Written by beyondtehdarksun on 15.10.2012 at 12:08

Well, I refuse to listen to it till my physical album arrives at Friday. And just the day after that I'll see them play it live

Well, don't worry about not knowing the songs when you go see them, especially Sons... was in my head for the rest of the day after the first listen.

Written by jesterhead57 on 15.10.2012 at 09:00

The cover art, imo, ruins the mood. Too bright, too much going on. Looks like a bad videogame cover as someone said in another thread. I replaced it with the old cover in my music player and the mood feels better. I think I am just use to the old art haha. ^_^

The album itself (the music) is beyond expectations. Still digesting it.

haha i did the same thing

Written by Until the End on 15.10.2012 at 19:09

Could have done with 1 more non-instrumental song, even if it was a short one. Also would have liked to hear more guitar noodlery. The heavy synth presence isn't a problem for me. I won't be too bothered though as long as they release the 2nd part a bit quicker than it took to release the 1st part.

Could have done with Part 2 on the same disc. What a dumb idea it was to split in two!

Written by blindg on 15.10.2012 at 22:33

What a dumb idea it was to split in two!

Actually it was damn clever.
He'll probably have the two Time albums in several "Best of" lists both in 2012 and 2013, what brings us a brand new pack of Wintersun fanboys and Jari/Nuclear Blast the moneyz.
He said it himself: "To keep the band visible longer" or something around those lines.

Written by Unhealer on 15.10.2012 at 22:57

Written by blindg on 15.10.2012 at 22:33

What a dumb idea it was to split in two!

Actually it was damn clever.
He'll probably have the two Time albums in several "Best of" lists both in 2012 and 2013, what brings us a brand new pack of Wintersun fanboys and Jari/Nuclear Blast the moneyz.
He said it himself: "To keep the band visible longer" or something around those lines.

It may be good for marketing or whatever, but not for listening pleasure. It will stay in my player for a few days maybe, until the same happens with part 2.

This is probably the worst mixing I have heard in an album.... You can barely hear the guitars or drums because they are covered by the orchestrations.... Same thing when it comes to vocals...

I can't believe they even released something like this... It feels like an unfinished project...

That's a shame, because the album REALLY had potential and tons of great ideas.... With a better mix, it could have been the album of the year.

I have absolutely no complaints on the mixing.. After hearing it with good headphones through several times I'm in awe of how well the sounds have been balanced together. : / Anyway, I'm sure some people may dislike all the orchestrations but I for one, do not.

Written by opeth771 on 16.10.2012 at 00:50

This is probably the worst mixing I have heard in an album.... You can barely hear the guitars or drums because they are covered by the orchestrations.... Same thing when it comes to vocals...

I can't believe they even released something like this... It feels like an unfinished project...

That's a shame, because the album REALLY had potential and tons of great ideas.... With a better mix, it could have been the album of the year.

Interesting because it sounds very well balanced. I'm not sure what kind of headphones or speakers your using but it sounds excellent. To be fair, I am listening to them on $350 (Canadian) Headphones, but even in my Jeep Patriot (speakers aren't the greatest for hearing all the little details) it still sounds great.

I am definitely enjoying the album even more after several listens. I still think their debut as a whole package was better but this album is still incredible. Sons of Winter and Stars and Time are absolutely amazing...Land of Snow and Sorrow is also excellent, just not as good as the other 2. And I enjoy When Time Fades Away and Darkness And Frost quite a bit too.

Nothing really extraterrestrial epic, but man, this album sounds great.

Growing on me still with each listen.

I think the album has one real flaw, which is simply that it's half an album. But even so I can't deny how much I love each track and the album as it is. I don't think its fair to criticize it due to it's length. The album's beauty is both very obvious and very subtle. The more I listen to each track the more I'm finding beauty in the orchestrations and overarching melodies.

From first listen and even now, I have to say that the song Time is Jari's most mature work to date. Jukka and Teemu also seem to favorite it as they said on the live chat. Interestingly it's Jukka who does the low growls on this track as well as Son's.

Land of Snow and Sorrow at first seems simple, but god is it beautiful in ways I can't describe. It's easy to mistakenly dismiss it as another early Ensiferum-esque ballad, but it paints a much different pitcture. I even sense something sci-fi to it but I'm unsure why. Changes in the vocal melody give it something very unique.

I've never really had an album to listen to with so few songs, so it's hard to know how to "deal with it" for me. After hearing it through and having it sitting on my playlist to play from, I've decided I really only want to listen to it all the way through, or just with a lot of focus. I think it was really made to be heard that way, and good speakers or headphones really are a must. Listening in bed at night with eyes closed is very recommended

Written by Zap on 15.10.2012 at 21:55

Written by beyondtehdarksun on 15.10.2012 at 12:08

Well, I refuse to listen to it till my physical album arrives at Friday. And just the day after that I'll see them play it live

Well, don't worry about not knowing the songs when you go see them, especially Sons... was in my head for the rest of the day after the first listen.

