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 finally arrive did not materialize. It appears that this elusive nirvana of total perfection hadn’t been reached yet. And so, part two of the Time series kinda died a quiet death. This irked many fans badly, given that many donated to a crowdfunding campaign for a studio of a whopping 450K of good ol’ greenbacks. And still no Time II in sight to this day.
Time I sure found a lot of support from fans – along the lines of its successor. Charts indicate that Scandinavia again leads the charge. And that’s not surprising, the folks up North are usually very supportive of their metal brethren. And déjà-vu incarnate, German and Anglo-Saxon territories definitely took exceptional notice of the record. Yet again, French-speaking territories were far less enthusiastic about it.
The record suffered from endless delays with equally endless excuses put forward by the band. One of the juiciest ones is the theory that around 200 different tracks were recorded for each song. If true, Mäenpää must have forgotten that sometimes less is more. Because taking multi-layering to such levels might well kill the efficiency of production and it won’t necessarily add that much oomph for your casual metalhead with headphones glued to their skull.
And by the miserable minions burning in Lok’s special hell, the first track When Time Fades Away sounds like an orientally flavored wet dream James Horner may have had when thinking about the soundtrack for the next Avatar installment. But I digress, of course. It does take some fucking chutzpa just to waltz ahead and create the mother of all intros at a whopping 4 1/2 minutes of playtime, though. Some 10% of pvre metal airtime wasted, on something that sounds more like one of Disney’s happy merrymaid1 things. Or beating that, some sugary intro Nightwish always wanted to write.
Albeit, and the above notwithstanding, the orchestration and composition are first-rate. It simply is symphonic post-metal taken to the next level. The lack of metal left the fan crowd of a decade ago unfaced in the shining sugary lights of a – admittedly – pretty pristine orchestral production.
Time I takes on some steam later with elaborate sub-themes and patterns on full display. With – finally – Jari Mäenpää letting loose some metal rasps and majestic clears on a sometimes multi-layered vocal performance (Sons of Winter and Stars). Oh, and the masterclass in group chanting2 constantly reminded me of Blind Guardian (Land of Snow and Sorrow). All of that comes with a thunderous yet refined orchestration and a riffing spree worthy of Dimmu Borgir. The way Wintersun integrated classical instruments in the modern ways of metal warfare is simply astonishing, too.
So, what’s there not to love on Time I? A lot of effort went into the production sure. But yet again, the record is prone to repetitions. And whilst this is hypnotic and uncannily pleasant to a point, endlessly revisiting a sub-theme ain’t really what the metal doc ordered. In fact, if you don’t have full immersion that allows the 200+ tracks to go submerge your metal brain, other minds may start to wander. And that’s a pity, there’s a ton of stuff happening on this record at any given time. I’d say almost too much.
But finally, even with hindsight 20/20, Time I is an impressive album full of grandiose atmosphere and majestic themes that roll in against the background of pretty splendid guitar work. Oh, and did you hear it? Sometimes the electric guitars converse (or compete) with violins, straight in your face. All of that comes with vocals that are sometimes harsh and sometimes crooning away. And always lurks a powerful chorus or two just around the corner. The RMR crew was often riveted to its earphones and – at times – almost bored with those endless repeat loops.
So, do we have a mixed bag yet again? Kind of. But all of those negatives won’t hide the fact that this is a very good record still. The production may be overloaded, but the outcome will blow you away. So, should the folks over at the RMR office tower also get in line to wait for this hazy mirage called Time II? Quite so. If the tapes still exist, that is.
Ed’s note: Fancy more blasts from the past? We got you covered.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Nuclear Blast | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 19 October 2012