Appalachian Winter

Today marks the release of Wintermountains Rise! First things first:

Streaming | Download

If you want a CD, you can find those here, though Nine Gates Records.

If you have a subscription to any major streaming service, you should be able to find Wintermountains Rise there as well.

If you have Nine Gates Records bookmarked, please update that bookmark. We had a long period of inactivity and needed to build a new Bandcamp site. All proper albums since and including Ghosts of the Mountains (2013 music. Mike and I are tying to figure out how to offer the entire Discography for cheap as well, so stay tuned for that!

I know I’ve said it before, but sorry for Wintersunning this one. Drums has been the hardest addition I’ve ever made. I went into this cold (joke there somewhere), having never touched a set before and bound and determined that Wintermountains Rise was going to have real drums come all Hell and high water. If you’ve heard my music before, you might get a sense that I do not compromise, and yeah. It was short-sighted in a way to put that kind of pressure on myself, but if I was willing to let one album slide, I would have been willing to let eleven more go without. I’m going to get better at drumming and drum capture/production, so strap in! I’m not even close to done yet.

When Mike and I figure out the discography pack, you’ll be the first to know. I appreciate all of you who’ve stuck around, and all of you who just found me.

Onward now to Thunderroar! Wouldn’t it be great for an album of that title to have the thunder of REAL drums? See, you can justify anything!

Cheers and best wishes,

-Danny

AW

First things first:

“Endless Ice Falls”: Streaming

“All Coldness Comes”: Streaming

“So Howls the Wind”: Streaming

Full Album: Streaming

Downloads are now consolidated into a .zip file for the full album.

The official release is set for 09 June 2026, so that’s a couple months away. Nine Gates Records will once again offer a physical CD release! On that date, I’ll nix the individual downloads in favor of the full album one. It’s all free no matter what, so that doesn’t change, and it keeps my mediafire account tidy. Also, the streaming for these songs now includes the new mastering/production. Streaming on Spotify, Deezer – all the other places you can find my music – will be available on the release date proper.

I apologize. This album – due to all of the aforementioned problems in the previous post for “Angelfrost” was the longest time I’ve spent on a single release. I thought maybe three years would be enough to internalize playing and producing a actual drum set. I underestimated that severely. I also underestimated what’s involved with learning a new DAW/OS combo. However, these growing pains have wound up being an extended blessing. Being able to use Reaper frees me to not be bound to a certain OS, unlike Cakewalk – which I loved and was used to. I worked with that latter software for well over a decade. I’m at a point now with Reaper that I can use it with the same confidence that I had with Cakewalk. My studio’s at a place where getting the drums into the audio interface is as easy as when I finger-keyed the drums (playing drums sounds on a keyboard). This should translate into NOT A SIX YEAR FUCKING WAIT FOR THE NEXT ALBUM. Place your bets!

The next album’s title will be Thunderroar.

Okay, I dropped that name before. Tell you what, here’s what comes after Thunderroar:

These Mountains Are My Eternity.

See you folks on the 9th of June.

Cheers,

-Danny

Sorry for Wintersunning this. BUT, important things first – my lame excuses can follow if you’re curious about what the Hell is wrong with me.

Here are the songs:

Hopeforsook: Streaming

Angelfrost: Streaming

Downloads are now consolidated into a .zip file for the full album.

I’m electing to call Wintermountains Rise once eight songs are complete, which culls three songs total off my original plan of eleven total. Appalachian Winter albums that follow (yes, I still have more planned!) are going to be official at eight total songs as well. So far, five songs are done, so for this album that’s three left to go!

Vocals aren’t quite fully cooked through on “Angelfrost,” so expect some revisions before all is said and done. This new thing I’m trying (singing ON key) is difficult when I’m at the ends of my register. Speaking of revisions, expect previous songs (and these new ones) to change a bit, mostly with guitar and drum sounds. This drumming shit is hard, but I am developing with my skill, and would like to give these songs their best before I officially stamp “DONE” on them. Guitar performances won’t change, but their sound likely will, due to my being in possession of a full stack amplifier with more speaker options – but that’s also dependent on if I have direct takes for all of these. I think I do, but I’m not certain. If not, screw it. That said, I’d love an Appalachian Winter release to be the first one I have with the full-on thunder of a full stack (if you’re curious, I just took the JSX half stack I have, and put it atop an Invective 4×12).

