Review by Felix on January 1, 2022.

From today’s point of view, the debut of Portrait sounds a bit strange to me, because Per Lengstedt was not yet a member of the group. Instead, Phillip Svennefelt lent the dudes his voice and he is mainly responsible for the obvious Mercyful Fate influence that characterizes the self-titled effort. But Portrait is not the result of copycats at work, and, just to avoid misunderstanding, Svennefelt does not sound like the reincarnation of King Diamond. He just adapts his style to a certain degree without creating a slavish imitation. The bottom line is that his adventurous singing fits the music and its aura very well. Vocals and instruments create the occult touch right from the beginning and it is evident that Portrait knew the direction of their musical mission from the outset.

This mission contains a tendency to pretty complex tracks. The technical dates (eight songs, 46 minutes) indicate the quite excessive structures. Sometimes newcomers choke on their own ambitions, but here the songwriting guitarists Lindell and Lagergren have penned pieces that find a good balance between a smooth flow and the right number of twists and turns. The songs are neither repetitive nor over-complicated. Their best feature is their freshness. Portrait does not sound tired at any second. The often fast compositions, headed by the ruthless 'A Thousand Nightmares' with its glorious solo and instrumental part, spread timeless vibes. Of course, the Swedes can be seen as representatives of traditional metal, but already on their debut, they were much more than this. They offered more than typical traditionalists in terms of energy, speed, courage and song patterns. Portrait is light years away from the “riff-screams-chorus” scenario that has its right of existence without being the last word on the subject. Nevertheless, one can identify a few Maiden-like guitar lines, inter alia in 'Bow Unto The Devil', where they lead into a short drum solo (or excessive drum break, however you want to name it).

Many details want to be discovered, for example the tiny “Killers” similarity after the first riff of 'Beware The Demons' many various parts want to be fully consumed. Especially the fast-paced opener and the rather epic closer hold a lot different sound colours. But even while listening to the longest songs, you will not stumble over half-baked parts. Everything is meticulously constructed and even though I am not in a state of euphoria during the entire 46 minutes, I enjoy the album in its entity. All songs reach a good level, a few of them are still candidates for best of compilation. This is a merit of the production, too. Maybe it lacks five or ten percent power, but the album sounds clear and professional. In view of this situation, there are not many reasons to ignore Portrait. It’s simply a debut which already showed the greatness of its spiritual fathers. And despite many line-up changes, this greatness is still alive. Everybody who knows the title track of At One With None will agree.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Jack on March 20, 2002.

It is really quite the phenomenon on how closely metal and classical music have become married to each other within the wide, weird and wonderful genre that is metal. To an outside listener the worlds of metal and classical couldn’t be at further ends of the spectrum if they tried, yet to one such as ourselves classical and metal are almost synonymous with each other. Bands like Hollenthon base a great deal of their metal around classical tunes from yesteryear and there are constantly bands doing cover versions of well known classical pieces (Alchemist and Jeff Wayne’s ‘War of the Worlds’ and At Vance’s cover of Vilvaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’) as well as bands like Dimmu Borgir using whole orchestral arrangements to back their latest albums. Winds’ latest offering in the form of “Reflections of the I” takes this concoction a little further again.

The classical themes of strong string sections (say that three times fast!) overlaid with hardish metal sections makes “Reflections of the I” quite a trial at first to wrap one’s head around. The music on initial listens does not grab you in and demand your attention like other releases of the same ilk, “Reflections of the I” clearly does not have the attention seeking prowess that other records have but instead is more subtle in its conception and while not grabbing you straight away, rest assured you will be pulled in eventually. If most records are like an eager puppy craving and demanding attention right away, Winds and their “Reflection of the I” is the mature and aristocratic domestic feline who will make you work for your appreciation but once found you will have a friend for life.

The brilliance displayed on “Reflections of the I” is quite outstanding and it is records like this that make me proud to listen to metal and wonder why on earth there is any other genres in the world. Vocals that make you cringe for a world far away from the evils of our own, drums from Hellhammer that are neither fast nor brutal, but yet contain and ignite the mood that Winds is longing for with “Reflections of the I”. There is not a lot of anger and harshness that can be uttered about “Reflections of the I”; it may not be the most accessible of records, but in our day and age what is not?

Bottom Line: “Reflections of the I” does take a while to seep and wear in. This is the only major detracting feature of the album from Winds. Taking the marriage of classical and metal to the next level, “Reflections of the I” is a clear winner.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 9
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 10
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.5 out of 10