Band: Wintersun
Album: Time I
Genre: Epic Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: October 22, 2012 (USA)

     Man, what is it with all these incredible metal bands coming out of Finland? There must be something in the food or water over there; I don’t know how else to explain how music of such majesty can formulate inside the mind of a human being. I promised myself that I wouldn’t make this a kiss-ass fan review, but I just have to take a moment and state the obvious when I say that Jari Mäenpää is an absolute genius as well as one of the most gifted guitarists and musicians to ever walk the earth. I don’t for one minute doubt the abilities of the other musicians in this band, but Wintersun as we all know, is Jari’s show.  Besides his technical brilliance, his compositional skills are what set him apart. His guitar is calm yet heavy and powerful, fast and downright furious at times. His style is dynamic and untouchable, with Time I being an ideal illustration of his great capabilities.  I would also like to add that Kai Hahto, also of Rotten Sound and Swallow the Sun, is a constantly overlooked, and highly talented drummer.  His technical prowess, and bombastic beats are legendary, and he does it all with a smile on his face!

     The album begins with the Japanese folk influenced “When Time Fades Away,” which serves as an atmospheric interlude to the powerful “Sons of Winter and Stars.” I can’t even remember the last time I was so moved by music. No matter how many times I listen, “When Time Fades Away,” continues to send chills down my spine. It’s a divine piece of music in itself, which climaxes with a heavy symphonic section that actually brought tears to my eyes the first listen. The subtle Japanese melody infused with the deep and passionate orchestration is truly moving. And the guitars crashing in at the beginning of “Sons of Winter and Stars,” thunders the resounding clarity that Wintersun has truly arrived.

     I could go on forever about the brilliance of “Sons of Winter and Stars,” which could make a strong argument as the greatest Wintersun song ever. The combination of Jari’s vocals, melodic power metal riffing, and backing symphonies is the anthem of the gods. This will without a doubt turn out to be a fantastic live song. Expect the crowd to be singing along every step of the way.

Click the image above to Pre-Order! Vinyls sold out, as well as the Bonus DVD Edition. Grab this sweet T-shirt deal before it’s too late!

     “Land of Sorrow and Snow” is interesting because it transitions to a very melancholic sound as opposing to the charging vibe of the previous track. Jari is frequently praised as a guitarist, but I’ve always felt that his vocals are overlooked. He is by no means a very technical singer, but his deep voice is very solid and conveys Wintersun’s themes of sadness with great effectiveness. This is on perfect display throughout this song, which is probably his strongest achievement in terms of clean singing. “Darkness and Frost” is yet another beautifully composed instrumental piece that paves the way for the eleven minute conclusion track, “Time.” While it may not be quite as catchy as the rest of the album, “Time” is nevertheless an epic and satisfying conclusion to a phenomenal album that features some very nice soloing from Jari as well as an extended atmospheric outro that is perfect foreshadowing for Part II, reminding us that the next chapter is not far off.

     Everything about this album is perfect and everything a Wintersun fan could want. The production is outstanding, and after having listened several times, it becomes more and more apparent as to why the gap between albums was such a lengthy process. Nitpickers will of course find things to complain about. Go ahead, bitch that it doesn’t match the equivalence of its predecessor (it does), that it tries too hard to be grandiose (it doesn’t), and that it’s too short (Part II in six months people). The bottom line though, is that Wintersun has created a masterpiece. “Time I” succeeds not only as a pleasant reward to patient fans after years of waiting, but as an intriguing prequel to what should turn out to be an outstanding double album. Let’s just hope it’ll only actually be a six month wait for part 2! In the meantime, come out to see the tour with Eluveitie and the almighty Varg this December, as the sons of winter gather to see this magical spectacle of a band beneath the sleeping stars!

Rating:

Track Listing:

1. When Times Fades Away
2. Sons of Winter and Stars
   1. Rain of Stars
   2. Surrounded by Darkness
   3. Journey Inside a Dream
   4. Sons of Winter and Stars
3. Land of Snow and Sorrow
4. Darkness and Frost
5. Time

Personnel

• Jari Mäenpää − vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Teemu Mäntysaari − guitar
• Jukka Koskinen − bass
• Kai Hahto − drums

The post Part 1 of Wintersun’s latest epic, Time I Reviewed appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

“We are very excited to tour US and Canada for the first time in November/December, ” commented WINTERSUN mstermind Jari  Mäenpää. “We´ve had lots of requests from the fans before, but finally we are able to come there and kick some ass with new material from the Time I album and of course play the old stuff too! Hope to see you guys there. Let´s make it special!”

