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Wintersun - Time I



8.4 | 1203 votes |
Release date: 19 October 2012
Style: Extreme power metal

Owners:

952 have it
577 want it


Disc I
01. When Time Fades Away
02. Sons Of Winter And Stars
    1 - Rain Of Stars
    2 - Surrounded By Darkness
    3 - Journey Inside A Dream
    4 - Sons Of Winter And Stars
03. Land Of Snow And Sorrow
04. Darkness And Frost
05. Time
06. [hidden track] [Mediabook & Mailorder edition bonus]

Disc II [DVD] [Mediabook bonus]
+ Time I Live Rehearsals At Sonic Pump Studios
+ Licks & Tricks
+ Sons Of Winter And Stars - Project Demonstration
+ Photo Gallery

Disc III [instrumental CD] [Mailorder edition bonus]
01. When Time Fades Away
02. Sons Of Winter And Stars
    1 - Rain Of Stars
    2 - Surrounded By Darkness
    3 - Journey Inside A Dream
    4 - Sons Of Winter And Stars
03. Land Of Snow And Sorrow
04. Darkness And Frost
05. Time

The biggest surprise of 2012
Top 20 albums of 2012: 14

Line-up
Jari Mäenpää - guitars, keyboards, vocals
Teemu Mäntysaari - guitars
Kai Hahto - drums
Jukka Koskinen - bass, vocals

Guest musicians
Alpha Valtias Mustatuuli - vocals
Sami Hinkka - choirs
Heri Joensen - choirs
Olli Vänskä - choirs
Mathias Nygård - choirs
Jukka-Pekka Miettinen - choirs
Markus Toivonen - choirs
Mikko Salovaara - choirs

Additional info
Formats:
  • Limited Mediabook (hard cover, wide format) CD+DVD
  • Limited Mediabook (hard cover, wide format) CD+DVD + Instrumental CD of Time I, Certificate (limited to 500 copies, exclusively available at Nuclear Blast)
  • Limited Mediabook (hard cover, wide format) CD+DVD + Signed photo card Jari Mäenpää (limited to 1000 copies, exclusively available at Amazon.de)
  • Limited Mediabook (hard cover, wide format) CD+DVD + Wintersun logo shirt gray/black (exclusively available at Levykauppa Äx)
  • Limited Mediabook (hard cover, wide format) CD+DVD + Shirt (black) (EMP exclusive)
  • CD Jewel Case + Shirt (Nuclear Blast USA exclusive)
  • CD Jewel Case
  • Blue vinyl (180g vinyl in gatefold including poster)
  • White vinyl (180g vinyl in gatefold including poster. Strictly limited to 200 hand-numbered copies) (exclusive at Nuclear Blast mailorder)
  • Digital download
  • iTunes digital download with Time I booklet

Staff review by
Baz Anderson
Rating:
7.5
One of the most highly anticipated albums of the last decade; Time I finally ends the eight year silence, but was the wait worth it?

Read more ››
published 22.10.2012 | Comments (220)

Guest review by
Bad English
Rating:
8.7
Wintersun - is it real? Well, no, it isn't. We hardly see the sun; for four whole weeks, it never shines.

Allow me to copy the style of DerRozzengarten (the greatest reviewer ever), who knows how to write proper metaphors. Such music is never meant to explain northern life for people who have never actually walked on a frozen river or cleared snow from their car before work (I'm not taking a jab at the French, Dutch, or Danish, who usually overreact when they see 1 cm of snow). Imagine the pre-internet days: it's blizzard beasts, mid-winter, the sun never shines, just 22 hours of darkness and twilight in between. There is nothing to do, only good music, books, or finding a way to channel your creativity. Outside activities, aside from collecting firewood and cleaning snow? I don't think so (but wait a minute, Jari lives in the city anyway?). Anyway, the streets are dead and frozen, the horizon is dark, and night light is ablaze on the snow. All you can do is wait for spring and then summer to arrive slowly. I've done it all my life, still do, and we all did. It's typical northern madness!

