Well I actualy saw somewhere that Wintersun were of the bands that received the most money from Nuclear Blast but I'm not sure if it's true or not... Anyway thank you guys

Back to the album, I think that what made me like this so much was because it was my first Wintersun exposure (imo there is a big lack of the "epic" feeling from Time 1). IMO Awaken From The Dark Slumber is the best song on the album (the build-up to the verses is really cool and the chorus is amazing), The Forest That Weeps repeats a litle too much draggin the song down a bit, Eternal Darkness can get a bit annoying 'till half of the song due to the blast beats but picks up after and Loneliness have the best vocals in the whole album and suits really well and it's very emotional. So despite all the flaws I mentioned, the album flows really nicely.

Written by MeatWolf on 20.08.2017 at 09:53

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.

Most people will never hear the immense depth goes into even the most prolific (non-sampled) pop song, let alone the wide range of a symphonic orchestra. You need really good headphones or sound system and a well treated room. And ears.

On the other hand, very good mixing can be done without high-end equipment. Sometimes less is more. And Jari fails to create a punchy wall of sound like Devin Townsend for example, I don't feel justified throwing this many sh*t into the music.

On 'Spring', from 6:10 onward you can definitely tell Jari's just taking the piss out of Ensiferum. He hasn't even put in full effort yet he's still created a better song than anything on the last 3 Ensiferum albums.

Written by MeatWolf on 19.08.2017 at 22:07

It contained 200 tracks per song and the epic containing 630.

Ya fucking right.

Quote:
You need really good headphones or sound system and a well treated room. And ears.

You can't hear every instrument separately but you're not supposed to. You can hear the overall picture and the harmony created with all of those. It definitely differs from anything I've heard in any symphonic metal album.

Devin's Deconstruction featured a full-time orchestra. He has pretty different budgets compared to WS.

This album is alright. It feels just thrown together though. The musical ability is there, but the composition is lacking in my opinion.

Written by bddidier on 24.07.2017 at 18:05

Written by Litvin on 21.07.2017 at 15:15

Ahhh Jari could of done better...I believe he spend more time on marketing that on actually writing the album

And still you gave it a 9 ...

Yeah, otherwise I would give it a 10

Written by Litvin on 16.09.2017 at 13:05

Written by bddidier on 24.07.2017 at 18:05

Written by Litvin on 21.07.2017 at 15:15

Ahhh Jari could of done better...I believe he spend more time on marketing that on actually writing the album

And still you gave it a 9 ...

Yeah, otherwise I would give it a 10

After few spins it's getting stronger and stronger every time I hear it.
Definitely worth spending some extra hours with it.

*Some of this review is guitar-based.*

One thing I've noticed Wintersun doing is scaling back on the guitar parts while having most of the melodies be done by vocals and orchestrations. While the debut album was guitar heavy alongside Jari's screaming vocals and blast beats, Time I created a trend of using guitar only in a rhythmic or melodic context. The guitar parts aren't necessarily a cakewalk, but they do have simplicity over the first album. Listening to "Battle Against Time" or "Starchild" sounds much different than listening to 'Sons of Winter and Stars" or "Land of Snow and Sorrow".

Part of it has to do with the pacing of the albums. The debut album isn't conceptual. It's mostly fragments of ideas regarding time, death, creation and the universe that continue to persist throughout Wintersun's small discography.

Now we come to The Forest Seasons. This album is even more primitive than both the self-titled and Time I by several walks through the forest (see what I did there?). There guitars are more prominent than on Time I, but they're extremely muddy in the mix and it is often difficult to pick out many of the rhythms note for note without a great pair of headphones. Exceptions to this include the guitar soloish thingy in the middle of "The Forest that Weeps" and "Eternal Darkness".

It's much more primitive with more of a focus on a black metal aesthetic, although it isn't a black metal album. It seems to have certain elements of it. Examples of this include the opening riff on "Awaken from the Dark Slumber" and "Eternal Darkness". All in all, the guitar work appears to have remained similarly consequential as Time I, where it doesn't have a lot of lead work, but enough to make a guitarist happy.

As I stated above, the albums are becoming more conceptual in nature. This aligns with the band's progression in their discography, where they are taking ideas such as time and death from the self-titled album and morphing them into a single album all their own. Time I was about nonother then time and how it fades away from us. In The Forest Seasons, time is scene as a progressive concept, taking place within a year of natural decay surrounding a vague character of loneliness and a transcendental battle against humans, where (and I hope I word this right) themes about the violent awakening of the forest combine alongside the cycle of being human.

With The Forest Seasons, we have an album that isn't perfect, but also isn't bad. It's actually really good. There's not a lot of crazy fast guitar work besides the guitar solo in "Eternal Darkness", but there is progression in the band in terms of concept and songwriting.

