From solo beginnings to a full-fledged band, Winds of Winter are forging a dark, melodic path through extreme metal. Here, they discuss their evolution, influences, upcoming album, and ambitions.
1. Winds
of Winter began as a solo project before evolving into a permanent band. How
did the transition from a one-person concept to a creative partnership shape
the band's identity and sound?
Tower:
Winds of Winter started as a solo project in 2023, until I met STRNK and we
worked together on “Eye of the Storm” for the Saarland Underground Sampler.
From that one song, a steady collaboration gradually developed.
STRNK: I
came relatively early in the band, Daniel had one song out on a tape sampler
and after we met first it took 2-3 weeks and I sneaked in! We have a lot of
similar interests when it comes to the music we wanna play, our political
direction and other values. We just took time to find out what we wanna do and
how we wanna sound. Right now we are transitioning into a 4 piece and that will
be the next challenge and I tell you, it sounds very good. And Daniel was in
contact with our now drummer Axel in the early days, so it comes together
finally
2.
Daniel “Tower” and STRNK each take on multiple responsibilities within the
band. How do you divide the creative and practical aspects of running Winds of
Winter?
Tower: We
try to divide the different tasks as well as we can and support each other
wherever possible. We work together on the music and lyrics, and each of us
contributes where our individual strengths are most useful.
STRNK: I
would say it's 50/50. When it comes to Promotion, Social Media and all that
stuff Tower is the one who's handling all that and I am the technical guy, I
produce every song, cut a lot of videos, edit our pictures.
Tower: The
Cover for the album is a good example of how we get together in the creative
process. I took the photo in a snowy night in November last year i think and
STRNK made this wonderful cover artwork out of it on the computer.
3. Your
music blends melodic Black Metal, Death Metal, and atmospheric elements. Which
artists, albums, or experiences have had the biggest influence on your sound?
STRNK: For
me as a producer I wanted to avoid a lot of distractions that come with working
on one project for a longer period of time but if you wanna know what I blasted
in the process of makin this album, that's easy! Dawn Treader, a blackgaze band
from the UK. Witch Club Satan, awesome energy. The Great Sea, Winselmutter,
Haeresis, all great, new Black Metal bands from Germany
Tower:
STRNK and I have somewhat different musical tastes, and we find inspiration
everywhere, whether it is music, films or personal experiences. In the end, we
simply want to make heavy guitar music that we enjoy ourselves.
4. The
lyrics of Winds of Winter explore occult themes, true crime, and personal
observations. What draws you to these subjects, and how do they inspire your
songwriting?
STRNK: The
daily news, history, politics and Movies! We are all very big Movie Fans. Also
when we write the lyrics we don't expect a line to be a Verse or a Hook. Every
Song is like a movie or theater play
that evolves through the writing process. We have to go forth and back to write
along the timeline. Even a song like “Withered Ride” that is about a mythical
creature called the Mahr. The whole song is on one side about the nightmares
this creature brings you and on the other side about the physical abuse that
happens side by side. If you think it to the end it could also be a song about
men that put their partners under drugs to rape them. We love to research
Tower: I am
mainly interested in the darker sides of history and human nature. True crime,
mythology and historical events often contain interesting stories that can
provide a good basis for a song.
5.
Looking back at your debut EP, Dark Chameleon Dimers, what lessons did you
learn from that release that helped shape your later work?
STRNK:
Absolutely, for us the learning curve was so steep that we didn't think about
things like that. Writing Songs, Lyrics, We just did what we wanted Winds of
Winter to be. We are no young men anymore and what we do now has to be fun
Tower: The
EP was our first major step, and of course we learned a lot about songwriting,
production and releasing music. Over time, we have simply developed a better
understanding of what Winds of Winter is supposed to sound like.
6. In
2025, you released The Cruel Summer Dying, which included a reinterpretation of
Cradle of Filth’s “Summer Dying Fast.” What inspired you to cover that
particular song, and how did the collaboration with Vyr Muk come about?
