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I only have a vague recollection of Winds' previous album, "Reflections of the I", but I think this successor is an evolution in the same path. Winds is one of those bands that is difficult to categorise - they mix metal with some classical and acoustic, so I guess I could come up with some weird category, but I won't. After a few listens, it is pretty clear that this can fit comfortably in the "Doom" category without stretching it too much. It's slow and melancholic, sometimes depressing - not too heavy, however. Some short passages here and there even sound a bit "festive" or simply "happy" which is quite in contrast with the overall mood of this album, to say the least.

The vocals are clean, very soft and sorrowful and never going into higher notes. This is the kind of album you listen to when you're in the mood - kind of a "rainy day" type of music. Personally this is something I'll play once in a blue moon, but some people just can't get enough of this stuff. The sure thing is, like on its predecessor, this new album showcases these musicians' excellent musicianship and songwriting. Yeah that's a somewhat uninspired comment, but there aren't a thousand ways to say this without going into a lengthy verbal wankery. :) Fans of doom metal who are not purists of the genre should find this interesting, and others looking for something different might want to give this a try - for when you're in a mood for the quiet.

The last track has one of those silences that I hate with a passion - made especially worse by the fact that I'm listening to this with headsets and I hate having no sound coming out of there. You can actually stop the CD right there, since all you get at the end is about 8-9 notes on a piano (playtime: about 1 second.) Ladies and gentlemen, I have a dream. In that dream, metal bands everywhere stop doing this kind of shit on their albums, lowering my blood pressure as a side effect. But until that dream comes true, all I can do is take away half a point in the rating, and bitch about it.