Moonsorrow - Tulimyrsky EP

Published May 16 2008

*=Staff's pick	Tulimyrsky* For Whom The Bell Tolls Taistelu Pohjolasta (2008) Hvergelmir (2008) Back To North*

Genre	Epic Pagan Metal	Ville Sorvali	Vocals
Tracks	5	Henri Sorvali	Guitar
Runningtime	68 Min.	Mitja Harvilahti	Guitar
Label	Spikefarm Records	Ville Sorvali	Bass
Release	30 April 2008	Marko Tarvonen	Drums
Country	Finland	Markus Eurén	Keyboard
Similar artists	---

Monsorrow is already known as a band with epic proportions to say the least. Their latest effort V:Hävitetty for instance included only two songs clocking in at 30 minutes a piece. But with this "EP" they take the word extreme into another dimension since the length of the disc in total is 68 minutes! A justified question to ask is why this is labelled as an EP with a running time that surpasses most full length albums. But when you take in consideration that the title track is the only new song on this output it's quite more understandable why they made this decision.

The EP opens with the most interesting track of this release in the shape of the 30 minute title track. This composition captures the essence of Moonsorrow from the very beginning of their career to where they are now. After a narrated intro the fury is unleashed with swarming riffs, hammering blast beats and dedicated growls from Ville Sorvali. This is Moonsorrow's reinvention of Nordic black metal and the chorus of this section is nothing but brilliant and sticks instantly. After a while the aggressiveness is toned down in favour of progressive and epic song structures with touches of folklore. This is more in the vein of the Moonsorrow we have came to know from their latest albums. Even if Tulimyrsky is a long track it certainly doesn't feel that way since it's enormously dynamic with a lot of changes regarding tempo, melody and arrangements and the diversity makes it interesting all along the way. In short - a fantastic composition!

This EP also offers a couple of covers and re-recorded songs. Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls has been "Moonsorrowed" in a splendid way without losing the trademark of the original. The vocals on this track however feels a bit strained and the feeling that Ville Sorvali isn't too comfortable singing this way is ever so present. The other cover is a version of Back To North, originally written by the Swedish death metallers Merciless, and this one is a real gem and the second highlight of the record. Taistelu Pohjolasta and Hvergelmir are two old demo songs that have been re-recorded but they don't impress me at all. The song structures of these two songs are obviously quite old school and personally I prefer the dynamic Moonsorrow of today much more.

Tulimyrsky is one of, if not THE, best tracks ever written by Moonsorrow and solely makes the disc worth buying. The cover songs are much more than interesting as it usually tends to be with covers and in my opinion they should have skipped the re-recorded songs since they are holding the final grade down a bit, but I have a feeling that the old schoolers won't agree with me on that one…