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Wintersun - The Forest Seasons



7.8 | 558 votes |
Release date: 21 July 2017
Style: Extreme power metal

Owners:

300 have it
39 want it


01. Awaken From The Dark Slumber (Spring)
02. The Forest That Weeps (Summer)
03. Eternal Darkness (Autumn)
04. Loneliness (Winter)
05. Loneliness (Winter) [acoustic version] [Digibook bonus]

The Biggest Letdown Of 2017

Line-up
Jari Mäenpää - vocals, guitars, drums, bass, synthesizers, samples, orchestrations
Teemu Mäntysaari - choirs, additional vocals
Jukka Koskinen - choirs, additional vocals

Additional musicians:
Kasper Mårtenson - choirs
Jesper Anastasiadis - choirs
Aleksi Sihvonen - choirs
Daniel Freyberg - choirs
Mikko Huvinen - choirs
Jussi Wickström - choirs
Perttu Vänskä - choirs
Olli Vänskä - choirs
Mathias Nygård - choirs
Jukka-Pekka Miettinen - choirs
Markus Toivonen - choirs
Mikko Salovaara - choirs
Heri Joensen - choirs
Mitja Harvilahti - choirs

Additional info
Produced, written and arranged by Jari Mäenpää.
Available as:
  • Standard CD
  • Digibook (including instrumental CD)
  • 2LP (vinyl in gatefold) in different colors
  • CD Boxset (including instrumental and "Live At Tuska 2013" CDs)
  • Download

  • Staff review by
    ScreamingSteelUS
    Rating:
    6.7
    I can't believe I nearly missed one of the biggest releases of 2017. I totally lost track of time. Here I am, three whole months late, and I'm only just getting to the new Wintersun. Oh, man. How embarrassing, right, guys?

    Read more ››
    published 30.10.2017 | Comments (37)

    Found in 35 lists
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    Comments page 4 / 6

    Comments: 151   Visited by: 1468 users
    26.07.2017 - 20:26
    Pikemaster
    Written by The Melting Snow on 26.07.2017 at 18:10

    Written by Bad English on 26.07.2017 at 17:59

    This is album what people from north will understand it deeper meaning what artist want to say, that's why it is more just an album. In some way I like it , but not so good musically, as lyrically. Its amazing how to see all this and now I have seen midnight sun, I am so longing for winter, ice road and so on. That's what is more important about this, message what he says and people who lives in same location cold, will understand. 1th was best, btw

    I wonder why MS staff doesnt ban you from commenting.

    i've seen you here for a couple years, and I am sure that time is enough to learn how to construct a sentence in english. why cant anyone else see that you do this on purpose? :p

    He is a meme.
    ----
    "Soon its tail raises the mud
    The beast is ready for attack
    The reel screams the line beings to run
    And the struggle shall begin"
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    28.07.2017 - 20:22
    nikarg
    Staff
    "Loneliness" is a special song. Jari's best vocal performance ever.
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    29.07.2017 - 18:38
    Rating: 5
    Boxcar Willy
    yr a kook
    I can only image how much this sucks.
    ----
    14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
    I do your mum

    DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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    31.07.2017 - 19:14
    Rating: 6
    ScottyM
    Meh. Average at best.

    The mixing is off, sounds like the quality predates any of their other works, and it doesn't have much in the way of inspiration. If anything, it feels like it was slapped together entirely too fast and sloppy. Comes off as more of a half-genuine excuse to justify their crowd-funding effort.
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    31.07.2017 - 21:27
    Nick Carter
    Very Good Album. Almost as good as Time I. I believe they did a good job in here.
    ----
    #MetalIsForEveryone
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    31.07.2017 - 21:48
    Rating: 6
    MétalNoir
    Fils du Lys
    I want to like it, but it's just plain booooring.
    ----
    Notre destinée n'est pas encore tracée....
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    01.08.2017 - 02:56
    Rating: 9
    Septus
    Went into this album with trepidation due to all the negativity surrounding it, and on my first listen I did feel it was a bit meh.

    After several more listens however it has definitely grown on me. I think the negativity sullied my first listen as I was expecting it to be bad.

