siLLy puPPy Triumphant, epic and celebratory are three words that come to mind when describing MOONSORROW’s fifth album VERISÄKEET even though the album’s title translates into English as “Blood Verses.” Considered the pinnacle of the band’s career by some and one of the best Finnish metal albums of all time by others, VERISÄKEET was no doubt a major evolutionary development in the band’s sound and one that primarily jettisoned the Viking metal sensibilities of the previous “Kivenkantaja” and zeroed in on the Finnish folk music that the band had been implementing since its early albums that started with “Suden Uni.”

Heavily steeped in Norwegian black metal, VERISÄKEET features four lengthy 14-minute plus slabs of MOONSORROW’s epic heathen metal plus a final closing track of unplugged Finnish folk music showcasing the band’s more intimate side replete with nature recordings offering lengthy moments of non-musical contemplation. The band specifically didn’t want to copy its approach on “Kivenkantaja” therefore it focused on darker and harsher mood settings while increasing the use of the traditional instruments that had already become the band’s hallmark signature sound. Likewise even though penned entirely in the Finnish language and incomprehensible to many, the lyrics are more abstract and evoke a touch of surrealism.

The album’s approach is quite simple actually. The tracks open with simple folk melodies or in the case of the album itself nature field recordings and then joined in by rampaging black metal guitar riffing, bantering bass dynamics and blastbeats. Through the lengthy processions the melodic groove of the folk music remains dominant as one motif after the next offers new variations of folk musical fills that include the very un-metal instrumentation of the accordion, Jew’s harp, tin whistle and indigenously grown kantele, a traditionally played Finnish zither-like instrument that gives a Baltic mystic to the musical flow. Likewise the band employs the use of intricate vocal harmonics throughout as well as moments of acoustic guitar driven cooling off periods that offer an escape from the incessant distorted grunge effect of the cascading twin guitar riffing stomps.

Amazingly even though the songs themselves are based around rather simple folk tunes that could probably be whittled down to a mere five minutes of playing time, MOONSORROW showcases its compositional prowess on VERISÄKEET with its uncanny ability to eke out every possible variation through a series of free flowing cadences that extend to the 14 minute playing time with the penultimate “Jotenheim (Giant-Home)” meandering to the near 20-minute mark although the track does feature an unnecessarily long non-musical ending of nothing but nature recordings that do wear out their welcome. The first four tracks are all executed in the same manner, each with intricately designed folk melodies and accompanying varying effects however the closing “Kaiku (Echo)” features an unadulterated unplugged folk song that offers a taste of what the Finns do around campfires i presume!

Unless you’re totally adverse to the idea of folk metal in general, you can’t go wrong with VERISÄKEET as it demonstrates one of the purest and most refined examples of how black metal and ethnic folk musical styles can seamlessly blend into one cohesive wholeness. MOONSORROW had already proved its ability to craft such music beyond the usual drinking song adolescence into a more sophisticated epic approach that offered sweepingly beautiful soundscapes fortified with instantly addictive melodies and crushing metal heft. A triumphant peak of the band’s sound and one that would cement their style as the dominant one. An almost flawless album marred only by the extremely long moments of nature recordings that diminish the impact of the overall experience slightly. Nevertheless one of MOONSORROW’s finest moments for sure.

Warthur Moonsorrow's Verisakeet is folky black metal (or perhaps blackened folk metal) that has a bit more staying power with me than many examples of the folk metal subgenre; rather than having folk instruments playing in a folk style whilst metal instruments play in a metal style, as some less satisfying folk metal groups do, here the group weave folk rhythms and motifs into the very fabric of their compositions, so the folk instruments play in a folk style during the quiet sections and the metal instruments play in a folk style during the loud sections. Progressively minded without being aggressively prog, Moonsorrow work nature sounds in here and there, going so far as to open and close album finale Kaiku (a more or less entirely folk-based number) with birdsong and other sounds of nature. Intriguing stuff; on repeated listens, I find that on balance it's not really my cup of tea, but I'm more inclined to recommend it than many other examples of the folk metal genre.

Phonebook Eater 9/10

Folk Metal's greatest achievement so far, where the word epic acquires a new meaning.

Moonsorrow's masterpiece "Kivenkataja" ended up being the tip of the iceberg: the follow up to that album is "Verisakeet", an album that is just as haunting and well done, although the two are completely two different beasts. But it is definite now that Moonsorrow are one of the best cult Metal bands of all time, thanks mostly to these two landmark achievements, and have not, so far, released an album that was less than really good.