Read more ››
published 20.12.2016 | Comments (10)

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Comments page 16 / 24

Comments: 718   Visited by: 3687 users
19.10.2012 - 13:48
Rating: 10
Sword_Chant
Agree with above.. it's a masterpeice of epic proportions.
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19.10.2012 - 14:12
Rating: 7
Constantine
Attack of phunboys ! Save yourself.
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19.10.2012 - 14:29
Rating: 10
Warman
Erotic Stains
Written by Risto on 17.10.2012 at 22:29

Väinämöinen. At least it's an obvious thematical reference.

Yeah, I know. But that was not really what I was talking about.
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19.10.2012 - 14:41
Rating: 9
Risto
Wandering Midget
I've never seen any album get 111 votes in 14 hours
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19.10.2012 - 15:39
Rating: 5
Alex F
Didn't live up to the hype, and the hype was not warranted. The debut was decent, this is just bad
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19.10.2012 - 15:53
sciacallo010
Totally different genre than the debut, so, guys, avoid comparison.
Fucking amazing album!
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19.10.2012 - 15:59
Rating: 10
Aw Yiss
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.

Well said sir, well said. There couldn't be a more accurate statement. Just look at all the criticism.
It saddens me, people's failure (or rather 'rejection') to understand that Wintersun's Time 1 is primarily a MUSIC album. It's not ought to be a compilation of solely amazing guitar solos, intensive blast beats and kickass riffs. Every bit of 'over-the-top' orchestration, choir, whatnot.. mean Wintersun has more to offer than just a metal band.
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19.10.2012 - 15:59
Rating: 9
Risto
Wandering Midget
Written by sciacallo010 on 19.10.2012 at 15:53

Totally different genre than the debut, so, guys, avoid comparison.

Not really... all I'd do is add "symphonic".
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19.10.2012 - 16:17
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight


i always fall asleep with the first tones of "Sons Of Winter And Stars" and i dont wake up earlier than in the middle of "Time"...this album is just plain dull...
----
My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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19.10.2012 - 16:50
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by [user id=35732] on 19.10.2012 at 16:48

Anyone else who didn't get the Mailorder edition today? Nuclear Blast sent it on Wednesday... Wednesday? Well, 'luckily' I ordered another bundle from Finland and it did arrive on time.

Yes, so they sent it on Wednesday. You'll probably get it coming Tuesday.
I don't see anything weird with NB sending the stuff two days prior to release date.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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19.10.2012 - 16:56
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by [user id=35732] on 19.10.2012 at 16:53

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.10.2012 at 16:50

Yes, so they sent it on Wednesday. You'll probably get it coming Tuesday.
I don't see anything weird with NB sending the stuff two days prior to release date.

It should here now, on this very Friday, unless there's a new, disinformed and specific release date for the Mailorder edition.

release date means the day it will be sold by stores and is readily available from distros all over. It does not mean that when you pre-ordered it from the label it will arrive at your doorstep on that date, especially not when yoú live abroad. A lot of times the label only receives the finished product from the pressing plant a day before the release date.

And so what if it arrives tomorrow or next week.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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19.10.2012 - 17:34
Rating: 7
Rulatore
Written by iMorphball on 19.10.2012 at 03:08

I can understand why he needed so much RAM.

Isn't every computer that handle that much of keyboard/orchestrations
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19.10.2012 - 17:51
Rating: 9
Hooman
I'm happy to hear "when time fades away" in a metal album. Good album indeed.
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19.10.2012 - 19:23
Dargor
I never understood why this band was the source of so much drama. It took me a while to get into the first album and I admit I like it very much now. It is definitely my kind of music; A lot of choirs, epic moments, screams, 10+m long songs. Yeah, I dig that. So I really like Time 1.

But at the same time, I do not think it is the greatest album ever. It has its flaws (a LOT of it is overdone, overused, etc.) but its not a big pile of steaming poo either.

I think it is a good album. Period.
People should stop pissing and/or wanking so much on this band.
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19.10.2012 - 20:23
Erik M.
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.10.2012 at 16:56

And so what if it arrives tomorrow or next week.

I have to agree with this. What is 1 day or week compared to 8 years of waiting? I never understood people who want their stuff (music, games etc.) exactly on the release day and not a single day later.

Hell, I'm only buying this album when there's a combo pack of Time I and II available, which would be next year. Though I'll probably be listening to the songs on Youtube every now and then.
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19.10.2012 - 20:43
Dinruth
Written by Dargor on 19.10.2012 at 19:23

I never understood why this band was the source of so much drama. It took me a while to get into the first album and I admit I like it very much now. It is definitely my kind of music; A lot of choirs, epic moments, screams, 10+m long songs. Yeah, I dig that. So I really like Time 1.

