Phonebook Eater 7/10

"Varjoina" is an epic sounding album, a breath of fresh nordic air.

Moonsorrow is one of the most praised Folk Metal bands ever, along with bands such as Agalloch and Primordial. Their music has been pretty much the same throughout all these years they’ve been active, not even after their sixth album that came out now in 2011, the unpronounceable “Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa”, which in English means “as shadows we walk in the land of the dead”.

When we talk about Folk Metal, don’t think Agalloch’s acoustic interludes. This album barely has them; the folkish elements are the melodies-riffs, which are heavily influenced by Nordic and Celtic music. They are very few slow parts ( except for the epic “Huuto”), so it sounds like a true mix between Black Metal and Folk-traditional music. The Black elements are here as well; very rough production, at all times high pitched growls, and an original element that has accompanied many Moonsorrow albums; the add to the guitars of the keys, that always have a stringy sound, giving the music a new definition of epicness and a more thick sound.

The album is very solid and rigid in it’s structure: they are long, epic tracks constantly and rigorous alternated with one minute interludes, that really don’t have much to offer, being mostly just recordings of footsteps, a man talking, or general field recordings. So the long song are the real deal here. The opener “Tahdeton” is amazing, in its huge and archaic sound, that reminds a lot of the previous Moonsorrow work. Almost every moment here is sublime, even the Celtic influenced hook that dominates the second half of the song. “Muinaiset” is another great track, with again great arrangements on the keys, great folkish elements in the main riff, and a very consistent sound overall. “Huuto” is almost sixteen minutes long, and it’s probably the most experimental, ambitious and adventurous song off this album. The riffs are haunting like they’ve never been so far, and the mood is a lot more mystic.

A really good album that every Black-Folk metal fan should listen to, especially fans of this legendary band that will certainly go down in history as one of the best of this genre.

Time Signature Moon-meh...

Genre: symphonic folk black metal

Moonsorrow are a respected and much loved folk metal band, and I totally understand why people like them. They manage to generate a dark and almost oppressive atmosphere with their viking/black metal derived folk music, which also contains just the right amount of elements from gothic doom metal.

For some reason, the metallic elements on this album do not really rock my world. I think that the tracks are well performed, and I can hear that they are sincerely expressive, although I am put off by the way that most of the songs are smothered with epic keyboards, but they strike me as sounding kind of generic - not in relation to folk metal as such, but in relation to the context of each other and the album as a whole. Also, the atonally screamed black metal styled vocals on this release tend to annoy me, and I think that they add to my experience of monotony (more tonal vocals could add some melodic variation).

While I find the metallic side to this album a bit uninteresting, I really enjoy the folk music bits and the folk music instrumentation and melodies, which I think save this album from, in me experience, being a completely monotonous and uninspiring listen.

My own sour-ass opinions aside, I think that fans of viking metal and more extreme folk metal will enjoy this album immensely - and that such fans will be able to enjoy all the folk metal gems and qualities to this release that I have obviously failed to identify.

Conor Fynes 'Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa' - Moonsorrow (7/10)

No stranger to the grandiose and epic in it's most sincere form, Finnish folk metal legends Moonsorrow show no sign of slowing down with their latest album, entitled 'Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa'. 'As Shadows We Walk Through The Land Of The Dead' in their native tongue, the band here certainly doesn't seek to revolutionize their sound, but instead draws upon the existing 'epic' sound to craft an hour-long journey of music that lacks in variety or dynamic, but makes up in the sheer scale of the sound.

Firmly planted within the style of Viking metal once innovated by the legendary Bathory, and now popularized by such acts as Equilibrium, Moonsorrow plays a fairly upbeat brand of metal, incorporating catchy hooks into the soundscape and heavy layerings of guitar work underneath some typical black metal raspings. Although the lyrics here are sung in Finnish (and would be nearly undecipherable otherwise anyways through the snarl of vocalist Henri Sorvali), there is a clear narrative taking place here; detailing the travels of a voyager through snowy lands and a proverbial 'land of death'. Although the music is certainly not dark enough to reflect this naturally, Moonsorrow gives the sound a very triumphant and anthemic feel, so there's always the feeling that regardless of the lyrics themselves, the content itself is certainly of a widescale and heroic nature.

While 'Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa' may have seven tracks, there are only five real songs, the two remainders being interludes that generally entail a man walking through snow, and panting as he does so. While this may tie in well with the narrative of the music, they do become somewhat unwanted breaks after a few listens, and could have done with some actual music in them, even were it ambient in nature. Musically, there is very little to deviate from the mid-tempo epic folk metal sound here, and with songs passing the fifteen minute mark, the uniformity of the music here can wear thin, should the listener not be in the proper mood or mindset for it. That being said; what Moonsorrow does, they do incredibly well.

Although the tracks here all feel quite formulaic with one another, each is an epic composition that manages to get the grand, nature-inspired feeling across. Highlights of mine would include 'Muinaiset' for its spectacular riffs and beautiful folk moments, and 'Huuto', for having a great central theme from which to build off of. The music is not particularly technical, but all things here are quite professionally produced. Of special note is drummer Marko Torvonen, who manages to take the generally mid-tempo anthems and put some real complexity into his work that isn't quite so profound among the rest of the instruments. Vocally, Henri Sorvali can be a bit inconsistent at times, but his rasps generally do the track for the most part. The greatest vocal work here however is from the choirs and the vocal arrangements, whose ominous chants convey the Norse theme beautifully.

'Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa' is a great album for Viking metal, but there is no doubt throughout that while the musical ideas here are very strong, the music does overstep its bounds by dragging each of the particularly long compositions for a few minutes too long each time. For someone looking for a truly epic hour's worth of music without caring too much about the details however, Moonsorrow's latest is just the thing.