  

Thank you very much again! God bless you all! *hugs*

Your loving friend Denis.

[Deenfan]

  OMG... I don't know what to say... You're... It is the description of my dreams... I must digest this. I'm starting to hope you want to find the album somewhere, so that you can hear it all. It is not, indeed, buried under progressive indulgence or anything. It's first and foremost songs, and yeah, that is why I am at this forum, and why I have all Arena's albums.

Thanks a lot, Stranger. Forgive me if I am supposed to know you or recognize you. I don't. I'm not sure you expect me to, but it might look like it, in some way, though probably just my misunderstanding. Cheers anyway!! Phew... 

[Nicky007]

Deenfan, I just checked up you guys' site, to get to know you a bit better and relisten to your sound clips. I really like the samples from Return. I also got the impression that you're serious musicians and that you're working hard at developing your musical expression.

One is severely limited when one likes uncommercial music and doesnt have a credit card (no more). I'v rummaged through several CD-stores and havent succeeded in finding Return. Now I'l seek up my friend Mads at Fona and ask him to fish it outa the system somehow. Else, if you guys are coming to play in Cop soon, I could buy a signed copy from you - and I could show it to my grandchildren and Marcello one fine day 

I noticed that none of you mentioned Arena in your lists of faves and influences - tsk, tsk ! 

Well iac good luck with the new album, and I think we're a buncho roomies lookin forward to listening to it - and seeing you guys live !

And watchit with the pizzas 

Nicky.

[Deenfan]

I noticed that none of you mentioned Arena in your lists of faves and influences - tsk, tsk ! 

We didn't?!?! I had to go back and check, and you're right! My influences list isn't there... I truly believed it was!! And I remember receiving the keyboard players influence list, and Clive Nolan was on it, along with Arena in general.

I'm gonna have a word with the webmaster now. Only, he is me.

About obtaining the album, try the links on the site (although, a credit card would be necessary). I would have helped, but I do not even have a copy of it (that is, I have one, and... well...)

Thank you for digging into the site and checking us out! Very good of you. And yes, the music is very real to us. As producers, we try our best, but as for the music, it just happens. I feel very fortunate, even though the fact that the second album was scheduled for release in March 2007 is eating away at me, as we're still not finished. I can't believe we do this willingly...

[Deenfan]

AHAAAA!!!!! Look what I found, entangled in a tirade about RUSH on our keyboardist's page:

Other bands I listen to now are; A.C.T, Arena, Ayreon, and so on.

[Nicky007]

Funny, I also just saw that a moment ago - well, yknow the exception proves the rule 

Nicky.

[Deenfan]

I'm gonna publish my inspirations on that site as soon as I can. (Next week, hopefully.) It's like thirty keyboardists and four drummers on it...

[Nicky007]

Hey Deenfan, I think I gotit that you're Nyland the drummer (right, huh?). You really gotta check out John Merryman from Cephalic Carnage. He's called the "sick" drummer, and for good reasons: This guy is simply unbelievable, truly. When he plays, it sounds like three drummers banging their heads off. Man, this guy moves his feet faster than my fingers when I play Chopin's minute waltz on the piano. Dont believe it ?  Well, lookie here:  http://youtube.com/watch?v=HCUp8DH_pVg

I have CC on repeat these days, and that is quite some experience.

Nicky.

[Deenfan]

I can only confirm it sounded like a sick man, and I reckon he's got reason to be a merry man.

But, and don't take this the wrong way, I hardly raise my eyebrows at anything anymore. Not because I can do all or even any of it. But I believe anything can be done at any speed. What's not done by any human being yet, will be done tomorrow or some other day.

I used to absorb all the stuff that came out, but I've reached a point where I no longer respond at all if it's a question of dexterity, agility, speed, technique, ambidextrousity, or other special gifts of performance. I did once think I'd heard it all, but then I heard Hellhammer of the horrible Mayhem. My cousin, once removed, is also a drummer and took some lessons from that guy. And what I've been treated to with regards to audio and video showing with all the clarity you can't get by listening to him in the horrible setting of Mayhem... I felt like someone who'd been a virgin and then raped.

Then he came over with some videos of other drummers (Mike Mangini playing twice as fast with one hand as I can manage with two is one memory that sticks out) and at the end of the day I realized that nothing is ever gonna be impressing anymore. I sincerely believe that what ever I hear, there are someone else out there able to do it faster or more complicated.

So I only care about the songs. And, of course, what sounds cool. And in my ears, nothing on earth sounds cooler than when Deen Castronovo is having fun. To a proper song, live, or to an instrumental from Shrapnel Records.

I apologize if my reply is a disappointment. I can vividly imagine listening to this drummer in a band setting performing a song is more rewarding than a random jumble of hits in freestyle mode.

[PH]

Nicky, to be honest (and of course this is just my opinion, do with it what you like! ) I don't think that's really that clever drumming. I mean, he is fast, ok. But when you have a double bass, everything sounds fast...
To me it sounds like he's just randomly hitting the drums...