Thanks, that are exactly my expectations of an album written by Jari

Is anyone coincidentally attending the Stuttgart show? (not many Germans around here I guess...)

I MUST SAY , I HAVE THIS ALBUM (TIME I) AND ME VOTE 10. TOP,TOP SUPER

Written by Hallford9000 on 15.10.2012 at 21:56

Written by jesterhead57 on 15.10.2012 at 09:00

The cover art, imo, ruins the mood. Too bright, too much going on. Looks like a bad videogame cover as someone said in another thread. I replaced it with the old cover in my music player and the mood feels better. I think I am just use to the old art haha. ^_^

The album itself (the music) is beyond expectations. Still digesting it.

*snip*

haha i did the same thing

Hahaha, me too, and a couple of my friends!

Written by Wes on 16.10.2012 at 10:30

Interestingly it's Jukka who does the low growls on this track as well as Sons.

Really? I didn't know that!

The mixing is GODLIKE on my headphones and audio system,cant ask for anything better,and about the album anything i will say about it will be too little. Masterpiece,best part for me is the second chapter of the "Sons of Winter And Stars"

Supposedly, Teemu said on a live chat last night that there'll be more guitar solo's on Time II which I'm hoping is true.

I listened to it, amazing!

Written by Until the End on 16.10.2012 at 15:44

Supposedly, Teemu said on a live chat last night that there'll be more guitar solo's on Time II which I'm hoping is true.

Me too. This album seems to be missing a lot of the technicality that I liked in the debut.

Written by blindg on 15.10.2012 at 23:35

Written by Unhealer on 15.10.2012 at 22:57

Written by blindg on 15.10.2012 at 22:33

What a dumb idea it was to split in two!

Actually it was damn clever.
He'll probably have the two Time albums in several "Best of" lists both in 2012 and 2013, what brings us a brand new pack of Wintersun fanboys and Jari/Nuclear Blast the moneyz.
He said it himself: "To keep the band visible longer" or something around those lines.

It may be good for marketing or whatever, but not for listening pleasure. It will stay in my player for a few days maybe, until the same happens with part 2.

I would say its more the result of the pressure of the fans to finally release something. Also he did not want to cancel more shows and at the same time have more material for them.

I will say this...the guitar work in Time I isn't as amazing (though the guitar work is still awesome) as their debut but hopefully (judging by the comments about Time II above) that the second will have more guitar work reminiscent of the their debut. I just listened to Battle Against Time and shat in my pants at the guitar work.

Protectors of REAL metal....you and your metal-infused agitated genitals will hate this.

A fucking masterpiece. Jari is a sick motherfucker.

Sick. Epic. Jari is a Monster. Period.

Written by jester_race on 17.10.2012 at 08:32

Protectors of REAL metal....you and your metal-infused agitated genitals will hate this.

LOL. True.

This is pure music, this is art.

Meh! Whelmed. Slightly whelmed....

This album is joke about music...and from reactions here we can see that the fanboyism just have reached another level

Sounds like Wintersun lost more than half their fans with the exceedingly long interval between the albums. Not that it matters. Go back to Ensiferum, Jari. At least then, you had artwork that didn't look like a Japanese video game cover.

Written by [user id=101272] on 17.10.2012 at 17:44

At least then, you had artwork that didn't look like a Japanese video game cover.

I've never heard of an artwork getting more crap than this one. And it's ridiculous in my opinion. People are grasping after anything to complain about. Do most of you even buy the album? I bet not. So why the hell do you care?
Believe me, I am in no way one of those "defenders of Wintersun", I've been laughing at Jari for years too and been mocking this album. Even though, or possibly because of, I loved the first album when it came out. But to mock Wintersun for having worse artwork than Ensiferum? That's just stupid. BTW, for example, the first Ensiferum album? Not that awesome if you ask me. Old finnish dude, standing in a boat.

Written by Warman on 17.10.2012 at 18:08

Old finnish dude, standing in a boat.

...Which to me is better than an epiphantic vomiting of colors as shown on this artwork. I never cared for Ensiferum and their pale folk metal, but for some reason that escapes me, I've always appreciated their artwork. Even though the one for Unsung Heroes was practically ripped from the s/t and recolored, I still liked it.

Quoted from facebook;

Quote:
"There are many albums less than 40 minutes with much less "stuff" in them. There are albums with only 1 or 2 songs. So I think criticism that it´s too short is a bit unfair. And if "When Time Fades Away" and "Darkness and Frost" isn´t your cup of tea, I can understand that, but for me they are one of the highlights in my life. But also think of it this way, soon you´ll get another 40 minutes and it will contain 7 guitar solos. So I hope you enjoy TIME I what it is and not what it isn´t. Thanks for all the great compliments though! Warms my frozen heart! -Jari"