Windstein played guitar for the cover band Victorian Blitz in 1985,[3] which performed renditions of songs by WASP and Judas Priest.

After leaving Victorian Blitz, Windstein joined the New Orleans hardcore punk band Shell Shock as their guitarist and vocalist.

[7] After the collapse of Shell Shock in 1988 due to the suicide of Hatch, the band enlisted Kevin Noonan and carried on as Aftershock, which played a mixture of hardcore punk and doom metal.

Under that name, they released a demo in mid-1989, but then renamed themselves Wrequiem when bassist Mike Savoie (who would later direct music videos for Crowbar, Down, and Pantera) left the band and was replaced by Todd Strange.

Windstein considered becoming the guitarist for Exhorder but he and Strange reformed the band, with Craig Nunenmacher as the drummer and Kevin Noonan on guitar.

Windstein's childhood friend Phil Anselmo (who at the time was with Pantera) produced their next effort, a self-titled album released in 1993.

The album went on to achieve international success with songs such as "All I Had (I Gave)", "Existence Is Punishment", and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter".

MTV's Headbangers Ball began to play the music video for "Existence Is Punishment", which was also featured on Beavis and Butt-Head.

In 2005, Windstein teamed up with vocalist Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed to form a new side venture called Kingdom of Sorrow.

For this tour, Windstein played several ESP Viper guitars through a pedalboard containing overdrive, wah pedal, chorus and phaser units made by Boss, Dunlop, MXR and others.