This is the side project of the husband and wife team of Jule and Tobias Dahs. They wanted something different from their main band, LEVIATHAN (which are back with their third album, a comeback album of sorts). They said numerous times that they didn't want any boundaries and wanted to do something more naturally. So KING'S WINTER came about with the release of their EP in late 2018. This is definitely a huge departure of the Melodic Death Metal stylings of LEVIATHAN. They really embraced their Heavy Metal roots, German Heavy Metal might I add. I listened to this album twice on my way to work this morning and more I listened to the songs, the more I saw those influences.

Jule Dahs is very reminiscent of a young Doro Pesch mixed in with a little bit of Lana Lane (remember her?). Her voice has that power and a little bit of harshness. Thankfully we don't have that pattern of operatic vocals like we see in so many bands fronted by women in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Her vocals are a bit gruff but they have a lot of passion intertwined. The first song reminded me of old school ACCEPT but with the blaring vocals of Jule Dahs. No compromise, she belts it out like the best of them and she is the driving force of the band. As for the title track, this really reminded of the first albums of PRIMAL FEAR, true to nature Heavy Metal with some Power Metal elements thrown in for good measure. It has that passion, deep rooted sense of belonging to Heavy Metal. I thought it was the best track of the album.

As for ''At Road's End''. I thought it was a nice touch to have an instrumental track to separate the EP in two. It gives the listener a break and shows all the talent that Tobias has and nonetheless I thought it wasn't necessary to have to an instrumental track on an EP but I guess it gives you another side of the band. The last song is a bonus track called ''A Sailor's Tale''. This was really reminiscent of two BLIND GUARDIAN songs (another German Band!), the beginning felt like the opening strings of ''Harvest of Sorrow'' and the beat of the song and the flow felt a bit like ''The Bard's Song''. Nothing wrong with that at all, BLIND GUARDIAN being a favorite of mind but these two songs came to mind when I listened to this song. I felt it was a strong way to the end the EP.

I really enjoyed this EP and can't wait to hear a full album of this promising band from Königswinter, Germany!