Track Listing

1. Tulimyrsky
2. For Whom the Bell Tolls
3. Taistelu Pohjolasta
4. Hvergelmir
5. Back to North

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83496 in Music
• Released on: 2008-07-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: EP
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
2008 release from the Finnish Death Metal outfit. Given Moonsorrow's truly panoramic musical vision, it's perhaps not surprising that the band themselves are choosing to classify this release as an EP: however, at a very generous 68 minutes in length, it's clearly a great deal more than that! This five-track release features a hugely impressive mix of old and new material, along with a couple of intriguing covers including the Metallica classic `For Whom The Bell Tolls'. Spinefarm.

Customer Reviews

Moonsorrow cannot make mediocre music
I'm not a finnish speaker and I'm waiting for the official english translation of the lyrics, so I'll keep this review short. This EP features a 29:45 long track, Tulimyrsky, two covers (including For Whom The Bell Tolls from Metallica's Ride The Lightning), and two re-recordings of songs from their early demos. That's 68 minutes of music... quite an earful for an EP.

People generously apply the word "epic" for songs that are greater than 5 minutes in length, and by that measure, Tulimyrsky must be one of the greatest. But this track deserves that title many times over for the music: the soundscapes and spoken finnish paint pictures of ancient battles. The story is set in many parts, and the spoken interludes are haunting even to someone like me who does not understand one word of Finnish. The guitaring and keyboards are exceptional, as is the drumming, and often, it sounds like there are many other instruments going in the background too. The melodies leave you wishing they were longer (e.g., 10:20 or 18:46). Not at one point does the song sound patchy or hastily strung together. Undoubtedly one of the best tracks I've heard all year. I've heard Tulimyrsky over 30 times, and I think it could be Moonsorrow's greatest song, which is saying a lot.

The next track is a folk-metal style rework of For Whom the Bell Tolls. I really liked how Moonsorrow didn't try to copy the original... these guys have really breathed new life and melodies into (e.g., the outro) that song. The intro itself lasts 3 minutes, for god's sake!

I will not comment upon the other three tracks (as I'm a relatively new Moonsorrow fan) except to say that these tracks are exactly what you'd expect of Moonsorrow: excellent, uncompromising, epic music.

So, do not hesitate... Moonsorrow is not black metal or melodic death metal or folk metal, but a surprisingly effective blend of all three, and this EP is as good a place to get into them as any. Pick it up now!

yeeeehhhaaawww
This EP easily could've been Moonsorrow's next album because it's over an hour long with 5 songs 1 new, 2 covers and 2 re-recordings of demos but instead they decided just to make it an EP says a lot about them as musicians I think. The new song is almost half an hour long and it's EPIC without a dull moment which is something these guys are good at and not every can do that. There are a lot of different parts through the song where it has its heavy moments, then folky moments, spoken interludes where you can hear sounds of nature and battle scenes in the background and there're parts where they all come together but no where is there a dull moment in this amazing song. There are only lyrics for this song in the cover but they don't include the english translations and it says to go the their website, which I did but they didn't have the translation up yet, but they might now.

One of the cover versions is For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica, which is one of their songs that I actually really like, but after hearing this version I can never go make to listening to the original because this one is far better. They easily made this song their own by adding that touch of theirs by making it epic and throwing in some folk which just makes this out into an amazing song. Their next cover is Back to North by Merciless, which I have not heard but I'm sure that this version is far superior to the original in the ways that For Whom the Bell Tolls is. They 2 covers are also the first songs that these guys have sung in English.

The 2 re-recordings from earlier demos are more black metal oriented with very little folkish elements thrown in and they are all over the place with the fast guitar fiffs. Personally I don't really care for these songs because they don't have that great Moonsorrow sound like the other songs but the're okay.

This is a very good CD and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Moonsorrow, folk metal or epic sounding music because you won't be sorry, I know I'm not.

Tulimyrsky
This is epic defined! Moonsorrow takes Viking Metal and expands its horizons into what they call "epic heathen metal." The first track of this album, Tulimyrsky, is a near half hour opus of fierce black metal savagery which shifts seamlessly into interludes of gorgeous folk melodies. We then get a cover of For Whom the Bell Tolls, two remakes and another cover, which are all nicely done. The sound is perfection and makes me feel as though I've gone on many raids as a Viking warrior through countless enemy territories. What more could I want?

Every second of Tulimyrsky is truthfully a masterpiece. Some might call it overplayed, I call it extremely well-played! Moonsorrow's other albums are great too. I recommend collecting them all.