This is quite possibly the best Atmospheric Death Metal Album to date! It could be classified as many different styles: Melodic Death, Progressive or Doom. But the style is errelevent. All that matters is how terrific this album is! All of the lyrics are based on the Finnish National Pole Book, "Kalevala", as is the bands following release, "Elegy".
The intro track, "Thousand Lakes", is simply a piano instrumental, which delivers a soothing sound of Lakes and Legends. Very peaceful and comforting.
The following track, "Into Hiding", is quite possibly the best on the album. It has an average paced tempo, with a real heavy guitar riff that drives the song forward. The guitar melodies in this song, as well as many others, are so enjoyable and meaningful, you loose care in everything else. Ville Tumoi's clean vocals are a great switch off with Tomi's death sounding vox, and they help out the songs in large quantaties.
Next up, "The Castaway", is another song at the top of this album. It's very repetative at the beginning, up to about 1:40, but despite the repetivness, it's fun to listen too. A great riff! The chorus of this song is the highlight. The keys featured in it follow the guitar chords, and it's so exact and fullfilling. Great Track!
"First Doom" is one of my less liked tracks. It just doesn't sound much like everything else on this album. It eventually speeds up, but neverless, it doesn't get much better.
"Black Winter Day" is basically the pinacle of this album. It begins with a wicked key chord, and the keys in this song are the focal point of it. Some great work done by Kasper. Ville's Clean vocals are again a nice switch-off from Tomi's. Great Song!
Following up, "Drowned Maid", speeds up the tempo for the album. One guitar plays a heavy riff, as the other plays a nice melody (like in most songs). Not much more to say about this one, but it's a great one to listen too!
"In the Beginning" is another fairly weak track. Nothing really special happens here. Kind of boring to listen too, and it just combines components of previous tracks.
"Forgotten Sunrise" is an interesting number. The very beginning drum beat brings hope for another fast paced song, but instantly after it slows it's tempo, and makes it another slow track. There's many different sections to this song, like it's a bunch of songs combined together. Good overall.
"To Father's Cabin" is one of my favorites on the album. The keys are wonderful (like in every song) and I love the riff. At about the minute mark, there's a clean speech section by Ville, which could've been improved on. But when it ends, after about 40 seconds, the song becomes wicked again. Good track.
The last track on the album, "Magic and Mayhem", is another amazing piece. There's two parts to it: The very simple, soothing keys section, and the ***ing wicked heavy faster paced section, where the keys are still a big element. Love this song!
This album is a must have for all you dudes who want creative/artsy music. Even if you don't like it creative, try this out. I almost *** myslef during my first time with this album. Another cool thing is the image the lyrcis put in your mind. You can sit back and read the lyrics, even when not listening to the music, and think of what's going on in the song. The Artwork in this album is phenomenal too! Highlight tracks are: "Into Hiding", "The Castaway", "Black Winter Day", "Drowned Maid", and "Magic and Mayhem"
*Tales From the Thousand Lakes was also re-release with the Black Winter Day EP later on*
Original Review written for http://www.entertainment-forums.tk
