Review Summary: Although not the same as the self titled masterpiece, Time I is a masterpiece in it's own right showcasing fantastic production values and very well written lyrics and instrumentals. Talent is forecast exclusively in this epic tale of Time.
I'll be Honest, in 2009 I was an impressionable teenager, I used to listen to such music as green day, The offspring, and other assorted bubble gum pop punk and rock. In September I was Sent on a musical journey when a friend of mine recommended I try Wintersun. I did so and it struck a cord with me, after which I tried to find as many metal bands as i could and expand my metal taste as far as I could, I was free, It was great to be alive.
However though this was 2009 I had a lot of metal and angst to show and i love heavy metal for these reasons. Since then I have grown a lot more attracted to symphonic and classical music. Back in July of 2012 I heard Time was finally going to be released, for personal reasons I was excited. I paid attention to all the news being reported about Wintersun.
When I finally heard it I was very very impressed with the album. Although no s/t album it was still ground breaking in it's execution. Though some fans have been painstakingly waiting for this for around 8 years I've merely been in the game since 2009, my expectations weren't high as much as they were excited to hear new wintersun. I was blown away and in tears when I heard sons of winter and stars. The album is not as riff and guitar centric like the self titled was yet it makes up for it in it's symphonic and melodic Japanese folk influences. Being a fan of Japanese anime I knew full well what Japanese melodies were, I was terrified they would be executed badly on this album. They were executed very well.
When you start the album you hear Japanese influences very prevalent, it's a beautiful introduction track which fades very nicely into sons of winter and stars. Sons of winter and stars is split into multiple parts (a lot like Jesus of suburbia in American Idiot was). You could almost say it's Multiple songs in one. The ending chorus and singing along with the very very well produced symphonic pieces and instrumentals make this song an exquisite piece of beauty. When it ends we are thrust into my favorite track on the album, a slower song titled Land of snow and sorrow. Though slower it is much more melodic and gives you the feeling of atmosphere rarely seen in music. This may have a lot to do with the fact I listened to it whilst standing by a cliff looking east toward the Atlantic Ocean. The final piece of the album is darkness and frost which is an intro to Time.
Time is to me the weakest track on the album, although still a fantastic artistic masterpiece it is merely less of importance then the other two epic songs of the album.
You can tell that it ends abruptly that they weren't originally planning to divide the album in 2.
If you go into this album not expecting Wintersun, if you empty your mind and let your spirit and soul go you too can embrace the stars.
