Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika - review
Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika - review
Tracklist
01. Jumalten Aika02. Ruttolehto Incl. Päivättömän Päivän Kansa
03. Suden Tunti
04. Mimisbrunn
05. Ihmisen Aika (Kumarrus Pimeyteen)
06. Soulless [Grave cover] [bonus]
07. Non Serviam [Rotting Christ cover] [bonus]
A review by
Dream Taster March 27, 2016
With a steady lineup and a winning formula, the Helsinki natives didn't need to reinvent the wheel. And they haven't. So if you were hoping for an evolution, this album is not providing it. You could say the band stayed true to form. With 5 tracks for a running time of 67 minutes, you know you are in for the renowned Moonsorrow experience. My first impressions were that this could pass as Verisäkeet Part II. And that vibe holds strong and true through many listens. Intrigued? You should be.
The Sorvali cousins brought back the heavy artillery. Flutes, chanting and other heavy folk-oriented instruments, melodies and structures are everywhere. But despite the emphasis on the folk aspect of their sound, the pervasive darkened atmosphere of their earlier works has been successfully recreated. The music is epic and massive, emotional and intense. The record demands repeating listens to grow. Their fans wouldn't expect anything less. As expected Ville Sorvali is making use of his arsenal of soul-shattering screams and shrieks to dynamite the songs.
Drummer Marko Tarvonen revealed in a recent interview that the album contained more black metal influences than usual and we get a good sense of that when listening to "Suden Tunti". This slower and more aggressive song does feel like an Ajatarra track. Overall the band has gone back to crafting compositions with ample emotional contrast. That wasn't necessarily the case on their previous release, which started with dark feelings and ended in despair with little room for uplifting moments along the way. Jumalten Aika is more of an extreme ride through the spectrum of human emotions, again, like Verisäkeet was. Essentially Moonsorrow have re-centered their music towards what made them most popular and it is hitting the spot. And how about an inspired cover of Rotting Christ's "Non Serviam" as a bonus track?
With Jumalten Aika you get to experience another quality folk story of epic proportion. Evolution was not needed nor wanted. So the bards of Moonsorrow have done what they do best. And they have done it to perfection once more. A true journey through the icy landscape of the land of the thousand lakes is in store for you. Bring your sharpened spear along, adventure awaits.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written on 27.03.2016 by
Written on 27.03.2016 by
Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as:"A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?"
I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math.
Comments
Comments:
15
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Posts: 5826  |
Posts: 5826
this could pass as Verisäkeet Part II - Now that's the pharse I needed to listen. Too bad the mortal ones still need to wait till the release date, oh well...
---- "Aah! The cat turned into a cat!" - Reimu Hakurei
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 Posts: 64500 |
Posts: 64500
Nice review I hope to hear it asap, soon it will be out but one problem is, band should choose diferent cover songs to record, those 2 as original bands don't fits into this genre
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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 Posts: 1127 |
Posts: 1127
Getting excited
---- Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches. Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
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Posts: 632  |
Posts: 632
My year in metal is already complete: another awesome Moonsorrow album and Draugnim's Vulturine, what more do you need?
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Posts: 4367 Written by Veertje on 27.03.2016 at 13:52 Well I need another Elysian Blaze album for my metal year to feel complete. 
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Posts: 54  |
Posts: 54
I honestly don't see anything same in the atmosphere with Verisäkeet. Yea black metal influences are strong but lyrically and musically pretty different.
---- "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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Posts: 1116  |
Posts: 1116
First this Quote: I'm super excited then this... Written by Pikemaster on 28.03.2016 at 12:12 Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  But in a serious note, nice review, can't wait for it
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Posts: 19 |
Posts: 19
Cant wait to hear what this will sound like! Anyways I am very lucky because I get to see this album release show! Hell yeah! 
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Posts: 6212
If my initial impression of the album holds, it'll be an album of the year contender. What it is is essentially an excellent amalgamation of everything that makes Moonsorrow such a good band.
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Posts: 68  |
Posts: 68
It was a superbly catching blackened folk sound! That's all I can ask from Moonsorrow! I loved the bonus tracks as well!
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Posts: 64500 Written by RockSplendid on 30.03.2016 at 22:47 just tried, those are weakest point (even nice to hear those dudes in English) wrong bands to cover
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die" I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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Posts: 68 |
Posts: 68 Written by Bad English on 02.04.2016 at 00:23 The Rotting Christ cover is good imo, though that might not be the best Moonsorrow can offer! They have much more epic and folkish sounds!
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| Posts: 6212 |
Posts: 6212
I have the edition without covers. I don't even care to listen to those covers online, because they don't matter. Covers in general are redundant and I have no interest in them.
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