the Twin Peaks of Metal:

A true underground cult metal masterpiece from this American guitar shredding duo! "Reflective Depths Imbibe" takes a bleak atmospheric metal palette and just splatters magnificent sweeping classical guitar solos all over the canvas; adding a completely unique and colorful creation. It's like Yngvie Malmsteen being asked to jam with old Immortal.

But the thing is..this is not fast...no blastbeats or anything like that. The pace usually stays at a mid-paced thud while the guitars just blaze away. Take the time to check out tracks like "Alpinia" with it's gorgeous acoustic guitars that ebb and flow with trills-a-plenty, and the track "Cold Granitic Bliss" is an absolute epic metal symphony...hoo-ha! it's like Cacophony all over again! Bliss, indeed. The other interesting thing about Windham Hell, is that they use vocals, but very very rarely..and when they are used, they are so buried within the mix that you might as well consider them samples or something. It's quite strange.

Oh yea, one more great point I should make about this (now, sadly defunt) band; they are obsessed with David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" television series; which was actually filmed right in their neighborhood. They got first hand views on watching the whole Laura Palmer (and Waldo the bird) saga go down.

It's tough to really draw comparisons to other bands with this group because they seemed to have possessed a very unique and somewhat avant-garde take on the world of underground metal. Both men were musical masterminds and true geniuses who could play, write, and compose some amazing pieces of music. Fans of guitar rock (especially the Shrapnel records variety), bleak metal, and unique atmospheric style should wait no longer and discover this underground gem.

On a sobering note, Windham Hell guitarist, visionary, and all around super nice guy, Eric Friesen recently passed away last year on July 30th, 2006.

RIP