Wintersun – Time II (2024) – Review

Wintersun - Time II - Album Cover

Whenever one of Nuclear Blast’s tired mainstream warriors gets RMR to come out of the woodwork, Wintersun‘s siren call may well be the culprit that made us do it. Everyone has been waiting forever and a day for Jari Mäenpää to finally make his move. Unending delays, false promises, and grift, after grift passed us by1 but Time II still wouldn’t appear. Until such time that the RMR Review Desk finally stopped looking for it.

Now, after a friggin’ 12 years of waiting and a lot of ridicule, the band finally delivered – something. If you remember, RMR … [...] Click to raid more!

Blasts from the Past 2023: Fury and Nostalgia!

Blasts from the Past 2023: Anger and Nostalgia! - Angry vinyl cover.

Admitted. We don’t do those all that much anymore. I mean, RMR policy pretty much directs its unpaid and overstretched wordsmiths to focus on the current year and not lose time on smelly old items of different couleur. But sometimes we can’t resist and have a go at some dusty old record that quietly wastes away in a swampy corner somewhere. So, here’s to a short list of olde records that made us break the rules.

Cheeky shenanigans fueled by fury and nostalgia.


Xaon – The Lethean

Release year: 2022

Xaon - The Lethean - Album Cover

Hells bells! This one should have garnered its spot on … [...] Click to raid more!

Wintersun – Time I (2012) – Review

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Wintersun - Time I - Album Cover

A few weeks ago, the RMR grey-beard squad checked out Wintersun‘s 2017 epos The Forest Seasons. A pretty tasty piece of Forest Metal that somehow tried too hard to be a great record in a way. Throughout the reviewing process, the RMR crew witnessed a lot of whining about the greatness of the band’s 2012 epos Time I. And how a) The Forest Seasons didn’t quite cut it and b) everybody’s still waiting for the elusive Time II.

And there’s some truth in the second statement. Jari Mäenpää‘s full-throated promises that a second installment would … [...] Click to raid more!

Wintersun – The Forest Seasons (2017) – Review

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Wintersun - The Forest Seasons - Album Cover

Ah, Forest Metal. Bands like Ellende or Waldgeflüster come to mind. Of course, the aforementioned outfits feature a different, darker style than Wintersun‘s latest. But hey, foresty musings can come in many forms. And we find all of those very hard to resist. Thus, seasonal greetings from under a leafy cover. Bungle in the jungle.


Somebody mentioned that Wintersun‘s 2017 full-length album The Forest Seasons was brimming with lush soundscapes, grand atmospheres, and all kinds of green and woody things. A record so good, everybody needed a copy for posterity, or else. Others were more reserved or felt … [...] Click to raid more!