    My favorite track is probably "Eternal Darkness"; a lot of the album is "symphonic black metal" but I love the dark vibes of this one.

    If I had to be more critical of the album I do think the mixing is a bit flat, but I EQ pretty much all metal I listen to anyway.

    I also really wish Jari would stop using synths from the 90s; I got some heavy Twin Peaks vibes from the intro in "Awaken from the Dark Slumber".

    I do love Twin Peaks though, maybe it's just part of the charm.
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    02.08.2017 - 10:26
    Rating: 9
    NoxStorM
    I can understand why people here are disappointed from the album , this kind of music is not expected from a technically talented musicians like Wintersun's
    However it is not a must to complicate music to impress , The album is simple and easy listening that could be digested from the first time listening , Vocal performance is truly amazing
    may be there is no epic moments here but it is really enjoyable along the whole tracks , I don't have thing to complain about , A solid record and one of the best in 2017
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    02.08.2017 - 17:01
    Rating: 9
    Kais
    This is most likely my most favorite black metal album. Love the new direction Wintersun took!
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    02.08.2017 - 20:23
    Rating: 10
    MeatWolf
    Speaking of technicality, Jari's reply to the demand of more solos:

    https://www.facebook.com/jariwintersun/posts/1362189820561749?comment_id=1362198807227517&reply_comment_id=1362202690560462&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D
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    02.08.2017 - 23:11
    Marcel Hubregtse
    Grumpy Old Fuck
    Elite
    Once again another mediocre album
    ----
    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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    02.08.2017 - 23:37
    Baz Anderson
    Staff
    Only had one listen so far... hopefully it grows on me...
    First impression is that he's been listening to a bit of Primordial/Windir/Winterfylleth and wanted to experiment a bit.
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    03.08.2017 - 01:21
    Alondate
    I am suprised that no one made "Hey guys, Jari here" joke. I really like it. The weird mimics he makes when he talks on videos. He looks like a real serial killer. Just hilarous Forget about the album. Don't fight over it. Just watch the gold documentaries he made on his channel

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    03.08.2017 - 02:00
    Maco
    Pvt Funderground
    Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 02.08.2017 at 23:11

    Once again another mediocre album

    I'll say that it's worse than that.
    ----
    Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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    03.08.2017 - 06:18
    Rating: 7
    Zyk
    I'm not here just to shit on Jari, I actually like Wintersun despite how much I can't stand to hear Jari talk, however this album was definitely underwhelming. Half of each one of the first three songs are pretty good but the other halves are forgettable and boring. Autumn was probably the worst of the three, all I could think for the first five minutes was, "Enough with the super polished monotonous blast beat already!" If I were to see Wintersun live, the first three songs from this would be the top three songs I would not want for them to play. The writing and some of the performances could have been way more interesting. Jari's vocals through most of the album are good. The guitar parts that I could hear were good or decent. Loneliness / Winter was a good song all the way through, or at least I thought so.

    Maybe the first three songs will grow on me, but I doubt it. Also, the mix on this album is kind of just...shit. Like, really obviously bad. I know Jari is a poor struggling musical Fin but there's no excuse for not being able to afford a decent pair of headphones and not noticing that the mix for your brand new super cool awesome album is shit.

    I got the forest package (against my better judgement), so all the other stuff I got along with the album mostly makes up for it, but I was very surprised not to find a secret video in all those files of Jari masturbating in front of a mirror.
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    03.08.2017 - 22:48
    Rating: 7
    AlabamaMan666
    I like the concept of the album but perhaps having only one long song per season was not the best way to approach it (better 2 or 3 short ones?). Now every song has lots of repetitions and filler moments that could be cut. The only songs where that works for me is the winter song, because it delivers the feeling of never ending winter and loneliness. And somehow the acoustic version of said song is the song I like most (has a bit aggallochian feeling )