This album have really grown on me. Its funny to think that when it came out I ended up prefering the instrumental versions over the "normal" songs. Now I like them a lot, actually its one of the albums that I listen more from my "collection". Time I was a bit superior but that one is so much close to perfection that it would be almost impossible for a follow up to beat that. Now i'm just waiting for the part II...

He could just trim some of the few good parts of this album and make one great song. But nah divo jari shall barf fantasy till Howard Shore does a ballet

So I was waiting for this to pop up on Spotify. Gave it a listen today for the first time. I'm writing this after my second spin, as I'm listening to the instrumental versions of the songs.

First let me say that, initially, none of the songs gripped me except Loneliness. They were somewhat like ambient music that does not throw itself at you but you know, still pleasing to hear. This is not necessarily a bad thing but uncharacteristic from Wintersun. However, as I listen to the instrumentals I can clearly hear that there are lots of layers to these relatively lengthy songs. But the problem is, all these details, the orchestration and guitar tracks are not showing themselves during the songs. Maybe this is the intended effect but it is not working for me.

Vocals and the melancholic sound in Loneliness are nicely done. For the other songs, musicianship is definitely there but the final product is lacking.

Not as good as the previous 2 albums, but still an enjoyable listen.

People are always so divided about Wintersun, usually some say it's genius and others say it's garbage. About The Forest Seasons in particular, what I read is "I'm going to punish them for the wait/crowdfunding". I'm not surprised, with so much hype and controversies the reception was only going to be mixed at best. Even if it was a masterpiece.

So, The Forest Seasons. I think it's their "least best" one, and by that I don't mean it's bad. I do agree on the guitars, I always end up complaining about the production with this band. I don't mind the fact that it's a slower one, to me it's deliberate and coherent. I can hear useless parts but I think it's a good one overall. I like Awaken From the Dark Slumber (Spring) and Loneliness (Winter, acoustic or not) became my favourite of Wintersun. I also like the concept, ambiance and lyrics.
I'd give it a 15/20.

I don't like Wintersun that much, the debute was ok and Time I was just too much IMO. This album is my favorite, and for some reason I prefer the instrumental version. Less cheesy I guess.

Biggest Letdown of 2017, with an average rating of 8. So people here expected a 10?

This album sounds like dropping a huge pot of spaghetti all over the floor.

For those disappointed with this album and/or the lack of new releases, check out this relatively unknown band, they basically sound the same as old Wintersun (Atavistia):

Written by nonZero on 16.12.2020 at 17:16

For those disappointed with this album and/or the lack of new releases, check out this relatively unknown band, they basically sound the same as old Wintersun:

Thanks, man! This sounds awesome.

This is a pretty good album that deserves all my respect not only by what Wintersun has offered by their previous 2 full-lengths, but also for trying to be minimumly innovative and successful about that. Nothing less than excellent.

I gave this a few other spins after shelving it when it was launched. It still remains average... the only thing worth going back is "The Forest That Weeps" with the hymn like choir in the middle and the guitar part towards the end and the fast part of "Eternal Darkness". A very filler-type album. Pointless interludes fill in gaps. The interludes in Time I were at least well executed and managed to build up into something spectacular. Here not so much.

Almost the entire album lacks energy. Compared to Time I even, this album is really, really tame. Not saying that this is bad, because it ain't, but Wintersun's forte was always about playing energetic, fast-paced songs. Even Jari's clean vocals sound tired.

This album feels like the band was forced to record and release in order to provide something for those who participated in that crowdfunding for their studio. I wonder if Jari managed to get his studio with the money he raised. I remember him moaning in the past that he could not release more music because he did not have his own studio at his disposal.

I love Wintersun, the first and the second album although vastly different, I love both so effing much. But this one, The Forest Seasons just doesn't stick to me...

Great album, beautiful musical evolution, writing always at the top.
between the 1st and the 2nd album they had already shown a certain direction and with this album that confirms it.
very catchy album
I adhere

Some good stuff but a bit bland and forgettable. Nothing compared to the other two.

Written by nonZero on 16.12.2020 at 17:16

For those disappointed with this album and/or the lack of new releases, check out this relatively unknown band, they basically sound the same as old Wintersun (Atavistia):

Unreal how similar this is. I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the two bands apart just by listening.

Now that all my expectations withered away, kind of enjoyed this album. Yeah it's still not great and the production is very disappointing after Time I, but the time spent on this was not wasted.

The first two track are good. After that? Not Really.

Great album, just as their previous two. The way it was released, I was hoping this would be the turning point of their career, but now it looks like it may be their last.