STRNK:
That's one of my all-time Cradle Songs and it was one of the first songs I
heard from them and learned on the guitar. So, when I was sitting in a writing
session I chatted with Vladislav aka Vyr Muk over Discord about collaborating
on a track but it needed to be special. After an hour of nerding out on classic
Black Metal Bands from the 90ies we chose "Summer Dying Fast". We are
very close with parts of the Ukrainian Black Metal Scene and due to the war the
music and artists have a very intense working approach. You should definitely
check out the Underground Scene there. Its an endless rabbithole of amazing
Music out there
Tower:
“Summer Dying Fast” is a song we both like, and it seemed like a good choice
for our own interpretation. It was a very fun process to do because Vladislav
doesn't speak english very well but that brought this archaic slavic style into
the song that fits perfectly into the mood.
7. Your
debut full-length album, A Choir for the End, is set for release in September
2026. What can listeners expect from the album in terms of musical direction,
themes, and overall atmosphere?
Tower:
Three songs, Shattering, The Discord and I, The Evergrey form something like
the foundation of the album and are connected thematically. “No Light” was
inspired by a british true crime story, while “The Blackened Pyre” was
influenced by the witch trials in Trier, which is close to our home area. There
are also other stories to tell on the album.
STRNK:
There´s no lyrical overall concept but a lot of dark fantasy stuff that Tower
creates in his mind. Musically it ranges from very melodic to blast beat driven
and is way more raw than our last releases, without sounding too old school. I
mean, its 2026! It has to be aggressive, modern but without the fancy editing
the fuck out of your music. What you hear is what you get and we will not get
stuck in one “style” as long as it´s hard and melodic.
8. The
title track was chosen as the first single from the album. Why was it the right
song to introduce this new chapter of Winds of Winter?
STRNK: Haha, because it's a hell of a song! Short, very apocalyptic, the choir. The title says it all! And it has a very rare guitar solo… so, why not? It was obvious and it´s the only song on the album we used Synths on to create the choir. So we checked this box too
Tower: “A
Choir for the End” is also the opening track of the album and its arrangement
makes it a good starting point. It basically blows your head off first, before
you get into the other songs and their different moods.
9. The
second single, “Withered Ride,” has already been released, while “No Light” is
on the horizon. How do these tracks represent different aspects of the upcoming
album?
STRNK: Oh,
I love “Withered Ride” Its the perfect live song. A classic extreme metal song
with a very long interlude, starts full of rage, gets super melodic towards the
end. That's how a lot of our songs work. We create a theme-like melody or riff
and expand it like you would do in a book or a movie. You have to work yourself
through it, with every aspect of the story in every song
Tower: The two songs show different sides of the album, and that is exactly what we wanted the singles to do. “Withered Ride” is very melodic and develops quite a lot, while “No Light” has a different mood again.
10.
Being featured on the Legacy Magazine Compilation was an important milestone
for the band. How did that recognition impact your confidence, visibility, and
future ambitions?
Tower: It
was nice to be part of it and to have another opportunity to present our music
to people. We did not notice any significant increase in visibility because of
it, but we are still happy to have opportunities like that.
11.
Winds of Winter is preparing to bring the project to the live stage. What
challenges and opportunities come with translating your atmospheric studio
sound into a live performance setting?
STRNK: Its
not that difficult, we go on stage with our full studio setup and bring the
people exactly what they hear on the album, just played live. Gratefully we
found 2 wonderful players in Axel and George that have no problem with playing
this kind of extreme music and are as passionate as we are.
Tower: I
think these are challenges every band has to deal with. We have certain
standards for ourselves. We want to have fun on stage and make sure people can
see that, but at the same time we want the performance to be as good and
professional as possible.
12. As
you look beyond the release of A Choir for the End, what are your long-term
goals for Winds of Winter, and where would you like to see the band in the next
five years?
STRNK:
Hellfest! Until that you can buy our records or stream our music if that's your
thing
Tower: The
next step is obviously to get our live debut together and then see where the
band takes us. We want to make good music, play live and most importantly have
fun doing it. And of course, playing Hellfest someday would be amazing.
STRNK:
That's what the handsome guy over me said.
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