The lore, history, music and every other part of folk culture was never a 100% guideline for Windmill. They don’t play traditional melodies, jigs, they don’t sing folk songs with centuries old lyrics nor do they play the folk instruments, in their case flutes, bouzouki, kantele, and the jaw harp, in a strictly traditional, orthodox way. It always was a kind of a loosely woven net on which they laid upon and a source from which they took their atmosphere, lyrical themes, more or less faithfully presented archetypes, symbols and characters not only from Slavic, but Indo-european folklore in general.
The lyrics present a variety of topics and never focus on one subject or culture in particular. Because folk isn’t only the music, but the entire lifestyle of our ancestors. The songs feature both Gods and Men, creatures of the light and dark, both the sacred and the earthly. Songs referencing Slavs, Celts as well as universal themes, telling about life and nature. There are no closed doors for the lyric-writing.
The first album ‘Dance of Fire and Freedom’ was released in 2020.
The idea for the future is to break away from folk metal stereotypes, as folk metal is, just like alcohol, a great base for experiments and mixes.
Windmill’s plans for the future to create a more progressive sound (in the vein of Wilderun, Opeth or Dan Swano, not djent with a mandolin) and psychedelic (to continue an idea that Amorphis started 20 years ago with the legendary Am Universum and never got around to finishing it) elements, synths, effects, instrumental parts or parts with just chants instead of long verses and choruses, a richer and more layered soundscape in general. This doesn’t mean that they’ll abandon their folk metal roots, they’ll still be a great part of the sound, just blended with a few other influences.
Interview
Discography/Reviews
Dance of Fire and Freedom (2020)
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