Wintersun is the brainchild of Jari Mäenpää and was the reason he departed Ensiferum after the completion of Iron. The band fired him when he asked for time off to record the album because it coincided with their 2004 tour which was meant to support Iron. Jari was then free to focus his energy on the self titled album and began recording. What makes this album so incredible is that the vocals, guitars, bass, and keyboards were comprised solely by Jari (the drums being performed by a session drummer). Jari is an ever evolving musician and one of the biggest shining stars of the metal scene because of his sheer talent and his ability to grow. Only until after the albums release would the band finally find a drummer (Kai Hahto of Rotten Sound), bassist ( Jukka Koskinen of Norther) and guitarist (Oliver Fokin, drummer of Ensiferum later to be replaced by Teemu Mäntysaari of Imperanon) to complete it's lineup. The look for a keyboardist would prove ineffective as to date they currently still don't have a permanent keyboardist. With the success of the first two Ensiferum albums Jari's confidence shines as he takes more risks musically which send the listener on a majestic journey through time and space. The music keeps a strong, fast and steady pace which has great effect, especially with the melodies. The album has a great flow to it in respect that the songs themselves while being very complex carry a very simple listening experience. It's hard with the complexity of the music to classify this in any genre as it incorporates power metal, folk metal, melodic death metal, neo-classical metal, black metal, and viking metal. Currently the followup album, Time has seen countless production woes. The last update the band has given was that they would be playing two live shows to fulfill there terms of an agreement with Nuclear Blast records for new computer hardware. I'm optimistic that Time will be everything I thought it could be and hopefully a we shall see a winter 2011 release.
Wintersun is the brainchild of Jari Mäenpää and was the reason he departed Ensiferum after the completion of Iron. The band fired him when he asked for time off to record the album because it coincided with their 2004 tour which was meant to support Iron. Jari was then free to focus his energy on the self titled album and began recording. What makes this album so incredible is that the vocals, guitars, bass, and keyboards were comprised solely by Jari (the drums being performed by a session drummer). Jari is an ever evolving musician and one of the biggest shining stars of the metal scene because of his sheer talent and his ability to grow. Only until after the albums release would the band finally find a drummer (Kai Hahto of Rotten Sound), bassist ( Jukka Koskinen of Norther) and guitarist (Oliver Fokin, drummer of Ensiferum later to be replaced by Teemu Mäntysaari of Imperanon) to complete it's lineup. The look for a keyboardist would prove ineffective as to date they currently still don't have a permanent keyboardist. With the success of the first two Ensiferum albums Jari's confidence shines as he takes more risks musically which send the listener on a majestic journey through time and space. The music keeps a strong, fast and steady pace which has great effect, especially with the melodies. The album has a great flow to it in respect that the songs themselves while being very complex carry a very simple listening experience. It's hard with the complexity of the music to classify this in any genre as it incorporates power metal, folk metal, melodic death metal, neo-classical metal, black metal, and viking metal. Currently the followup album, Time has seen countless production woes. The last update the band has given was that they would be playing two live shows to fulfill there terms of an agreement with Nuclear Blast records for new computer hardware. I'm optimistic that Time will be everything I thought it could be and hopefully a we shall see a winter 2011 release.