Winterwind Productions

NAIL recently released their debut album and we are very pleased to bring you an interview with Rainer "Rhino" Wiechmann, the multi-talented man behind the band!

http://www.winterwind-productions.com/issue7/nail.htm

Check it out!

Hmm, that was an interesting read, i am listening a bit to the music right now, though i am hoping it will be unique enough, because i have not been impressed by the references to other bands (like Within Temptation and Tool), of course you guys know my main avenue of interest is electronica, but I currently had quite the influx of progressive rock from roommates, including bands that are quite ok like 65daysofstatic, Dirty Three and Laura.
However, and maybe you should have skipped the part, i am distracted a bit about the part on piracy, about which i have a wholly different ideas - as in i support the group of artists that went towards internet/sales, evading groups i dont want to give a nickle, allowing me to try before i buy, and in some case allowing me to scale my level of enjoyment in the amount of donation i give, also ensuring everything ends up with the musician. I dont even really like music on cd anymore because it indeed overcharges, while the disc usually contains only a few highlights and usually doesnt get to the full length at all. (I have several albums lying around that would fit in 3:1). I also like the tendency of making most revenue from gigs, with music being a free form of advertisement, but there is indeed a problem in that for starting musicians, but over the last few years the money i spent on music have all been donations to starting bands, which is comes more or less from an idea of feeling they and their labels need to get the most assurance to keep the music coming out. However that has very much to do with my small and experimental niche of music. (let me note that doing this via a way like the site of NAIL is in my view just as good as downloading the files. The only difference being i need to open my browser)
However, all of this as said is a distraction and just my two cents so let me move on with the closing sentence that if I needed to discover my music trough radio-coverage i´d still be listening main$tream overproduced nonsense for the masses.

As for the music, i ahve now listened a track or four, and i must admit its not really my cup of tea, which i already feared a bit, with the main complaint being that it´s too formula/like for my tastes. There are a number of nice moments, especially due to your lead singer, who is indeed very attractive. (mainly due to a great amount of emotion felt in her voice, and seconday due to clarity of the voice)
However the guitar, bass and drum lines are a bit too normal for me, or better said, to predictable. That while especially several guitar riffs are very fine and would have surprised me better if they were set in other places than they are, but then again i´m more of the experimental 'I want to be surprised and I want to listen to a story (and most stories dont repeat chapters )'.
I am intrigued that this mainly underground and experimental view is described as being Mariah Carey´s view, but i think i should then be along her line. (Though to stay along somewhat/known lines i´d rather attribute such to a vocalist like Regina Spektor), though in NAILs music i agree it should not be applied to the vocalist, but to the drums especially.
But then again, that is also a point on which i slightly disagree,

wow, i just heard bagpipes, thats better . (best track as of yet by the way, that ´Right Now´ one)

I feel drums can be very very melodic, but that might have to do with my European electronical heritage, most electronic music i listen to has highly varied drumrythms which lead to that line being the melody. (consider Mu-Ziq´s 'Midwinter Log' for example)
Ow and don't point at me like i've done it , all in all as of yet NAIL might be a band i´d visit if they did a gig nearby, and i also feel it will come to life most played live (which is usually a better place for more formalized music, those stories from above are the better one when i sit in my chair), so let me finish on a nice note, hoping you guys get the big revenue needed to get you to Utrecht.

Just some critizism on the design, which blocks my desire to read:

Ok, I haven't read it, but the name, picture and choice of colors and font for the title doesn't appeal to me in any way. For a first glance I wouldn't be surprised to se a swastika flag hanging from the wall in the background, that's pretty revolting and then It's also pretty hard to read dark grey on even darker grey and the fontsize is pretty small and doesn't scale at all. Just my two cents.

Jan, as I said in the Geeks, Timelords & Toys thread, sometimes you give an intelligent post, sometimes it's swill. This post is in between.

Whether or not you've read it, have you listened to the band's music? Been to their site? Nope. You judge a book by it's cover. Surprisingly foolish since I know you have more brains than that. Use them.

The swastika comment was just plain ignorant and uniformed with no basis whatsoever. Guess you haven't had much exposure to any band to make a comment like that. Last time I checked, not every band in the world that happened to wear black one day and has one member with a shaved head constituted neo-nazism.

You do redeem yourself with some valid criticism though. Comments on visuals are important with a site/ezine.

The font size for the text is the same as it's been in every single article, on every single page, in every single issue of the zine. It's never bothered you before. Maybe the colour is affecting it for you this time. That's understandable. I was thinking of making the text font white anyhow and likely will since I checked it from a friend's today and found it harder to read than on my pc.

The font for the title by the way, has been used on the covers of at least three other issues. Like the font size, new complaint and again, likely related to your dislike of the colour.

Regarding the colour, with every page of the ezine that has had an image (except the Latrine and Puuk's column), we've always roughly matched the colour of the background to one of the main colours in the image. Again, nothing new.

I will change the text colour though. Like I said, on other comps, with different monitors, I can't see it to well either.

Tell you what... while I'm fixing the font colour, why don't you go listen to the band (link is on the last page of the interview) and then give us your opinion of the music. That's the main point with a band you know.

I really liked the interview - unlike most band interviews I read, it was both long and interesting. Granted, as a metalhead I'm most likely very biased, but I think people will appreciate it for what it is. Well, except Jan.

I was chatting with Rainer today and he got a good laugh when I told him about Jan's swastika comment. Just for you Jan, he said he'll try to get one to pose with.

I also mentioned dousi's and Magnus' comments. He's glad you guys like it and hopes the band can get over to Europe. There is, as he mentioned in the interview, a bigger market for metal there anyhow.