    Yeah and there's too much keyboard/symphonic stuff for my taste. But the album has its moments and the more I listen to it the more I like it.
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    05.08.2017 - 15:44
    Rating: 8
    M C Vice
    ex-polydactyl
    Written by AlabamaMan666 on 03.08.2017 at 22:48

    there's too much keyboard/symphonic stuff

    There can never be too much
    Not much power, though. More like extreme symphonic (don't like that term, but that's what gets used here) than symphonic power.
    ----
    "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets."
    "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
    " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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    05.08.2017 - 16:55
    Rating: 8
    Until the End
    After about 10 full play throughs, to me, it feels as though too many sections of songs are stretched out to increase the length of the album. 5 to 10 minutes of material could be removed and it would improve the overall quality. That's not to say there aren't some great moments though.
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    06.08.2017 - 13:30
    Rating: 5
    Metren
    Dreadrealm
    Written by nikarg on 28.07.2017 at 20:22

    "Loneliness" is a special song. Jari's best vocal performance ever.

    Decided to check out the song and the album based on your comment. A great vocal performance indeed and a pretty damn good song. Surprised the hell out of me.
    ----
    My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
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    07.08.2017 - 14:40
    nikarg
    Staff
    Written by Metren on 06.08.2017 at 13:30

    Decided to check out the song and the album based on your comment. A great vocal performance indeed and a pretty damn good song. Surprised the hell out of me.

    I was surprised too because Wintersun is not my cup of tea. The album has nice moments, but with a lot of unnecessary filler. Try the acoustic version of "Loneliness", it is as great if not better.
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    10.08.2017 - 12:01
    Rating: 8
    M C Vice
    ex-polydactyl
    Know what would've been a good touch? If the winter song started playing the start of the spring song right at the end before fading out. To symbolise how the seasons keep going around.
    ----
    "I'm here to nunchuck and not wear helmets. And I'm all out of helmets."
    "I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
    " 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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    13.08.2017 - 15:27
    In5anity
    Written by abysss on 21.07.2017 at 00:41

    Written by In5anity on 07.06.2017 at 19:30

    Written by corrupt on 26.05.2017 at 17:45

    The cover authentically looks like that of an early 90's computer game.

    I'm pretty sure it's a screenshot from 'Simon The Sorcerer'.

    Reminds me of legend of Kyrandia 2 - Hand of fate

    Like in this picture https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/screens/e/0/b/gfs_97344_2_6.jpg

    Nice one!
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    18.08.2017 - 01:03
    Rating: 8
    Toxik
    So I just got into Wintersun a couple of weeks ago and I am liking it a lot but can someone explain me what is the reason for all the hate for the whole crowdfunding thing?
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    19.08.2017 - 04:25
    Rating: 9
    Hyperion
    Written by Toxik on 18.08.2017 at 01:03

    So I just got into Wintersun a couple of weeks ago and I am liking it a lot but can someone explain me what is the reason for all the hate for the whole crowdfunding thing?

    well, basically Jari spent a lot of time on social media ranting at how the all terrible Nuclear Blast (their label) wasn't supporting them in building a studio/paying for the expensive hardware they "needed" to record more music. So after a long time of discussing with nuclear blast (cuz technically the band's music belongs to the label) and a lot more ranting at how fb didn't show it's updates to ALL of their followers Jari and NB agreed on letting the band crowdfund. why the hate? because a lot of people were arguing that a band doesn't need it's own studio to make music, so why should the fans pay for it? And the same ppl who argued that got infinetly upset when it actually worked out. That's it in a nutshell. i may have missed big points or arguments or what not, but at the end of the day, Wintersun will be making more great music with their new studio. I'm pretty happy tbh, don't think any side is 100% right or wrong, but i still enjoy their music. i also thought this album was some pretty good stuff, not Time I, but pretty good indeed.
    ----
    It wasn't long until they left their cave and wondered outside once more, amazed they realized that the world had not ended as they had fearfully believed during the night. In fact, the grass was greener, the air fresher and the sun had risen again.
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    19.08.2017 - 13:52
    Uldreth
    Written by Toxik on 18.08.2017 at 01:03

    So I just got into Wintersun a couple of weeks ago and I am liking it a lot but can someone explain me what is the reason for all the hate for the whole crowdfunding thing?