Thomas Lejon, from A.C.T is (in my humble opinion) much better.
http://www.aauk.biz/actworld/studio051014.html

But it all depends on what you want. Do you want Bombastic Heavy Fast drumming? Or do you want Subtle Jazzy Clever drumming.

I prefer the latter.

-Paco

[Peter]

OK, as we are talking drummers again, I have to put these in here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NsHyGbadzQQ from 1:15, this really kicks off, be patient
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qN25WDIBBk0 a Jazz peace, not so impressive maybe
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_DNViiEpx8Y crazy, these shifts
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xyy0nRVHnQM 19/8 ^^

and so on...

[Nicky007]

I can recognise the usual complacent Western-Europism peering out from underneath all these rationalisations, sorry guys, but I have to be blunter now, as I already identified this when I entered the Room a year ago (you can check up my early posts), and not much has changed since then. I can see that the argument goes:  Nobody in Europe plays like CC and DEP, so we dont need to deal with them, and anyway, the Americans are machine monsters ....

Comon guys, we're proggies, we're internationalists !  Americans are just as much "us" as Brits, Norwegians, Marshies, etc.

And welcome to 2008. Metalcore is one of the most exciting genres today, demanding for sure, but put in the necessary work, and you'l be rewarded manifoldly.

And it's not a question of either/or:  I personally can enthuse as much over a song like Come Together (one of my favorite Beatles songs), as over Unretrofied.

And Cap, thanks for the drumming links. That's an area where I can use some "up-bringing" 

Nicky.

[Peter]

Sorry, Nicky, I read your whole post four times now: I don't get it. What is that you want to say? And who's CC/DEP?

[Nicky007]

CC is Cephalic Carnage, and DEP is Dillinger Escape Plan.

I thought that I had mentioned them so many times that I could use the initials.

It's just that I expect more from proggies 

But I'm OK 

Nicky.

[Bupie]

Comon guys, we're proggies, we're internationalists !  Americans are just as much "us" as Brits, Norwegians, Marshies, etc.

It's just that I expect more from proggies 
But I'm OK 

At least two of my prog albums Top Ten come from the US and they rank very high in the list, one even pretending to # 1 (guess which). Does it ease your pain ? 

[Peter]

It's just that I expect more from proggies 

Actually, I don't really call myself a proggie. Most of the bands that we all would more or less want to put in the prog drawer don't even interest me. As I already mentioned...

Oh, and bands like Cephalic Carnage or Dillinger aren't of any interest to me not because they might be from the US, but because I don't like the music. This type of music is even one of the few that takes me on a negative emotional level. What is it that you like about them? This is just deathmetal-nonstop-doublebass-screamguys-who-often-change-harmonies-and-timings to me...

Listen to MuteMath, they're from the US, I like 'em. No screaming here.

Funnily enough, you seem to be right, at least concerning me. It already occured to me that it must be more than pure coincidence that many of the bands I do not like too much are from the US...

[Nicky007]

At least two of my prog albums Top Ten come from the US and they rank very high in the list, one even pretending to # 1 (guess which).

It's actually not all that easy, Bups, even though you are one of the most open Roomies.

I know that you're very hot on Toto and DT. Now, the question is whether you would include a Toto album under prog albums. You prob have either one or two DT albums on your top ten list, and since you're not that hot on their latest efforts, it would be Images And Words and/or Six Degrees.

So, how close did I get ?

Does it ease your pain ? 

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Actually, I don't really call myself a proggie.

Cap, you neednt be so modest:  The fact that you like Arena, reflect on their lyrics, and even have been to a DT concert (as far as I could gather from Room documents) raises you to proggie status, although you might not be one of the most ardent 

What is it that you like about them [CC & DEP]? This is just deathmetal-nonstop-doublebass-screamguys-who-often-change-harmonies-and-timings to me...

Nice one, Cap 

Well, first off, I dont like the designation "death", and I wouldnt use it for any of the music that I like, not either Opeth, who I would designate as "heavy metal" or "heavy metal with growls" or "heavy melodic metal with growls".

A lot of words have been used to describe groups like CC & DEP, i.a. metalcore, mathcore, grindcore, dense metal, avantgarde metal. Metalcore seems to me the best description, and it appears to be gaining ground, so that's why I use it.

And how can one like this music ?  Well, one just has to be very patient. Give it some runs, and you'l start hearing some hooks here and there; give it some more runs, and you'l end up enjoying the whole ride.

Listen to MuteMath, they're from the US, I like 'em.

I will, as soon as I get some sound back on my computer. Occasionally it just vanishes, without any logical reason. But fortunately it returns after a few logons, again without any logical reason. Computers & women, they must be related, without any logical reason 

Hm, looks like we've strained this topic badly ..... but as it's WinterStrain, I guess we're on-topic after all 

Nicky.

[Peter]

Well, first off, I dont like the designation "death",

Just a short comment on this one: I went to youtube, searched for the band, and in the first video it showed, in maybe the fith line of vocals or so the guy growled that he wants to die... so yeah, death is appropriate...