Three people, twenty years, one story

The Beginning: 2005

Kage and Phreaque were working together at a video rental store. Kage, a bass player, was just out of a previous band and said he needed a drummer. Phreaque spoke up: “I am a drummer.” Phreaque is paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair — which is why Kage was intrigued rather than dismissive.

They started sharing influences and talking about what a band should look and feel like, and made plans to jam the following weekend.

The Original Three

That first jam settled it. Kage was blown away by Phreaque's technical drumming, and the two of them began writing what would become future Winter Agony songs on day one.

A few weeks later they were hunting for a guitarist. Kage went into a Yahoo chat room one evening, started talking about music, and hit it off with someone who wanted to come and jam. On 23 October 2005, Rayne drove up to meet them.

The First Songs

By the end of that first day together, the three had written “My Mind”. Everything clicked again — now there were three.

They kept writing and recording, auditioning singers endlessly without ever settling on one. When they found a vocalist they liked, it turned into such a chore that it was not worth the headache. For the longest time Rayne handled the vocals, simply because he could sing the songs as they were written.

Very early on they had tracks recorded including “My Mind”, “Chained”, “Agony”, “Never Wake”, “Burning Bridges”, “Mati Di Nol” and “Stranded”. They knew they had something unique.

Two Decades of Silence

Then life happened, and everything went on hold for a very long time. Careers took over for Kage and Rayne. Rayne moved away to take a job to support his family; Kage opened a business to support his.

Twenty years went by.

The Return

The same three are back together — a little older, with the same drive to create music, and now with the tools to actually make it happen.

They are taking the original material and mastering it for release, writing new material for future releases, and working regularly again. What is different now is everything around the music: no pettiness, no managers, no bookers, no venues, no travel. They have total control of their own work.

Introducing Ruby

For as long as Winter Agony has existed, the vocal identity was the missing piece — the thing that could not be found in a person without the whole project stalling.

Ruby is that vocalist. She was extensively crafted around exactly what the band sees as the perfect voice for their songs, which allows the music to move forward without being road-blocked.