And dousi, I agree with your assessment that the "predictability" comes from your love of electronica. Pop, rock, metal, country etc etc do tend to follow the format of verse/chorus repeat as far as structure as well as other elements.

By the way, on the album's liner notes, the instrument on "Right Now" was called "war pipes", not bag pipes.

HA! A swastika... that would please me for that pansy little Austrian with the cheesey moustache was my land-dwelling puppet!

Nice songs though. They stir up my cold blood and make me long to sharpen my teeth!

I think they are nice songs and the pipes are moving and wonderful and I hope that you break your teeth Angler because you are bad. I think you and this Janmanden person are the same person and your are both dumb and smelly and mean.

Which part of the "blocks my desire to read" or "I haven't read it" is it that you missed? I am sorry that you missed the point, but in my opionion that design: picture, colours and font, had a very distinct fascistoid appeal about it, that I just don't like. Combine that anti-pathy with the fonts and colours and.. why am I even repeating myself?!... Oh, it's you Josan... well, let me NAIL this one: Fuck off and die!!

Yep, I did, what you suggested and heard some of the music (even Fuck off and die) and there is certainly a lot of anger and promise of death in that wake, but also a lot more melodic feel, folk and sophistication than simply grinding metal. I can hear they have a lot of skill and passion and I wouldn't be surprised if they got a gig on Roskilde Festival and was very successful. I think my favorites are No Way Out, Right Now and Carpe Diem, but the music appeals to me in a lot of places, but.. yep, another but(t), I kinda miss some clean passages, Let me Out have some, but not quite enough, I think there is too much mud or 'wall' about the sound, lack of breathing space. Not Pink Floyd the 'wall', even though there is a brief moment, a break, in No Way Out where I thought of them.

I read the interview, but ouf of context, since I copied the text to wordpad so I could read it without straining my eyes. It's very general and sort of technical, but very little about their music in itself and their personal touch. Only the music tells that story and that's pretty violent, abusive and unforgiving at times. Besides, I thought that it was a canadian band, but there is a lot of american-english about it... Well, excuse me, but I tire fast at the f-word.



- That's it. To get a feel of the band it would have been nice to read about some personal engagement of attitude and outlook towards life and answers to some odd personal questions.

I am glad they liked the swastika comment, which were pointed at the design of that cover, but I don't like the idea about posing with it unless he dishonor it in some way explicitly. Since you got such a 'connection', maybe you could mention the design patterns of the promised one, Lina Broström... of having imagery on one side and text on another, as it's pissantly annoying to read the lyrics with those grrrr.. backgrounds on their website.

The change in colour is for the better, thank you, but let me just re-emphasize, that it makes no sense to me, why the font is so small, since there is already a pager on the pages, which gives room for larger text with more pages.

As far as getting a feel for the bands attitudes towards life etc... Hello! Hi, Captain Obvious here! Ask any band or artist and they will tell you that the best way to get to know them, their views, attitudes etc is to listen to the music, read the book etc etc etc etc.

And really Jan, what is your obsession with font size in this article since it's EXACTLY the same size on every single page of every single issue of the ezine and it's never been commented on before.

Seriously, I guess 38 is catching up with you. Had your eyes checked lately? Time for glasses or new glasses? Jan, I never miss your point. You just rarely ever manage to make one so why don't you fuck off and die, hmm?

But seriously Jan, don't do that because I love having you around here and I think you know that. Glad you listened to the band and glad you checked out their site and glad you found something there to complain about too.

Well.. Knowledge is power - learn with pleasure, increase those damned font sizes that blocks my desire to read!!

And... YES, THE EXACT SAME ANNOYING SIZE ON ALL OF WINTERWIND PRODUCTIONS ARTICLES THAT I HAVEN'T READ. And if you think about it, it makes sense why these forums rarely see any newcomers, because the FONT ON FRONT IS TOO SMALL TO HAUL (them here).

Why noone has mentioned it before? Because they thought I would and now I did, so what are you going to do about it, to make all that work really come to life for all to read?

Oh, and you edited your post while I was making coffee, I liked it better before. Too bad I forgot to quote you.

ehm, though this is of course you guys' lovely discussion, i must note that i wonder what kind of retarded browser our dear Manden is using, because my sweet Opera can enlarge the page without any problems. (though i read the text without any problems in small on grey, I must admit i was fairly awake at that moment)

Now, now Young One, you must learn to be more tolerant and forgiving. It is not this Janmanden's fault that the Angler seeks to snare him with his hooks and barbs. It is through Fish's Divine Love that that we shall save Janmanden.

As for the music of this band NAIL; And Lo, didst not Al the Apostle say "ROCK ON!"

Oh whopee. An interview with some sucky metal band.

The guitarist is a fat bald nazi skinhead. The singer is some ugly chick. They're married. They deserve each other. The drummer looks older than dinosaur shit and the bassist is young enough to be their brat kid. Why is he playing with geezers? Cos he couldn't get a gig with people his own age.

Nail sucks. According to their site radio stations in their own town won't even play their crap. Why haven't they mentioned the interview on their site. You said he said they would. Why??? Cos his retarded wife is too busy banging drums like a loser while they blab about winners of some dumbass myspace contest.

Well, maybe you got some extra content for the site but stick to interviewing cool people like game designers or DnD artists NOT fat ugly senior citizens that play shit music.

Actually, aside from your assessment of the band, I've been wondering about that myself. He assured me he'd get his webmaster to update it. Knowing him, and his webmaster, that could take a while. Still, I am rather pissed that after three updates he hasn't.

Oh well. That's gratitude for you. Since he (so far) hasn't lived up to his word I look at it as nothing more than padding my online resume as far as freelance journalism. Glad I didn't buy the album though.