Wintersun
- MEMBERS:
- Jari Mäenpää - Vocals, Guitar)
- Teemu Mäntysaari - Guitar
- Jukka Koskinen - Bass
- Kai Hahto - Drums
- Asim Searah - Guitar
BIOGRAPHY
Wintersun is a Finnish heavy metal band from Helsinki originally formed as the side project of Jari Mäenpää, then vocalist and guitarist of the folk metal band Ensiferum. In 2003, Mäenpää began pulling together songs that he had been working on since 1995. These songs followed specific themes described by Mäenpää as majestic, “spacy”, and melodic. Wintersun is known for creative folk harmonies, fast tempos and both harsh and clean vocals. While Mäenpää planned to perform and record each instrument for the first album himself, he still required a drummer. He sent demos to Kai Hahto, a former member of Rotten Sound, who agreed to perform the drums.
After obtaining a record deal, Mäenpää scheduled studio time to record the first album. Ensiferum’s tour to support their 2004 release was scheduled at the same time, which forced Mäenpää to request time off from the band. The band instead fired him, and Mäenpää was free to go ahead with the production of his self-titled album, Wintersun.
After the release of Wintersun, the band found permanent members to perform shows and promote the album, although a keyboardist would never be found. In 2006, Wintersun began work on their second and third albums, Time I and Time II, which were initially intended to be released as a single album. Recording began in May of that year, but the albums would be the recipient of years-long delays for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was the complexity of each song’s mix.
“Sons of winter and stars – Rise!”
This short but significant excerpt of the track “Sons of Winter And Stars” not only is the wake-up call for everyone interested in music, it´s the battle cry of a band that released their self-titled debut album eight long years ago and had had to live up to the highest expectations and pressure of time for the eagerly awaited successor ever since. As “Wintersun” turned out to be a critically-acclaimed masterpiece of musical art, the band unintentionally found themselves facing the situation of having to out-do their previous work, and soon.
“I have awakened the darkness
Taste the fear! Taste the pain!
I am the one who seeks vengeance”
2012 it´s finally time to unleash WINTERSUN´s second full-length album “TIME I2. Over the course of eight years the band has taken both music and visuals to yet another level and while listening to their new effort you´ll be taken on a journey through the doors of time, a journey beyond the stars, beyond the birth of the worlds to an infinite universe.
Epic Metal that breaks the boundaries not only of music but the universe!
The main goal was to make an album that would be really astonishing to listen to because the concept of time itself is simply just that: astonishing, overwhelming, staggering. So the lyrical concept of the album is naturally about time but it´s also about the human experience and consciousness in this vast universe and how short the time we have in this life is. It´s about deep emotions and overwhelming feelings between birth and death we all share in our lives. Love, hate, sorrow, despair, wistfulness…
“I sacrifice everything, just for one moment”
From capturing the outstanding musical performance of the band to making all the breathtaking layers of orchestrations the original vision was captured with an uncompromised quality. The whole production process was taken to a great extent to ensure the album staying very dynamic through the whole epic journey. With a wide scale of varying dynamics between soothing quiets and exploding highs, “TIME I” is like a movie soundtrack experience as the album unfolds all its magnificence, power and beauty step by step with every listen. As the complete “time saga” with more than 80 minutes total playing time being very complex and full of details would have been too much to digest in one piece, it´s been divided into two parts named “TIME I” and “TIME II”.
Treasured details, epic orchestration, the musical and lyrical concept – all of these give the record a tremendous profoundness. Now, you take your time and allow yourself to get deep into the album and enjoy the epic journey of TIME!
DISCOGRAPHY
The Forest Seasons / 2017
The Forest Seasons is the third studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Wintersun. It was released on July 21, 2017 via Nuclear Blast. The band cited Antonio Vivaldi’s violin concerto The Four Seasons as an inspiration for the album title.
Time I / 2012
Time I is the second full-length album by the Finnish metal band Wintersun. It was originally scheduled for release in November 2006, but ended up being marred by many delays. It was released on October 19, 2012 via Nuclear Blast.
Wintersun / 2004
Wintersun is the 2004 self-titled debut studio album by heavy metal band Wintersun, then the solo project of Jari Mäenpää.
REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS
Wintersun + Wolfheart @ Nosturi, Helsinki – April 26, 2018
WINTERSUN and WOLFHEART at Nosturi, Helsinki: it was an epic night of enchanting atmospheres, echoes from the forest and heaviness which blasts the ears: that is how I´d personally define the
April 30, 2018 by steelrainTOURDATES
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