Metal Mondays: Wintersun

Wintersun
Genre: Melodic Death/ Power Metal with Folk Influences
Country: Finland

Wintersun is the brainchild of Jari Mäenpää, former frontman of Ensiferum. It was created after he got tired of the big E and wanted to move further down in the alphabet. Also he has full control over everything the band does, being the only member. For the first album at least, Jari recorded all of the instruments and vocals apart from the drums. This may not seem like the biggest feat, especially after I posted my one man bands post a bit ago. But when you start to listen to Wintersun and you hear how extremely technical and layered it is, you start giving Jari more credit. This compounds with the fact that he is amazing musician. Just listen to his solos!

I ams here to rocks your socks off

Wintersun is one of those few (only found in Europe) bands that doesn't just play music; they also play with your emotions. This is a band where listening to them on a high quality speaker is crucial. It is the only way you can truly experience the music. Like most people, I heard about Wintersun after listening to Ensiferum for a bit (I started listening to Ensiferum after Jari had already left so perhaps my experiences are a bit different than others). The music was pretty good so I added it to my library. My obliviousness went on for more months than it should of before it finally hit me. I was listening to my music when a Wintersun song came on. It was quiet where I was so and I had headphones on I could hear it very clearly. It was breathtaking just hearing how many different layers and instruments were all playing at once. The surprising part was how well it all fit together. From that point on I had significantly more respect for the band.

So much meaning, I just can't.. comprehend it.

Then came the aptly named album Time and its near-infinite delays. Time was going to be Wintersun's second album. It was also going to be released in 2006, a reasonable amount of time after their 2004 debut. The album kept getting delayed again and again, the main reason being Jari's perfectionism. Somewhere along the line after getting a full band together, all of the instruments finished recording in 2007. Then it was the mad wizard Jari sitting in his apartment tinkering with virtual orchestras and adding over 200 layers to the album. The record label even had to intervene multiple times to ensure the album was still being created. The band was forced to play concerts in order to continue to receive funding for the album (since when does a band get forced to play concerts anyway?). Finally, earlier this year Jari and friends announced that Time would now be Time I and Time II. The best part though? A confirmed release date of October 12th for Time I. Let's hope there are no last minute delays.

That's the story of Wintersun for the most part. If you want the same thing structured in a coherent manner, you should probably visit Wikipedia. I just hope that after Time I is released, they decide to tour over here. They've already been announced as the headliner for Heidenfest 2012, but that's (obviously) Europe-only. Despite everything, I'm sure Time I will be a great album. I own the debut album and have been listening to it on repeat in anticipation.

-Zombie Viking