Windwaker (band)

Summary

Windwaker is an Australian metalcore band[1] from Melbourne, Australia.[2] The band formed in 2014 and currently consists of lead vocalist Liam Guinane, guitarist Jesse Crofts, bassist Indey Salvestro, DJ Connor Robins and drummer Chris Lalic.

Windwaker
Windwaker Promo 2022
Background information
OriginWagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Years active2014–present
Labels
Members
  • Liam Guinane
  • Jesse Crofts
  • Indey Salvestro
  • Chris Lalic
  • Connor Robins
Past members
  • Mark Mcghie
  • Will Eggleton
  • Chris Moohan
  • Jesse Holt
  • Will King
Websitehttps://windwakerband.com

In 2022 they released their first studio album Love Language (2022). Prior to that, they released two EPs: Fade (2017)[3] and Empire (2019).[4]

History edit

Early years and Fade (2014–2018) edit

Windwaker, named after the Legend of Zelda game of the same name, was formed in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales in late 2014. The founding lineup featured vocalist Will King, bassist Indey Salvestro, drummer Chris Lalic and guitarists Mark Mcghie and Will Eggleton.[5]

In April 2015,[6] Windwaker relocated from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales to Melbourne, Victoria[7] and began performing and recording new material. Their debut single "The Charade", featuring Zach Britt of Dream On, Dreamer, was released on 15 September.[8]

Windwaker's next single "Castaway" was released on 2 November 2016, and was later included on their debut EP.[9]

The band began performing with Liam Guinane, who unofficially acted as both a live and studio guitarist after the departure of Mcghie, while guitarist Chris Moohan began playing with the group after the departure of Eggleton. Windwaker's debut EP Fade was released on 31 May 2017. The EP was produced, mixed and mastered by Sonny Truelove at STL Studios in Sydney, Australia.[10]

On 15 January 2018, Windwaker introduced guitarist Jesse Crofts as an official member.[11] Two days later, Guinane was officially introduced as the fifth member of the band.[12] On April 2, the band released the single "New Infinite", the first track to feature Guinane and Crofts.[13][6][14] The band made their first festival appearance at BIGSOUND Festival in Brisbane, Queensland in September.[15]

Empire and Guinane's departure (2019–2020) edit

In early-2019, the hashtag #TheSitch frequently began to appear across social media forums in Australia.[16] On 1 February 2019, Windwaker released the single "The Sitch" with an accompanying music video and announced pre-orders for their sophomore EP Empire.[17] The band released the second single of the release, "My Empire", on March 5 with an accompanying music video.[18] The self-produced EP was mixed, mastered and engineered by drummer Chris Lalic, while additional engineering was provided by guitarist Liam Guinane and Declan White.[19]

Former vocalist Will King commented about the release: "Coming out of our last record, a record deeply rooted in post-adolescent feelings of pain and loneliness, as a band, it’s safe to say that we all had this strong desire to redeem ourselves of those sole qualities. I think we have always feared trapping ourselves in a box, kept in by one-dimensional expectations, and we are very conscious of not allowing that influence to hinder our creativity. We are absolutely not a band who is going to sit around all day writing the same songs over and over again."[20]

On 10 March, Windwaker played their first large festival at Download Festival Melbourne, after winning a national triple j Unearthed competition.[21][22] Their second EP, Empire was released on March 22, with a limited physical release following in June. All of the shows for the Empire tour sold out. The band subsequently signed with New World Artists for bookings.[23]

In July Windwaker joined Beartooth on their Disease Tour as support, alongside Thornhill.[24] Windwaker announced that Guinane was unable to attend the tour due to personal obligations, so former-Weighbridge vocalist/guitarist Sean Ross filled in. They also stated their plan to cover Silverchair's hit "Freak" on the tour.[25] On September 9, Guinane announced he would be leaving Windwaker to focus on his other band Reside. He played at Windwaker's performances at Good Things in December and Unify Festival in January 2020 before departing.[26][27]

Love Language and King's departure (2020–present) edit

On 30 December 2020, Windwaker announced their plans to release their debut studio album Love Language. On 17 December 2021, the band made their Fearless Records debut with the single "Toxic", a cover of the Britney Spears' single, and announced The Beautiful Tour with dates in early March.[28]

On 11 February 2022, Windwaker released the single "Beautiful" with an accompanying music video and announced a May 6 release date for Love Language.[29] On 4 March, they released the second single off their debut album, "Lucy" and its music video. The track was loosely inspired by psychedelic experiences.[30] On March 25, their third single "Glow" was released alongside a music video.[31] The fourth and final single of the album, "Superstitious Fantasy" was released in 15 April with its music video.[32] The full album was then released on 6 May 2022.[33]

On 15 September, the band announced on social media that Will King had departed from the band to focus on studying psychology, and that former guitarist and backing vocalist Liam Guinane had returned to fulfill lead vocal duties.[34] After performing as a session member for 2022, Connor Robins was officially added to the band on keyboards and later featured on the band's follow-up single "Left in the Dark" released on 11 November with an accompanying music video.[35]

