Wintersun – The Forest Seasons (2017)

Taking almost the same time as Tool to release a new album, today we have Finland’s Wintersun and their epic “The Forest Seasons” release. Aside from all the crowdfunding drama, Wintersun returns with a powerful album that maintains their legendary status and improves on their legacy with a more mature style. If you like Melodic Metal with Symphonic and Folk-ish elements, this is certainly one of the best releases of 2017 for you.

Opening with the 14-minute epic “Awaken from the Dark Slumber”, we get Wintersun at its best delivering a very atmospheric and high-octane piece. This track delivers over the top orchestrations perfectly arranged with a lively pace and a heap of different vocal styles. Reminding us of a mixture of Cradle of Filth with Ensiferum at times, this is a very exciting opener and it showcases the potential of the band’s evolved sound.

Now that the band is warmed up, Jari Mäenpää unleashes “The Forest that Weeps”, a very intricate song filled with memorable guitar work and killer melodic passages. The folk aspects (and choir arrangements) of this song make it a lot lusher than average and greatly enhance the rich atmosphere crafted. The aggressive “Eternal Darkness” is definitely one of the heaviest songs we’ve heard from the band in quite a while, featuring killer guitar leads and some catchy drum patterns.

As the album closes with the mellow heaviness of “Loneliness”, it is quite clear that this release manages to greatly add to the band’s legendary status by delivering over 40 minutes of insanely good music. Featuring countless moments were the keyboards and guitars perfectly work in unison to create very elaborate music that the listener keeps further unraveling with every subsequent spin. If you like very epic and very melodic music, and for some reason you have never heard of Wintersun, this is one release you can’t afford to miss in 2017. If you like Wintersun and their previous efforts, you will definitely enjoy the diversity and musicianship, in this one. Was it worth the 5+ years wait? You’ll be the judge of that.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: July 21st, 2017

Genre: Melodic Metal

Country: Finland