【Pls look at the top comment first】Back to the mid 1980s, this is one of the representative figures in San Antonio, Texas. They were active on stage with epic works spread in the state. The year 2023 is the 40th anniversary when the band's debut work came out and saw the resurrection of their 1980s epic gems.
Winterkat was one of the hard rock icons in San Antonio. The city was one of North America's hottest metal cities where Heather Leather and Wyzard come from. This is a warm place in the southern USA with sunshine, but there is a band from the city which loves "Winter" and a big cat as the band's icon that conquer the wild winter.
The year 1983 saw the beginning of Winterkat. Five original members gathered together and recorded some singles on the ST EP, but the band didn't last long as four members left the band after the releasing of this mini debut EP. So in this video, this is not the founding line-up of Winterkat, but in most fans' memories, this five-piece line-up is the classic one that symbolizes the glorious days of Winterkat.
Four members who left Winterkat formed their new band Nightwork while only one founding member, young guitarist Jonathan Grell stayed in Winterkat, who wanted to re-form this project. In the following years, a newly formed Winterkat featuring this classic line-up was born and recorded the epic "The Struggle". The new line-up continued the formation like the former line-up featuring five members and including the keyboardist.
Originally, "The Struggle" was a mini album including five songs on EP in 1985. The five song EP took some surprising twists, including a unique take on Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" as well as "Minuet III", a short J.S. Bach piece adapted by Jonathan Grell. It wasn't long before they were opening for Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force" and Bill Sheehan's "Talas", and international press and record orders were coming in.
"The Struggle" was expanded to six songs in 1988 with growing popularity, making Winterkat walk on the road to success. In the cold winter, Winterkat's songs are like the flaming fire, lighting up the cold and dark night. The songs are the best written gems. Let the theme title song "The Struggle", "Light Of Day", "Scared Heart" and "Someone's Calling" rock your soul and let "Little Wing" and "Minuet III"soothe your heart gently.
According to Jonathan Grell, the founder and the major creator of Winterkat, the band disintegrated just as they had recorded their best material, that is a pity, because he believed the third record would have landed his band a bigger deal. Anything can happen to the band on the music scene and sometimes there would be something regrettable which the artists left to fans like Winterkat and their unfinished works.
It was not until 2019 that 20th Century Music reissued this precious album "The Struggle" of Winterkat plus four bonus tracks. Here the song "Last Time" is one of the bonus tracks, only included in the reissue. Another three bonus tracks are "Ghost Of Legal Crime", "Cold The Blade" and "Life Of Changes". The songs from Winterkat are solid, but they focused a lot on melody presentations to make songs tuneful.
In 2023, a re-issue Greek label Cult Metal Classics made "The Struggle" re-released once again, including altogether ten songs. The four bonus tracks were what the band had in store for the future that was not to be. So this reissue as a compilation is very precious, including the epic gems from the band, which carried their dedication to rock n roll dreams.
Today Winterkat is a name of the past and the lead vocalist Michael Grotheus passed away in 2012. For 1980s dreamers, Winterkat is a memorable band whose music works should never be forgotten. The 2023 compilation "The Struggle" is a great tribute in memory of the 1980s glorious days when Winterkat was active.
#HardRock #HairMetal #Winterkat
