Formed in 1998, the quartet Winds consists of several well-known names on the Norwegian metal scene, yet their style of subdued, classically influenced progressive metal is probably not quite what most people think of when they hear the words "Norwegian" and "metal" mentioned together. Winds is headed up by keyboardist Andy Winter, who is also the band's producer and chief songwriter. The quartet's lineup is rounded out by vocalist Lars Eric Si (Khold, Sensa Anima), guitarist Carl August Tidemann (Arcturus, Tritonus), and drummer Jan Axel von Blomberg (aka Hellhammer), who is known for his work with Mayhem, Arcturus, the Kovenant, and Thorns, among others. Winds issued their first released, a mini-CD entitled Of Entity and Mind, in 2001 on the Italian Avantgarde imprint. Their first full-length, Reflections of the I, came out in Europe on Avantgarde in the spring of 2002; meanwhile, it was issued in the U.S., together on a single CD with Of Entity and Mind, by the Southern Californian label the End Records. ~ William York