Brutal yet melodic; aggressive yet serene; triumphant yet melancholic; technical yet effortless. Extreme metal has many extremes and variations on the genre's aspects, and very few bands roam outside of the few distinctive traits that their style is built upon. Finding a band that touches on opposite ends of the spectrum once in a while tends to be rare, and finding a band that regularly combines every element that a genre could have into constant sound is virtually impossible. However, with the boundaries of modern extreme music constantly being pushed outward, did anyone really expect any combination to never develop? From the dark northern lands of Finland comes Wintersun, a progressive/black/folk/power metal band that combines every heavy metal facet thinkable. Ranging from the slow and sorrowful to the fast and vicious, Wintersun combines a flare for catchy riffs and melodic passages with folk themes and unparalleled musicianship to produce one of the best extreme metal debuts within the past decades.
Dismissing Wintersun as yet another Finnish power metal outfit would be doing the band injustice. The core of their sound may be that of the savage, atmospheric sound of Scandinavian power metal, but the essence of Wintersun is captured through the many other facets they use to create such a unique sound. So many emotions and soundscapes are created through the mere eight songs. From the fast, melodic power metal track
Beyond the Dark Sun to the epic black metal track
Beautiful Death and the folk metal cry of
Sadness and Hate, this is one dynamic debut. The songs span so many different approaches that one would almost have to dissect each and every one to truly get the full feel of
Wintersun. For the faster power metal tracks, look to
Beyond the Dark Sun, Winter Madness, and
Starchild. For the more depressingly and melodic songs, see
Death and the Healing,
Sleeping Stars, and
Battle Against Time. Finally,
Sadness and Hate balances out the album with a heavy folk sound and epic length. Each track adds intricate dimensions of a progressive variety creating an implausibly elaborate collection of riffs, solos, melodies, atmospheres, and vocals ever to grace the music world.
As Wintersun is the innovation of guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Jari Mäenpää, it’s no surprise that the music of Wintersun is tastefully written while performed in a true virtuosic manner. For those who don’t know, Jari is quite a musical prodigy. He recorded all rhythm, lead, and acoustic guitar tracks for
Wintersun as well as recording the basslines and synth/keyboard effects. To top it off, he performed all vocals himself and produced the album. A musician with such inspiration to perfect the art of music couldn’t possibly hold their creative and physical abilities back – Jari certainly did not. The riffs as well as solos are tremendously written for optimum metal perfection. The fast, furious power metal riffs of
Beyond the Dark Sun and
Battle Against Time provide an epic upsurge for epic and melodic songs such as
Death and the Healing and
Starchild. As if to channel a combination of deep-set emotion and Nordic heritage,
Sadness and Hate features a barrage of folk guitar and crunchy metal mayhem. Mäenpää’s vocals are pristine right through album, ranging from the tortured shrieks of
Beautiful Death and
Beyond the Dark Sun to the clean chants of
Death and the Healing and
Sleeping Stars. Musical ability is clearly not an issue with this Finnish posse.
For power metal fans, Wintersun’s emergence is more than well received. For heavy metal fans in general, their surfacing was a breath of fresh air in the realms of proficiency, originality, and belligerence. Few, if any, bands have created such a powerful and emotional presentation of epic melodic death metal. Jari Mäenpää has since gone on to acquire two more members for Wintersun, making it a Finnish quartet. Will the modern Wintersun be able to successfully follow up its fantastic predecessor? Only
Time will tell.
Summary:
- Wonderful blend of melodic death, power, and black metal
- Incredible musical virtuosity
- Creative writing with powerful emotion
- Feelings range from aggressive to epic to distressing
Personal favorite moments:
- Winter Madness (3:05) – insane neoclassical shredding
- Death and the Healing (2:40) – mournfully epic vocals
- any part of Beautiful Death
Recommended songs:
- Beyond the Dark Sun
- Death and the Healing
- Beautiful Death
