ALBUM REVIEW: Wintersun – The Forest Seasons

What do you get when you combine intricate metal from the Scandinavian region with orchestral elements, an influence from one of the most revered concertos in musical history, and a hell of a long wait? Well, you’re probably left with a Wintersun record. The follow-up release to 2012’s Time I is finally here, and although it isn’t the Time II fans have been practically foaming at the mouth to hear for years now, it’s certainly worth your attention. Here’s why.

After a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign that concluded in April of this year, Wintersun was able to successfully raise over 400,000 EUR in order to fund the creation of their own studio and rehearsal space, a project that was seemingly necessary in order for front man and project mastermind Jari Mäenpää to be completely satisfied with future output from the band. Although widely regarded as one of the great heavy releases as of the 2000s, Time I is often described by Jari as a compromise on quality compared to the sounds heard in his head during the writing and recording process for the record.

With studio worries a thing of the past, The Forest Seasons is our first taste of new Wintersun material in just under five years. Clocking in at around 55 minutes, the four-song release is strategically categorized by, you guessed it, the seasons of the year. This concept is directly inspired by Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and follows its influence in having each track of the record relate to its subsequent season. While not necessarily an original idea, Wintersun certainly make this concept their own, crafting epic 12+ minute tracks that take listeners through a variety of emotions. The first time I heard opening track “Spring”, I was truly blown away, not only as a big fan of Wintersun but a fan of music and art itself. Though there are various twists and turns throughout, the song never loses sight of its vision, or seasonal influence, a feat that is often difficult to achieve when such long songs are at play.

As The Forest Seasons unfolds by song, or season, there is absolutely no letting up from the creativity and uncertainty that Wintersun have delivered time and time again. Perhaps the only predictable aspect of the band’s music is that it will remain unpredictable. “Summer”, “Autumn”, and “Winter” effortlessly transition through a variety of sounds and emotions, proving to listeners once again that Jari and his band were destined to make this music from the beginning. “Autumn” alone arguably covers enough ground to be considered a short EP in and of itself, ending in dramatic fashion with one of the most impressive sections in a Wintersun track I’ve ever heard.

 

On each release, Wintersun have proven their ability to combine low and high, abrasive and gentle, thin and thick. The Forest Seasons is no exception to this statement. At the risk of sounding cliché, one could certainly argue that their music cannot be summed up in words alone. To understand the messages from a band such as this, the music truly must be felt. Each season maintains its own identity consistent with its message while perfectly falling in line with the authoritative, familiar Wintersun sound. Either you get it or you don’t, and that’s alright. “Sometimes I think, maybe I should have just joined a simple rock n’ roll band”, says Jari, but man, I for one am glad that didn’t happen.

The final verdict. Is this album Time II? No. Will we ever hear Time II? Who knows. For now, The Forest Seasons offers more than enough to digest before we return to bitching about the follow-up we continue to wait for.

Album Review by Joe Koza, RockRevolt Journalist