Now, why did it take so long for only two measly songs??? First, drums are hard. I’ve said it before, but it’s still true! Sorry about that! BUT, it’s also rewarding as all Hell. So, I won’t be going back to finger keys just to make it quicker and easier on myself. I wanted this. I apologize for the wait, again.

Second, and this one is a biggie – I’ve changed the OS I’m using AND the DAW. As if an actual drum set wasn’t enough, this change alone added at least a year – if not more – onto the wait. If you’re curious about it, I switched from Windows to Mac, and from Cakewalk to Reaper. The OS change itself, not so bad, but that DAW change was something else. But, I’m now at a point where Reaper is working the way I want and I’m comfortable enough to NOT LET ANOTHER THREE YEARS GO BY BEFORE I POST NEW MUSIC AGAIN. I hope.

Lastly, I’m getting old! I’ll be forty-five years of age by the end of October. I don’t quite have the energy I used to have. But I also have other projects I’d like to address before I return to the soil. The era of “an album a year” is likely over. But Appalachian Winter won’t be ending too soon!

I’m not sure when I’ll have more. I’m thinking by the end of the year, with the tentative release of Wintermountains Rise to be sometime early to mid 2026, six years following Winterhewn. No promises!

That said, I’m looking forward to this album being done. Because then, work starts on Thunderroar! I’m really excited for that one! So, spoilers for those you who read this far!

Cheers,

-Danny

This is a non-metal instrumental track.

Streaming

Downloads are now consolidated into a .zip file of the full album.

No promises, but I’ll try to have another done before year’s end.

Finally, a new song! Probably not going to be the last time it takes awhile. My apologies!

Streaming

Downloads are now consolidated into a .zip file for the full album.

Apologies again for the wait. Drums are hard. The bad news is it seems unlikely I can keep the pace I used to have. The good news is I’ve gotten the production to a point where everything is as real as it can get. I’m micing real amp cabs and drums, so the only thing that is still synthetic is the orchestration (except the gong and the bell at the end, those are real). If I’m ever at a point in my life where doing this with a real orchestra would be possible, it would probably be years between tracks instead of months.

Two, down, nine to go!

Cheers,

-Danny

I’ll tell you all about why a little later in this post, but important things first:

Streaming

Downloads are now consolidated into a .zip file for the full album.

Please bear in mind that mixing and mastering are subject to change. I don’t rule out re-doing the drums either, which brings me to the reason why it’s been so long since Winterhewn for me to become active again with music. It’s this:

This drum stuff is not easy. I built this set in the late summer/fall of 2020, just as the Winterhewn album was finishing up. My time between then and now has been learning to play, capture, and produce this thing – which I am still doing. It’s one of the reasons I foresee a retake on drums – another being the tempo is a bit out of my comfort range. I’m much more confident at 110-140 bpm than at 90 and then later 80 bpm, which was this song.

I have no experience with drums before this.

It’s probably going to slow me down as far as album production for Appalachian Winter goes. I’m used to a little over a year between starting and finishing a full album. Wintermountains Rise is most likely going to be done mid-2023 at the earliest. I have eleven songs planned for this one, so that marks ten more to go.

Until the next song is done,

-Danny

Winterhewn, Appalachian Winter’s TENTH full album is here. If you enjoy the free downloads, well, that’s likely not the biggest news, but if you have a thing for physical copies, today’s the day those become available. You can get one here directly from Nine Gates Records.

As always you can stream and download .mp3-320 files for free. I know, you hear that from me all the time. But keep in mind those folks who have just found this music and are interested in it. I think it’s only fair that they should know as well. The whole discography is free to stream and download!

See you when I begin work with Wintermountains Rise!

Cheers,

-Danny