Wintersun – Time II

The famous, and as some might say, infamous, “Time 2” is finally here. Or rather, “Time” is finally here. Along with the recent release of Wintersun‘s long-awaited 4th studio record, a final remix and remaster of the first “Time” album from 2012, was also released, bringing the original concept together into one cohesive flow of music. Many will view this as a double album, some as two separate albums, but for me, it only makes sense to look at the entire work as one. For the sake of this review, when it comes to composition, I will focus on the new songs, but in the conceptual analysis and interpretation, I will be looking at the full picture. Before diving in, I will acknowledge that I am subjective, because these songs, both old and new, have come to influence me deeply in my personal life. Also, while I am aware of the controversies and discussions regarding the release, this review will be focusing fully on the experience of the music itself. With that out of the way, let’s dive in.

For starters, I feel like any genre labels are irrelevant. Though Wintersun’s roots come from Scandinavian melodic death and folk metal, I feel like that influence remains an echo in the broader kaleidoscope of sounds and emotions that come together throughout the album. Stylistic tendencies ranging from death, black and doom metal to power metal, Asian folk influences and soundtrack are all undeniable. None of them is in full focus. They are all shards of a greater whole. Filtered through abstract but emotionally charged lyrics and wild imagery in the booklet, the music becomes a vehicle for imaginative escapism, taking the listener into a both sensory and symbolic trance, which, despite its otherworldly aesthetics, becomes brutally and viscerally real by the time the album is over.

The sheer quantity of layers coming together makes the full scope of the work impossible to grasp at once. I noticed that, as I was trying to pick the layers apart when listening, I just couldn’t keep up with everything that was happening. Both the first and 2nd episode of “Time” begin softly, with an intro that gradually adds layers of digital instruments, building the full orchestral scope that will be accompanying the band’s performances throughout the record. I feel like that orchestral element alone is so rich and vibrant that it could stand as a reference for production quality and sublime compositional layering. But that is before the band even starts performing. When everything is stacked, you have to choose your focus. This means that you can return to the album many times and hear something else each time, depending on what you pay attention to. The true value of this mix is not only in the sheer power of the sound, but in the fact that it somehow made space for all the instruments to be clearly audible and distinguishable, and to create a unique sensory experience with the sound textures. Now let’s look at the songs.

Wintersun – The Way of the Fire

When ‘The Way of the Fire’ takes off, it feels like you’re flying. The drum delivery is hyperactive beyond measure, but solid and grounded in intuitive patterns that the listener can easily be gripped by. The barrage of blast beats and double bass can be interpreted as power metal, or as death metal, or as whatever genre you may choose that uses these techniques, but at the core of it, it is pure energy. The melodic choices and rhythmic patterns on guitar are designed to blend together swirling spontaneity and expansive grandeur, in an attempt to be as suggestive of fire as possible. The solos especially feel like flames, layering furious sweeps and shreds on two guitars, running unpredictably from one place to another. Wintersun’s ‘Winter Madness’ solo from the debut record has been a fan favourite for decades, but I think the lead sections in this song will take that crown away.

From the bombastic opener, we see a gradual descent as the album progresses. ‘One With The Shadows’ is slower, more spaced out and carries a sorrowful tone in the vocals. The tone then becomes desperate and wailing in ‘Storm’, funerary by the end of that song, and then serene and peaceful in ‘Silver Leaves’. Each song creates a different emotional landscape, and feels like the natural next phase, following from its predecessor. Production, composition, choice of sound textures and imagery in the lyrics and booklet, all come together to make the journey as authentic and tangible as possible. ‘One With The Shadows’ focuses on the motif of the fading sun and associates it with change and the “fleeting moment”. The thunderous drums and powerful chords seem to grasp the darkening glow of sunset and the shrieking in the vocals becomes the coldness that follows. The guitar leads have a bittersweet melancholic sense of the awareness that the present warmth is dying, and seem to reflect that fragility.

‘Ominous Clouds’, the intro to ‘Storm’, is my favourite clean guitar section in Wintersun. It is not only insane from a technical standpoint, but it slowly builds a sense of unease and settles into a tone of doom and gloom. Combined with a mixture of rain and thunder effects, it darkens the soundcape and sets the stage for suffering. ‘Storm’ must be the best artistic abstraction of powerlessness, loss and grief, that I have ever witnessed. It starts off with anger and hectic composition, and the vocals gradually turn from screaming to wailing. Swirling descents on guitars appear like whipping winds and falling rain, while the lyrics describe the loss of love, ripped away with no ability to stop it. The storm becomes a symbol for the forces outside of our control, that can take away what we hold dear, without a moment’s notice. All that’s left, is to accept.

Wintersun – Storm

“Silver Leaves” is an unspeakably strange concoction of emotions. Coming after the punishing battery that unfolded in the previous song, it maintains the tone of loss, but wraps it in a sense of peace and serenity. The lead melodies and vocal lines build the entire song, as a growing ensemble of emotion, contained in a sense of contemplation. The Finnish verse at the end seems to wrap everything together and seal a reluctant yet peaceful conclusion. The last sound to fade, is the wind and static that opened “Time I”, suggesting a cycle.

In the overarching theme of “Time”, each song and the associated images seem to portray an involuntary change. While the first episode of “Time” built a world of fantasy and mystical imagery, the second half seems to deconstruct it into separate colours, elements and emotions, and tear it apart until there’s nothing left. The fire that burned grows dim, engulfed by clouds, then drowned by the storm, and buried in the ‘Silver Leaves’.

When everything is concluded, the motif of time mutates into an idea that will remain with the listener. Whether you want to think of it as the inevitability of change, the unpredictability of the world, the finitude and fragility of human existence, or just a powerful depiction of adventure, loss, grief, and acceptance, “Time” tends to make one aware of their reality and bring the most significant aspects of our lives in focus. “The more we wait, the more we regret, so please don’t wait anymore!”. So where is your focus?
Track List:

1. Fields of Snow (04:05)
2. The Way of the Fire (10:08)
3. One With The Shadows (06:19)
4. Ominous Clouds (02:22)
5. Storm (12:15)
6. Silver Leaves (13:31)