But at the same time, I do not think it is the greatest album ever. It has its flaws (a LOT of it is overdone, overused, etc.) but its not a big pile of steaming poo either.

I think it is a good album. Period.
People should stop pissing and/or wanking so much on this band.

In general I pretty much feel the same as you do .. but there's just one thing .. if people wanna hate on omething let em hate on something and if they praise it to the sky let em do so ... I really don't get the whole "fanboy" thing .. well if people like it (and I am one of these people) goo for them .. how is that being a fanboy?.. and if people don't like it, how does that make them "haters" .. just let people live with their opinions and stop giving eachother shit if we disagree with something ..
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19.10.2012 - 20:59
Rating: 9
EmeraldSword
Heh.. I just hope next time they seriously upgrade Jari's studio with a top of the line recording studio to handle his multiple layered tracks of orchestration/synth, etc. He's a talented guy that deserves the proper resources/tech/equipment to pull off his compositions.

Interestingly enough, Jari reminds me of Arjen Anthony Lucassen. A renaissance man of metal. He blends many different styles into his own. He can vision how each different musical instrument harmonies together once added all up. He may not be the best person to get along with, and battles personal setbacks, but is still a musical genius.

Back on topic... I do like Time I. I just wish the album was mixed a bit longer to work out inconsistencies in production. Some of the tracks felt like they had abrupt endings with the exception of the first track which blends into the second song.
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19.10.2012 - 21:30
Rating: 10
Wes
So many people against positive opinions of this band, it's a whole cliche of it own.

Still loving the album more than anything I've ever heard.
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19.10.2012 - 22:16
moe5512
Very good songs, but god how overproduced! I really don't get why this album took 8+ years to make, Ensiferum's From Afar and Nightwish's 2 newest albums have at least as much orchestrations and their studio time was like 2-5 months. I also feel that Jari tried too hard to make it special. I'm talking about small stuff like weird rhythm shit and guitar work. He also said in a interview that he cries every time he hear the intro. I've heard much more epic intros even with less orchestrations. And only 3 (!) "real" songs. I've paid 20 ? for 3 metal songs and 2 instrumental songs... overpriced maybe?

A lot of negative criticism but the songs are still great. I like the "folk metal veteran" choir in SoWaS
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19.10.2012 - 22:47
Erik M.
Written by EmeraldSword on 19.10.2012 at 20:59

Heh.. I just hope next time they seriously upgrade Jari's studio with a top of the line recording studio to handle his multiple layered tracks of orchestration/synth, etc. He's a talented guy that deserves the proper resources/tech/equipment to pull off his compositions.

Interestingly enough, Jari reminds me of Arjen Anthony Lucassen. A renaissance man of metal. He blends many different styles into his own. He can vision how each different musical instrument harmonies together once added all up. He may not be the best person to get along with, and battles personal setbacks, but is still a musical genius.

I see what you mean about him reminding you of Arjen Lucassen, though Arjen is way more versatile than Jari, and, unlike Jari, he works with many different people. At least, for Ayreon he does. His other bands/projects are less extreme in that sense (like Star One or Stream Of Passion). To be honest I think Lucassen is an amazing musician (own every album except for the last one) who's already been into music for decades, but Jari has just made one great album (maybe two, but I haven't heard Time I yet) on his own (Ensiferum wasn't "his" band, Wintersun is). I recall reading Arjen had to sell his house in order to complete and produce his first Ayreon album... though I don't know if it's true.

Seeing as Wintersun is pretty popular in the Metal-world, I suppose Jari would earn enough money from Time I to get the proper equipment.
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19.10.2012 - 23:12
moe5512
Written by [user id=35732] on 19.10.2012 at 22:39

Noise is overproduced. Or not. Is it? What? What's overproduced?

Things don't have to be EPIC in order to reach tears. It's an album; it could have been split into 100 tracks, would you be happy then? 100 songs! wohoo.

Imo It would sound better if he cut down on some orchestrations (from 500+ tracks in a song to 100). It's also weirdly mixed on some parts but it's hard to explain how.