    It is probably not the crowdfunding itself, but it coupled with the fact that Jari is a pompous asshole.

    Basically ever since their self-titled album came out aeons ago, he has been constantly bullshitting about not having enough RAM to process the music because it is sooooo complex (lol), and making idiotically transparent excuses about why they so fucking late with the release of new music, along with complaining about their label not supporting them (in ridiculous ways, such as having their own studio etc), *then* they decided they need the album crowdfunded, despite the fact that they are on what is probably the biggest metal label.

    Granted, none of these things would be that offensive by themselves, but interestingly enough, other bands don't need supercomputers to master the music (and "other bands" often make just as layered/complex music as Wintersun does, if not more), and interestingly enough, other bands don't have problems getting their albums released via Nuclear Blast, and they certainly don't need to have their own fucking studio.

    Basically, Jari has been bullshitting actual fans with shitty excuses then asked money from the same fans so that they can have extravagant stuff they don't actually need. If fans buy into this whole crap it's their problem, but that doesn't mean that his behaviour is acceptable and the shitstorm is an expression of that.

    Even if I was a fan of this band I sure as hell wouldn't throw extra money at them so that they can buy another sauna.

    And to add extra lolz, the production on both this and Time I is absolute shit. Strangely, the production on the debut is pretty good. Looks like Jari doesn't need a NASA supercomputer, OR a personal studio, OR another sauna to record music.
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    19.08.2017 - 18:11
    moe5512
    Written by Uldreth on 19.08.2017 at 13:52

    And to add extra lolz, the production on both this and Time I is absolute shit. Strangely, the production on the debut is pretty good. Looks like Jari doesn't need a NASA supercomputer, OR a personal studio, OR another sauna to record music.

    The first album wasn't mixed by Mäenpää
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    19.08.2017 - 20:00
    Rating: 8
    Hooman
    I didn't like the album and wanted to give it a generous 6 honestly, but when i listened to the instrumental version of the first two tracks, I really enjoyed and changed my generous 6 to a generous 8.
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    19.08.2017 - 22:07
    Rating: 10
    MeatWolf
    Quote:
    And the same ppl who argued that got infinetly upset when it actually worked out.

    Certainly the case. They're so smart and right but 450k goes to someone else. That's what hurts the most.

    Also look at how someone worked out something remotely resembling free market by contacting the fans directly and a shitstorm arose instantly. Because what would the big asses do if listeners can fund what they like directly instead of getting what they're given?

    Quote:
    other bands don't need supercomputers to master the music

    I read something about the mixing of Endless Forms More Beautiful taking several months because it was so complex! It contained 200 tracks per song and the epic containing 630. Oh my! Definitely should have done that in the bedroom. Once costed around 250k to make and DPP costed around 500k, with the real orchestra but the engineer cut was definitely not something NB would be ready to give Wintersun. How do you think, how much would an album with 1 song out of 7 containing over 1500 tracks cost to mix?
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    20.08.2017 - 04:01
    Marcel Hubregtse
    Grumpy Old Fuck
    Elite
    Written by MeatWolf on 19.08.2017 at 22:07


    Quote:
    other bands don't need supercomputers to master the music

    I read something about the mixing of Endless Forms More Beautiful taking several months because it was so complex! It contained 200 tracks per song and the epic containing 630. Oh my! Definitely should have done that in the bedroom. Once costed around 250k to make and DPP costed around 500k, with the real orchestra but the engineer cut was definitely not something NB would be ready to give Wintersun. How do you think, how much would an album with 1 song out of 7 containing over 1500 tracks cost to mix?

    you believe that bullshit about the number of tracks? if so you're one of the most gullible people I have ever come across.
    ----
    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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    20.08.2017 - 09:53
    Rating: 10
    MeatWolf
    Quote:
    you believe that bullshit about the number of tracks? if so you're one of the most gullible people I have ever come across.

    I have ears to hear that myself. Check the orchestration isolated track for Sons of Winter and Stars. There are tons of everything playing almost every second. Jari showed how they sounded separately, youtube video Sons of Winter and Stars Project Demonstration.
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