Customer Reviews

V. Havitetty

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With every album Moonsorrow becomes more epic sounding with fewer but longer songs and with this album you get 2 songs each about half an hour long. They each start out with a crackiling fire then they slowly start playing very lightly trying to create the mood and from there the metal part kicks in and a long the way there are folkish elements through out and then it ends as softly as it began.

This album may have some slower parts to it but it never gets old or boring but it instead creates the perfect mood for the album which is something Moonsorrow is very good at creating. Also the songs never get repetitive despite their lengths, in fact I think that they could have cut this album up into a bunch of different tracks if they wanted to but instead they just wanted to tell one long great epic story which is what they did quite nicely.This isn't the type of cd that you casually listen to because it is so long and epic but it is the type that you devote and hour to because you become so submerged into it and you don't want to stop listening to it until it's over. The lyrics and english translations are included in the the cd booklette.

This is an amazing epic cd full of power and mood which never gets boring which I true otherwise I wouldn't be typing it. I would recommend this album to Moonsorrow fans and to fans of epic Viking metal or just plain ol' epic music in general even if you don't care for harsh vocals. If you are new to Moonsorrow then I would suggest that you start out with their earlier albums first.

Well that's it for my review so I hope you had a good time reading it as much as I did typing it so I got to go now and you have a Moonsorrow cd to buy.

Well well well, how does one begin to review an EPIC of these proportions... Let me start by saying this, Moonsorrow is one of my top 3 favorite bands, so this review is probably a bit biased. I will do my best to describe it objectively though... :)

Those who know Moonsorrow have already probably noticed that over the course of their albums, their songs have been getting longer, more epic, less "catchy", with much more time given to stretched-out beginnings and endings. Well, with only 2 tracks for the whole album, you might guess that this record is a definite continuation of that trend! Each of these 2 tracks is almost half an hour long. V. Havitetty (full name Viides Luku - Havitetty which means Chapter 5: Ravaged) very much continues where Verisakeet left off.

The build-up and fading away of each track are long; and very effective. The music starts very simply, with a sort of fire-crackling sound, and over time more sound get layered on until the music just EXPLODES with fierceness and complexity! What is interesting also is that at its most dense, this music is very bass-heavy; the first time I was listening to this CD was in my car, and the bass was making my entire car vibrate even though I did not even have the volume up all that high!

It's hard to describe anything more about this CD. You just have to hear it; no, you have to EXPERIENCE it. This is NOT an easy, light listen. After hearing it the first time, I didn't know what to make of it. It took me several listens to begin to understand it! Those 2 tracks are real epics in every sense of the word; they tell stories, with a beginning and an ending. It's very emotional. I can't heap enough praise on this record, I think it is a work of genius worthy of great respect!

The being said, I should also mention (as is usually the case with these types of records) that it's not for everyone. If you are new to Moonsorrow, don't start with this one; go for Suden Uni, or Voimasta ja Kunniasta, or Kivenkantaja instead as an introduction to the band. If you are already familiar with Moonsorrow I can say this: if you love Verisakeet, you will probably love this. If you didn't like the direction they took with Verisakeet, then you probably would not like this. What else can I say about it... The cover art is beautiful!! The insert also, thankfully, includes English translations of the lyrics. I've noticed from other Moonsorrow reviews that some don't like Ville Sorvali's heart-rending vocals especially on Verisakeet; I suppose it is an acquired taste, but it is a taste acquired by many including myself ;) The vocals on V. Havitetty are in that vein so be warned! Otherwise... enjoy ;)

Anyone that listens to this CD will tell you that, in the end, it cannot really be described, it must be experienced. This album is not for everyone as you might be able to tell from there being only 2 tracks (each around a half hour long), but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't give it a chance. It requires time, patience, an attentive ear, and an open mind, but if you manage to pull yourself away from this crazy world for an hour or so, and commit yourself to this CD from beginning to end, you may just find yourself wide-eyed, out of breath, and searching your room with your eyes, looking for something you cannot see because it isn't there. It's in the sounds, from the crackling fire and soft background harmonics into the harp-like intro guitars, the thick bass, the precise exciting drums, and a continuous, relentless build up of musical elements.

The songs build and build, and break, and re-build, and smooth out, and get heavy, and build and build until you almost can't take it anymore. Till you wonder what else can be layered, what else can be morphed or added to raise the music any higher, and then it happens, right before your ears. With alternations between the fast and the slow, the hard and the serene, the impassioned and the hopeless, and enough musical talent and maturity to fill the grand canyon, V: Havietetty (Chapter V, Ravaged) is an emotional roller coaster, a powerfully near and exceptionally relateable journey through a diverse musical landscape that if you take the time to listen, will grasp you from the first strums of the guitar straight through to the heart-wrenching, tear-educing finale.

Again, this is not for everyone. Some may be bored before the album ever really gets going, some may listen to every note and remain unimpressed. But what I'm asking you to do is not to listen with your technical ear, or with your metal ear, or even with your musical ear, but simply to listen, and let Moonsorrow take you. Grab yourself a good pair of headphones, get into your favorite relaxation pose, and prepare to climb from a fire-pit at the base of the tallest mountain, and end at it's peak, arms outstretched, with a smile on your face and the knowledge that you may very well never look at metal, or even music, the same way again.

eh...you guys are reviewing the wrong CD.This is barathrum's Saatana release here not moonsorrow.I cant really say much here,mostly because there is not very much that can be said.This is all been done be for by many other bands,nothing new or innovative here,but its not bad,it is good Black Metal and worthy of a listen.