Okay you're right about the EPIC!!! thingy but I'll put it like this: I wasn't touched by the intro. It sounded good but I don't think it was anything special. I also like it when it's EPIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC. All the teasers by Jari and NB gave me the idea that the whole albums is epic as hell. Which is not. not epic. at all. in my opinion.
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19.10.2012 - 23:41
Rating: 3
essbee
After listening to it more and more, I find this pretty god damn average. I'll maybe end up giving it a 7 eventually.
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19.10.2012 - 23:55
Rating: 6
Unhealer
Eclecticist
The intro is a really effective build-up and SoWaS has some excellent moments in all it's lenght, very impressive track.
The rest of the album is meh.
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20.10.2012 - 00:19
Death_95
Written by [user id=35732] on 19.10.2012 at 22:39

Written by moe5512 on 19.10.2012 at 22:16

Very good songs, but god how overproduced! I really don't get why this album took 8+ years to make, Ensiferum's From Afar and Nightwish's 2 newest albums have at least as much orchestrations and their studio time was like 2-5 months. I also feel that Jari tried too hard to make it special. I'm talking about small stuff like weird rhythm shit and guitar work. He also said in a interview that he cries every time he hear the intro. I've heard much more epic intros even with less orchestrations. And only 3 (!) "real" songs. I've paid 20 ? for 3 metal songs and 2 instrumental songs... overpriced maybe?

A lot of negative criticism but the songs are still great. I like the "folk metal veteran" choir in SoWaS

Noise is overproduced. Or not. Is it? What? What's overproduced? It's nothing. This wasn't made for eight years, and anyway Time I & II both took the time and kinda still do. Ensiferum and Nightwish were already big, and albums are not composed in a studio (well, I guess there are few weird exceptions). Things don't have to be EPIC in order to reach tears. It's an album; it could have been split into 100 tracks, would you be happy then? 100 songs! wohoo.

This might be a stupid question but I never really got what people mean by the 'overproduced' term? What does it mean?
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20.10.2012 - 00:40
Rating: 6
Unhealer
Eclecticist
Written by Death_95 on 20.10.2012 at 00:19

This might be a stupid question but I never really got what people mean by the 'overproduced' term? What does it mean?

Here you can give yourself an idea
It is a very arguable term, but in this case at least it has been used to refer to the high amount of layers on the songs of the album, mainly by the orchestra.
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20.10.2012 - 01:14
LordHypnos
Account deleted
Sons Of Winter And Stars is easily the best song in this album (or should I call it Demo? EP?). I think this album is a disappointment just because it only has 3 songs in it; that leaves me with almost no options.
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20.10.2012 - 01:18
LordHypnos
Account deleted
I'll only buy this album if they release a 2CD version, just like KOTSK pt1&2 from Helloween.
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20.10.2012 - 01:26
Rating: 7
elseif
This album is good but feels a bit short with only 3 real songs.
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20.10.2012 - 01:44
Erik M.
Written by [user id=135634] on 20.10.2012 at 01:18

I'll only buy this album if they release a 2CD version, just like KOTSK pt1&2 from Helloween.

Yep, that's pretty much my idea as well. I'm not going to buy an incomplete album of only 40 minutes for the full price. However, I do own albums of 40 minutes (Reason from Officium Triste for example), but those are cheaper usually, and complete. The opposite would be Ayreon albums for example... I bought The Univerersal Migrator Vol. I & II for just 16 euro's, which are combined 2 hours and 15 minutes in length. Now that's your money worth.
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20.10.2012 - 01:50
LordHypnos
Account deleted
Written by Erik M. on 20.10.2012 at 01:44

Written by [user id=135634] on 20.10.2012 at 01:18

I'll only buy this album if they release a 2CD version, just like KOTSK pt1&2 from Helloween.

Yep, that's pretty much my idea as well. I'm not going to buy an incomplete album of only 40 minutes for the full price. However, I do own albums of 40 minutes (Reason from Officium Triste for example), but those are cheaper usually, and complete. The opposite would be Ayreon albums for example... I bought The Univerersal Migrator Vol. I & II for just 16 euro's, which are combined 2 hours and 15 minutes in length. Now that's your money worth.

And I'll only rate this album when I listen to part 2
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