ELUVEITIE, WINTERSUN, VARG

11/21/12 House of Blues – Hollywood, CA

11/28/12  910 Live – Tempe, AZ

11/29/12  The Roxy Theater – Hollywood, CA **CHANGED TO 11/21 at the House of Blues, ROXY Tickets will be Honored at the HoB

11/30/12  Oakland Metro – Oakland, CA

12/01/12  Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR

12/02/12  El Corazon – Seattle, WA

12/03/12  Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC – CANADA

12/05/12  Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – CANADA

12/06/12  Republik – Calgary, AB – CANADA

12/07/12  Louis’ Pub – Saskatoon, SK – CANADA

12/08/12  West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA

12/09/12  Station 4 – Saint Paul, MN

12/11/12  Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL

12/12/12  Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH

12/13/12  The Opera House – Toronto, ON – CANADA

12/14/12  Mavericks – Ottawa, ON – CANADA

12/15/12  Club Soda – Montreal, QC – CANADA

12/16/12  Imperial – Quebec City, QC – CANADA

12/18/12  Water Street Music Hall (at The Club) – Rochester, NY

12/19/12  Mr. Small’s Theatre – Millvale, PA

12/20/12  Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY

12/21/12  Royale Boston – Boston, MA

ELUVEITIE will release The Early Years, a collection of re-rerecorded and re-mastered early material, via Nuclear Blast Records on August 17^th (Europe) and September 25^th (North America).

ELUVEITIE scanned 4,242 copies of their latest album Helvetios in its first week of sales in the United States according to Nielson Soundscan. Helvetios came in at #143 on the US Billboard Top 200 Chart and #3 on the Heatseekers chart, making it their highest charting record yet! ELUVEITIE also cracked the Canadian Top 200 coming in at #73! Helvetios was released on February 28 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records.

WINTERSUN’s long awaited new album Time I will be released October 12 (Europe) and October 22, 2012 (North America) via Nuclear Blast.

For more info on ELUVEITIE visit: www.eluveitie.ch | www.facebook.com/eluveitie | www.nuclearblast.de/eluveitie

For more info on WINTERSUN visit: www.wintersun.fi | www.rockthenation.eu | www.nuclearblast.de/wintersun

Via Nuclear Blast

The post ELUVEITIE/WINTERSUN North American Tour Announced! appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Unofficial Album Artwork. Seems Legit

Hello friends!

Time for some album(s) news. Wintersun‘s Time is going to be two albums, titled TIME I & TIME II. We made this decision simply because of few reasons:

-    All the 80min of material won’t fit on a regular CD and we didn’t want to cut anything out.

-    We want you to be able to hear new material sooner and not wait any longer and we want to go on tour sooner.

-    The music is very full and complex, so listening this kind of “hard listening (not easy listening)” material straight for 80 minutes is a bit too much (even for me). Both albums will be approx. nice 40 min epic packages of fireworks.

-    We like the idea of releasing two albums within one year, so the band will stay more visible longer, which is important in these “modern times.” No more years of silence for us!

We hope you’lll approve our new little “plan” and support us when the “Time” comes!

The track listing for TIME I  looks like this:

TIME I

1. When Time Fades Away

2. Sons of Winter and Stars

I Rain of Stars

II Surrounded by Darkness

III Journey Inside a Dream

IV Sons of Winter and Stars

3. Land of Snow and Sorrow

4. Darkness and Frost

5. Time

TIME I mix is set to be finished by July, mastered in the beginning of July and released in early fall of 2012! TIME II will be released in 2013. Conception of album artworks, videos, live shows incl. rehearsals will keep us busy during the summer and I’ll also continue mixing TIME II meanwhile. We’ll be hopefully posting some videos and teasers during summer. Also some new live show announcements soon, so stay tuned for those!

We can’t wait for you guys to hear TIME I material and play it to you live! Have a great summer!

- Jari & Wintersun boys

WINTERSUN are confirmed to headline this year’s edition of the so-called HEIDENFEST tour kicking off in October supported by Korpiklaani, Varg, Trollfest and Krampus, before they go on touring the world. Further infos, dates and tickets on www.heidenfest.eu

The post The TIME has Come appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.