Like it was mentioned, "Verisakeet" is completely different than "Kivenkantaja": the songs are significantly longer, less in quantity, richer in instrumentation, and boast beautiful production and polished sound. There is a more progressive approach in structuring these long winded, complex and diverse songs, where there is an even larger use of exotic, Nordic instrumentation. All of the instruments(flutes, acoustic guitars, flutes, or synthesizers) individually have a prominent place, somewhere here, in this more than an hour long experience. But there is also a significant amount of blast beats and traditional Black Metal here, and a certain passage can go on for several minutes without there being any Folk elements. Nevertheless, this is compensated by the moments in which these Folk elements are present, and they become absolutely essential for that particular passage. There are also, in the beginning and end of each song, some nice nature recordings: this last element gives the impression that legends, with the passing of time, fade in and fade out, but nature remains the same.

Compared to other Moonsorrow albums, "Verisakeet" is the one in which there are more nature themes; it is the most earthly LP of the band, still somewhat focused on battles, but more emotions, such as fear, are heavily connected with the lyrics, in a time before or after a tragic war. If "Karhunkynsi" narrates the pre-battle and how it is not wanted by the people fighting it, "Haaska" is about the devastating aftermath, describing the bleak battlefield, and how futile the event was. "Pimea" is the most pessimistic track, depicting a dying world, another typical latter Moonsorrow theme. The final words that to me are interesting in this album are the ones sung in the intimate "Kaiku", a brief elegy of forefathers.

Musically, each one of these songs is amazingly done, starting from the huge opener, the fourteen minute epic; possibly the heaviest, more Black Metal driven song, but it has massive riffs which reoccur in a beautifully studied way throughout the track, thanks also to great production and musicianship. The second track is less accessible but almost as high of a level and just as long, with more additional instrumentation ( the acoustic guitar gives the main hook for the entire song), more complex, more triumphant, but still of supremely high quality. "Pimea" is still another very long and intricate listen as a whole, with the glossy keyboards giving a strong addition to some melodies, but it has a handful of quite beautiful Folkloric moments, as well as haunting hooks played with either guitars or exotic instruments. "Jotunheim" mixes a huge amount of sounds together, as well as another handful of successful riffs, and amazing musicianship. What differs in this track is that it has a more climactic nature, but also it boasts the most emotionally challenging riffs of the album, them being very desolate sounding. When the final moments of this track, consisting of the routined nature recordings, blend in with the starting moments of "Kaiku", the final track, it is obvious that this amazing journey is coming to an end: this last track is a melancholically campfire-set acoustic jam between an intimate chorus of vocals and acoustic guitar.

"Verisakeet" is possibly the most complete and successful Moonsorrow release; it's possibly also the greatest, most important Folk Metal of all time. With more and more years increasing the album's age, it's quite possibly going to become a Metal classic. For now, this remains stuck in a somewhat cult status, but that doesn't diminish its quality one bit.

Conor Fynes 'Verisäkeet' - Moonsorrow (8/10)

Finnish epic metallers Moonsorrow have become one of my favourite bands as of late, and 'Verisäkeet' does not break the streak of awe and excellence the band has demonstrated with each past experience I've had with them. Moonsorrow have always been ones for drawn out folk metal epics and their heavy sense of ambition takes them great places here. A somewhat more raw and black metal-leaning album than what I have heard before from them, 'Verisäkeet' is yet another long album to get lost in. It may not be the most successful record they have churned out, but for its flaws and faults, 'Verisäkeet' comes through as a great album.

Unless you are a newcomer to the music of this band, track lengths often reaching the fifteen minute mark and beyond should not be any surprise from the band at this point. In that sense, they have not changed their style much. There are still lush orchestrations, extended and often detailed compositions, and a heavy folk element that puts Moonsorrow at the top of the pagan metal hierarchy. For the sake of 'Verisäkeet' though, there is more of a focus on raw black metal sounds than there are on other records, if even a bit. 'Verisäkeet' is far from being a simple record, but there are moments where it feels as if Moonsorrow are paying an homage to the black metal classics. The final minutes of the opener 'Karhunkynsi' even feature a close rendition of the Mayhem song 'De Mysteriis Dom Santhanas', which is always a bit of a shock to hear on an album that otherwise prides itself greatly on its grand scale and bombastic nature.

Although the folkier side of Moonsorrow's fanbase may find the darker, brooding sound of 'Verisäkeet' a bit offputting when compared to their other albums, it does work to bring a sadness in the band's voice that is just as emotionally stirring as their more triumphant approach. 'Verisäkeet's more to-the-point nature is not something I think works as well for Moonsorrow as when they decide to go all out with orchestrations, like with 'V: Havitetty'. Also, the album's cohesion becomes less of an issue when each song becomes so long, but the final track 'Kaiku' feels a tad unnecessary. Although it is a pleasant ballad, having a four minute acoustic piece (the final four minutes is left to tedious natural ambiance) trail such monstrous tracks beforehand feels somewhat underwhelming for a closer to what it otherwise an epic piece of music.

Despite the flaws that remain pronounced enough to clearly identify, Moonsorrow's fourth album remains a triumph. Moonsorrow have impressed me again.