I have a set of Artic Alpins on my Vibe. They use to be on my VW but this will be the car that goes dashing through the snow this winter. Mine have never sounded ANYTHING like what you describe. In fact they are the quietest snow tire I have ever owned. My best advise to you is try rotating them front to back. I keep 32 PSI in mine. Like you said, they are directional tires. But I doubt if they were ever on the wrong axle they would cause this problem.

Thanks for all the replies.
Went back to my tire place, and we found out the problem. Turns out there WAS some unusual wear on them. Did a fair bit of driving the weekend, and they are quieting down substantially. Actually, these are amazingly good tires! Never had a bad Michelin, and these ones aren't changing that impression at all!

Erik

I have Winterforce snows on mine and i have the same thing. This is normal for some snow tires. When i put my summer tires on there is no noise, and both of my wheel bearings have been changed last summer.