Once Upon A Winter started out as a solo Post-Rock/Post Metal project from Thessaloniki, Greece, created by Ilias Kakanis. In 2017, the debut album Selective depression in chase of the Big Bang was released, gathering significant attention with over 150,000 views on the Youtube channel Worldhaspostrock. 

In 2018, Once Upon A Winter transformed into a full band. From 2018 to 2019, the band released two more albums, both on digital and physical formats, while signed with the Finnish label Snow Wave Records. Since then, the band performed in various Greek cities, as well as as a support act for God is An Astronaut in their hometown, Thessaloniki. In November of 2019, the band completed their first European tour performing shows in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. 

In May 2019, the band’s music was part of the theatrical play "Unborn Land", receiving a cultural award from the UNESCO Club of Piraeus and Islands and also, in February 2021 they performed with MOYSA youth orchestra in Thessaloniki Concert Hall, in an event organized by the Northern Greece Musicians Union, broadcasted in national television. 

The overall sound of Once Upon A Winter ranges from classic post rock with ambient atmospheres and soulful melodies, to gothic, doom, and black metal eruptions with aggressive guitars while still keeping the melodic lines as the main focus. 

The fourth album of the band, Void Moments of Inertia, was already composed just before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, eventually slowing down the recordings and pushing back the release date. The band took advantage of this forced time-off, experimenting with different orchestrations to achieve the desired results, providing a fresh perspective on the composed material. 

They introduced their new album on February of 2022, with the song Elegant Demise, accompanied by a music video dealing and raising awareness to the issue of Alzheimer’s’ disease and the need to never give up on people. Void Moments of Inertia was released on the 18th of March, 2022. Since then the band had two album presentation live shows in Athens and Thessaloniki. 

On October 15, 2022 the band capitalised on the album success by performing as the opening act for the blackgaze giants Deafheaven in Athens. Two years later on October 23, 2024 they performed in Athens as the opening act for Alcest.

Line-up: 

Ilias Kakanis – Guitars, Vocals 
Fotis Sitaras – Bass 
Konstantinos Alexandros Noulas – Drums