In early 1996, WINTERLAND was founded by singer Thorsten Fries and guitarist Markus Pfeffer in Ramstein/Germany as a studio project. Fries had a band with today's SUPERIOR guitarist Bernd Basmer, Pfeffer released 3 CD’s with AOR-band SCARLETT and 2 Demos, PFEFFER/Ydolem and MMP/Persistence Of Memory.

The first promo tape "Under The Flood" received great reviews worldwide (e.g. Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Austria) and has got regular airplay in Germany, Luxembourg and France. In spring 1997, the studio project became a "real" band and started playing live, the line-up was completed by guitarist Stephan Hugo, bass player Holger Kuntz and drummer Chris Guckeisen who played together since 1993.

WINTERLAND’s music can be described as a mixture of various hard & heavy styles (mostly Hard rock, AOR and Progressive) whereas the band's roots can be based in the Eighties. The band members grew up with acts such as PRETTY MAIDS, SAVATAGE and DOKKEN (and they don't deny their roots). Groovy guitar-riffs and melodic harmony vocals can be called WINTERLAND’s milestones. Singer Fries has got a quite unusual voice, compared to other metal singers (nevertheless, he is often compared to Gary Hughes/TEN). Fries is a baritone and sings very dark and low, which gives the songs and WINTERLAND’s music intensity and an individual note.

"B L I N D" was recorded, mixed and mastered from february until april 1998. The 12 songs combine dark vocals, harmony guitars, funky and progressive elements to a mixture of various styles far away from trends and alwaysmelodic.

Critical Acclaim:

"...fantastic voice, catchy melodies,... great guitars." (Detlef Dengler, HEAVY, ODER WAS / Germany) "...vocalist Fries sounds like Gary Hughes/TEN,... you will love this band." (STRUTTER / Netherlands) "...melodic hardrock, a bit progressive,...really different,..." (DISAGREEMENT / Luxembourg) "...hardrock bound with classic metal,... remind me of SAVATAGE." (SEVENTH SIGN / Greece) "...can be compared to TEN or CITA." (THUNDER / Switzerland) "...estremamente professionale..." (METAL HAMMER / Italy)

Contact: WINTERLAND, c/o Markus Pfeffer, Am Wald 10, D- 66851 Hauptstuhl / Germany E-Mail: Pfeffer.Markus@t-online.de Tel.: +49 63 72 / 99 44 28