Year: 2024
Total Time: 48.40
Label: Nuclear Blast
One of the great mysteries of Metal music in the last decade is what happened to the follow-up (as well as the money from the related crowdfunding) to the monumental album “Time” of the Finns WINTERSUN. This album was released in 2012 and was a milestone in the Epic/Folk Metal scene. Its sequel, “Time II” was supposed to be released a year later, but in the end we had to get to 2024 before its creator, Jari Maenpaa, could present it to us in all its glory.
As a consequence, the expectations as well as the impatience were huge. And Maenpaa ultimately did not disappoint us. The two albums are like siblings in structure and grandeur. “Time II” begins with an orchestral intro with the oriental “Fields Of Snow” which attempts to prepare us for the coming storm. We quickly get into the mood with “The Way Of Fire”, a mix of various subgenres of metal, from folk and power to progressive. As a result, we are talking about a difficult song as well as an overall album that should be heard in its entirety and several times to appreciate the compositional size of the only 6 songs included in it. Next in line is the (let’s call it) ballad song of the album, “One With The Shadows” creating a special atmosphere. The next two tracks are in my opinion the best part of the album. First, there is the instrumental “Ominous Clouds” where the huge guitarist Teemu Mantysaari proves his amazing talent while the sound of rain creates the right atmosphere for the next song called “Storm” which is exactly what the title says. A stormy musical creation of more than 12 minutes, a complex composition that fully justifies its enormous duration. Last but not least, the album closed with “Silver Leaves” which especially emphasizes its oriental influences coming from the Japanese musical tradition.
As I mentioned above, ‘Time II’ is quite a difficult album especially since it includes such long and complex compositions. Essentially, we have 4 songs and 2 instrumental parts in an album lasting just under 50 minutes. Nevertheless, it succeeds in the extremely difficult task of creating a sense of completeness for the listener. It’s the feeling we get when we watch a movie, with a concrete and clear structure. A complete story that creates images. In all of this, the excellent musicians who surround Maenpaa, such as Mantysaari (guitarist of MEGADETH now), Heikki Saari on drums, who carries a significant weight, and also Jukka Koskinen, who with his bass gives the necessary weight to the compositions, have an important role. Maenpaa, although he is an excellent performer and moves between clean and growl vocals, I would say that in “Time II” leaves the vocals in an important but secondary role since the compositions are such that it is hard to focus anywhere else.
I have read to another review about this album something that I am going to steal since it described “Time II” perfectly. Listening to “Time II” is like climbing Mount Everest. The journey may be tiring but the fulfillment and satisfaction you feel when you reach the end is liberating. It was definitely worth the wait, maybe not the full 12 years but anyway. What wasn’t worth it was the fuss that had been created due to the delay and mismanagement on the part of Maenpaa, the known eccentric mastermind of WINTERSUN. I don’t know if we are talking about one of the albums of the year, at least in its genre, but certainly the release of “Time II” alone ranks it as one of the most important musical events of the year.
Rating: 8,5/10
Editor: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Link: WINTERSUN – Facebook Page