Members edit

Timeline

Discography edit

Studio albums edit

List of studio albums
Title Album details
Love Language

Extended plays edit

List of extended plays
Title EP details Peak chart positions
AUS
Fade
Empire
  • Released: 22 March 2019
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
[a]

Singles edit

Title Year Album
"The Charade"
(featuring Zach Britt)
2015 Non-album singles
"Fade Sessions" 2017
"New Infinite" 2018
"The Sitch" 2019 Empire
"My Empire"
"Toxic" (Britney Spears cover) 2021 Non-album single
"Beautiful" 2022 Love Language
"Lucy"
"Glow"
"Superstitious Fantasy"
"Left in the Dark" Non-album single
"Sirens" 2023

Music videos edit

Song Year Director
"Castaway" 2016 Jordan Tan
"New Infinite" 2018 Kieran Ellis-Jones
"The Sitch" 2019 Ben Anderson
"My Empire" Colin Jeffs
"Reject" (Live) 2020
"Toxic" 2021 Jackson Bentley
"Beautiful" 2022 Ed Reiss
"Lucy"
"Glow" Indey Salvestro
"Superstitious Fantasy" Ed Reiss
"Left in the Dark" Colin Jeffs
"Sirens" 2023 Andrew Vaughan

Notes edit

  1. ^ Empire did not enter the Top 100, but peaked at #19 on the ARIA Digital Albums Chart and at #3 on the AIR 100% Independent Albums Chart.

References edit

  1. ^ "PREMIERE: Melbourne Metalcore Crew Windwaker Unleash New Groove Monster 'The Sitch'". Music Feeds. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  2. ^ ""We are sort of trying to push all of the boundaries" – An interview with Chris Lalic (Windwaker)". Metal Obsession. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  3. ^ Sievers, Alex. "EP Review: Windwaker – 'Fade'". Killyourstereo.com. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  4. ^ citylightstam (18 March 2019). "Windwaker – Empire (EP Review)". Wall Of Sound. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  5. ^ Barker, Belinda (5 February 2015). "Wagga band releases debut recording". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Windwaker release new single/video 'New Infinite', announce tour dates – The Rockpit". 4 April 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Windwaker Feature Artist". triple j. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  8. ^ "The Charade, by Windwaker". Windwaker. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  9. ^ Windwaker (2 November 2016). "Windwaker - Castaway". Retrieved 30 June 2019 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Simmons, Jonty (29 May 2017). "WINDWAKER // Fade EP". Hysteria Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Windwaker - *INTRODUCING JESSE CROFTS*". Facebook. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Windwaker - *INTRODUCING LIAM GUINANE*". Facebook. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  13. ^ Sievers, Alex. "Windwaker Drop Fierce & Fresh Tune, 'New Infinite'". Killyourstereo.com. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  14. ^ Burch, Kel (4 April 2018). "Windwaker – New Infinite (New Music)". Depth Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  15. ^ "Windwaker". BIGSOUND. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  16. ^ "WINDWAKER Announce New EP And Drop First Single'The Sitch'". Overdrive Music Magazine. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Windwaker Announce New EP 'Empire', Drop Hilarious Clip For 'The Sitch' – SCENEZINE". Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  18. ^ Windwaker (5 March 2019). "Windwaker - My Empire (Official Music Video)". Retrieved 6 March 2019 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ Windwaker (31 January 2019), Windwaker - The Sitch (Official Music Video), retrieved 31 March 2019
  20. ^ "WINDWAKER announce new EP 'Empire' & drop new video and single 'The Sitch'". Down the Front Media. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Download Festival Announce Triple J Unearthed Winners". Music Feeds. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Unearthed Download Festival comp winners announced". triple j. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  23. ^ The Rockpit (21 June 2019). "Windwaker announce Vinyl and CD release of EP 'Empire'". The Rockpit. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  24. ^ brownypaul (5 June 2019). "Beartooth Australian Tour Supports Revealed". Wall of Sound. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Windwaker - Hello friends & fans, As it turns out, Liam..." Facebook. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  26. ^ Brown, Paul (9 September 2019). "Oh Man, Liam Guinane Is Departing Windwaker..." Wall of Sound. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Windwaker - Sooo, a lot to say. First up, Unify was a very..." Facebook. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  28. ^ Brown, Paul (17 December 2021). "Windwaker Cover Britney's 'Toxic' + Announce Fearless Records Signing". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  29. ^ May, Tamara (11 February 2022). "Windwaker Debut New Single 'Beautiful' + Announce New Album, Love Language". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  30. ^ May, Tamara (4 March 2022). "Windwaker Stir Up Luminous Melodies on 'Lucy'". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  31. ^ Brown, Paul (25 March 2022). "Windwaker Sex It Up A Bit for New Single 'Glow'". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  32. ^ Brown, Paul (15 April 2022). "Ummm Windwaker… WTF Is 'Superstitious Fantasy'?????". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  33. ^ "I Prevail announce Australian tour dates for 2022". NME. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  34. ^ Music Feeds (20 September 2022). "Windwaker Part Ways With Vocalist Will King, Announce Replacement". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  35. ^ wookubus (11 November 2022). "Windwaker Show Off Their New Lineup With Latest Single "Left In The Dark"". The PRP. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.