After 12 years since the release of 'Time I', the Finnish heavy metal quartet, led by Jari Mäenpää, announces their new album 'Time II'. This long-awaited work will be released on August 30 by Nuclear Blast Records.
Jari Mäenpää comments: “TIME II is an epic journey from light to darkness and back to light, exploring the universe and energy. The album contrasts dark, stormy landscapes with calm, beautiful gardens of cherry blossoms, as well as snowy, misty mountains that will take your breath away. It features songs with furious speed of drums, guitars and bass, as well as slower, melodic tracks with a magical exotic influence. The album features massive orchestrations and choruses, peppered with ancient world instruments and twinkling synths. It features Jari's limpid, elevated singing, contrasted with his aggressive style. It is a highly detailed and complex album, where you will discover new elements with each listen.”
Time II includes six epic tracks with individual stories. However, the themes are all interconnected, and this red line gives the album a conceptual feel. Upon entering the universe of Wintersun, we are brought into the right environment with the atmospheric and Eastern-influenced intro, “Fields Of Snow”. The first real track on Wintersun is the metallic sheen of “The Way Of The Fire”, with the fire representing the energy of the stars as source of life, which is also connected to time. On “One With The Shadows”, we experience the magic of an opulence of vocal harmonies, while orchestral arrangements emerge as ornamental movements. Jari has a remarkable insight into the lyrics: “Now I think it's about regret. You live in the shadows while you do not transform regret into something positive to continue with your life. takes us to the next exploratory adventure, “Storm”.
“This is the heaviest and darkest track on the album,” explains Jari.“It even has influences from classical music, more precisely from Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons'; furious guitars and heavy drums prevail, while the tone remains chaotic.” The last track, “Silver Leaves”, with a variety of harmonious sounds, is partially performed with traditional Chinese instruments such as the “erhu” (similar to the violin or rebec). Ending on a positive note, the song tells the story of finding a quiet place and mood after the storm, being satisfied with your life and appreciating the nature around you, as reflected in the cherry orchard on the cover. . The art was created by Cameron Gray, while the booklet was designed by Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák (pages of lyrics, credits and acknowledgments) and Onni Wiljami Kinnunen (band photo pages).
