- Details
- Parent Category: Releases
- Category: Winterstorm
Release: September 22nd, 2023
Southern German power metal act Winterstorm, who launched their career in 2008, already have four highly acclaimed studio albums to their name, including high chart positions for their 2016 release ‘Cube Of Infinity’. But the five-piece surrounding vocalist Alexander Schirmer and guitarist Michael Liewald has never been satisfied with resting on their laurels, always regarding their previous successes as a basis for even higher achievements. This also applies to their upcoming fifth release ‘Everfrost’, which marks yet another unmistakable development in terms of both compositions and musical skill. Their successful mélange of Nordic Viking, folk and fast-paced orchestral power metal sounds even more balanced and mature in 2023. “Our style has clearly evolved in recent years,” is Michael Liewald’s apt analysis. He adds: “‘Everfrost’ features no gap fillers, this is clearly the best album of our career so far.” ‘Everfrost’ will be out on 14 July 2023 on AFM/Soulfood, preceded by four singles, three of them supported by memorable video clips.
Band members Schirmer, Liewald, Peter Cerveny (bass) Jonas Hack (drums) and new addition Jochen Windisch (guitar; he has replaced Tobi Loden since 2021) present a total of ten songs on ‘Everfrost’, among them a number of typical Winterstorm tracks, such as the breakneck opener ‘To The End Of All Known’, ‘Future Times’ with its sparkling piano hookline, the anthemic finale ‘Silence’ and the epic midtempo number ‘The Phoenix Died (Remember)’ featuring guest vocalist Elina Siirala (of Leaves Eyes fame). At the same time, ‘Everfrost’ continues to surprise its listeners time and again, for example on the diverse title track. Says Liewald: “Its consistently developing, unexpected progression and varied dynamics definitely make ‘Everfrost’ our most multi-faceted number yet.” ‘Overcome The Fear’ with its progressive guitar riffing and the rapid ‘Final Journey’, which culminates in an anthemic chorus including grunts courtesy of former Equilibrium frontman Robse Martin Dahn, are also definite highlights.
All tracks on the new album were penned by Liewald himself, guaranteeing great compositional homogeneity. The same applies to the contemporary lyrics by Alexander Schirmer, which prove that Winterstorm look way beyond the horizon of a purely musical theme. Says Schirmer: “The album is about a civilisation on the brink of extinction, triggered by the ruthless exploitation of its planet. It’s also about overcoming the resulting problems.” Could any theme be more topical?
‘Everfrost’ was produced and arranged by Michael Liewald and mixed and mastered by Olaf Reitmeier at Wolfsburg’s Gate Studios (Avantasia, Rhapsody, among others). The first video clip ‘To The End Of All Known’ has been available on YouTube since 10 February 2023, with the second single, also supported by a video, following on 24 March. Singles 3 & 4 will be out on 5 May 2023 and 16 June 2023, respectively, and the album will hit the shelves four weeks later on 14 July, to coincide with Winterstorm’s appearance at this year’s Bang Your Head festival, where Liewald & Co. are set to perform alongside groups such as Helloween, Saxon, Rage and Tankard. The plan is to use recordings from the festival for another clip. So it looks like 2023 will be an important year for Winterstorm, and the band is doubtlessly definitely prepared thanks to ‘Everfrost’!
