Wintersun – Time I
Nuclear Blast, 2012
8/10
Time I is the first of a two-album project from this epic, symphonic
metal band from Finland led by former Ensiferum guitarist Jari Mäenpää. While
comparisons can be drawn other like-minded bands such as Epica and Therion,
Wintersun brings enough of their own ideas to make this a notable effort. As a
whole, Time I encompasses covers an
enormous amount of musical ground. Kicking the affair off is the orchestral
instrumental “When Times Fades Away”, which leads into the four-part suite
“Sons Of Winter And Stars”. The first part, “Rain Of Stars”, is a brutally fast
composition that blitzes along with lightning technical speed and has Jari
swapping vocal lines with opera singers. “Surrounded By Darkness” slows it down
a little, more to an aggressive power metal style. The third part of the suite,
“Journey Inside A Dream”, is a short acoustic interlude before “Sons Of Winter
And Stars” closes the 13-minute epic with soaring melodies that picks up at the
end for a grand closing. “Land Of Snow And Sorrow” is a slow, drab number that
would have been better left off the album. Following another short acoustic
instrumental, “Darkness And Frost”, the title track “Time” closes the album and
leaves you longing for the impending follow-up album. Overall, Time I is a brilliant album of intense
complexity and depth that demands your attention through multiple listens.
Keyboards are used liberally throughout; this, as well as the grand scope of
the album, remind me a lot of the sole, mind-blowing album from Norway’s
Mundanus Imperium (The Spectral Spheres
Coronation from 1998). The brilliance lapses here and there, most notably
on “Land Of Snow And Sorrow”, but this album should be at the top of any fan of
epic, symphonic metal.
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