Northwinds

Distinguish France's Northwinds from a fleeting American speed metal group sharing the name; this doom metal act pursued its low-profile path across three albums. Although the project began coalescing by 1987, spurred by the ascent of Sweden's Candlemass, its initial demos surfaced only in the mid-1990s. The debut full-length, Great God Pan, arrived in 1998 on the modest Black Widow imprint and featured expansive original compositions alongside a notable rendition of Black Sabbath's "A National Acrobat." At that stage the lineup comprised vocalist/guitarist/bassist Vincent Niclas, keyboardist Marco, drummer/vocalist Sylvain Auvé, and guitarist Sébastian Thurjez, the latter supplanted by David Marcos ahead of the follow-up, Masters of Magic, released in 2001. That sophomore effort matched its predecessor's modest commercial returns, prompting a five-year dormancy that ended with 2006's Chimeres. On the latter release Niclas and Auvé expanded the group's palette with increasingly ambitious progressive rock explorations, supported by incoming musicians Thomas Batside on guitar, Thomas Boivin on bass, and Emmanuel Peyraud on keyboards.