Customer Reviews

Verisakeet

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK people let's get this straight: Moonsorrow is not pure folk metal. Moonsorrow is not pure black metal. It is a perfect combination of both! If you are a black metal purist, if you think mouth harps and other strange instruments don't belong in metal, then Moonsorrow is not for you. If you only like 'lighter' metal and can't stand black metal screeching, then Moonsorrow is not for you. In fact, if you don't enjoy the type of metal this is, a FUSION of black and folk, then what are you doing reviewing a band of this genre?

For those who are open-minded and enjoy many different types of metal (and can stand harsh vocals) then I totally recommend this! For those who are already familiar with Moonsorrow and like their previous albums - get this, it is just as good! (and NICE-n-LONG!)

For those who are not familiar with Moonsorrow - give this a try if you enjoy bands like Finntroll, Ensiferum, Asmegin, Windir... (but you should definately enjoy mouth harps and black metal screeching, for there is plenty of both!)

Moonsorrow is the logical extension of Bathory's grand pioneering works of "Viking metal", and they take it beyond epic and beyond awesome. Reaching from their chosen idiom into a vast well of resources, from traditional Finnish folk themes to a broad range of instruments, Moonsorrow achieves its first truly great album with _Verisakeet_, their fourth album. It clocks in with only five songs totaling about 71 minutes, and one of those songs is little more than a brief fireside acoustic diddy. Meaning the rest of the album is comprised of awesomely epic tracks nearly 15 minutes long on average that sweep the gamut of arrangement, tempo, and melodic flavor. Moonsorrow takes its time navigating meticulously orchestrated themes, which recur on instruments as diverse as the expected electric guitars as well as things like acoustic guitars, mouth harp, recorder, accordion, tin whistle, fiddle, jouhikko, and kantele, developed in turn by alternating fiery electric Viking death marches, dramatic faux-orchestral arrangements, and mood-setting acoustic quietude. Vocal chorales dominate when not split up by bloody screaming. These epic tracks will have you obsessed from majestic overtures to glorious, fields-aflame banner-waving finales, and all the serene nature sounds nicely speckled in between. HIGHly recommended.

This album, from start to finish is an absolute masterpiece. For those who are into Wintersun, Windir, and others, should get this. This album, for the most part, would fit in to the folk metal/viking metal genre, though it is viking black metal in its essence with bits of folk thrown in for atmospheric effect. I say that it is folk metal mainly due to the mid paced tempos and interludes of acordeon, mouth harp, flute, fiddle, and acoustic guitars. Along with these elements are sounds of serene forests, birds chirping, wind blowing, and swords clashing in viking battle amidst burning fires. These elements are what stand out in my mind and set this album apart from the rest of the viking metal genre. There is truly an atmosphere throughout the entire album; it changes from intense, to epic, to melodramatic, to peaceful, and metamorphoses from one to the other and back throughout.

There are 5 songs in about 70 minutes, but you would not realize this due to the variation and changes in each song. This album NEVER gets boring, or leaves me wanting to skip to the next track. I am simply absorbed from start to finish. There are your basic parts of metal, viking metal, and black metal in each song structure and guitar, bass, and drums, and as always the vocals are harsh, growled, screamed, and also the occasional clean vox is added to heighten the epic intenseness of each song. The musicianship is top notch, and the music itself is thoughtfully composed and amazingly worked over to perfection. I have heard many viking metal bands, but never have I come across a band such as Moonsorrow. This album continues to amaze me and I notice new elements I hadn't before with each listen. Do yourself a favor and get this album. You will not be dissapointed.

This record, probably my favorite of all Moonsorrow records (although it's a tie with V : Havitetty) is probably the most original, emotional, and majestic pieces of music to exist, especially in the metal genre. But, in the music world entirely, this is a rare and amazing contribution. It blends together so many styles and sounds, it is heavy, with crushing riffs and screaming vocals, but quiet and beautiful, melodic interludes and harmonic choruses. I'm thoroughly impressed with this record, and if you're shopping for Moonsorrow records, you probably already know them, as they are something to be sought out more than found, it seems. So, you'll be surprised, in a good way, and certainly won't be disappointed with this release. But, I came looking, a few years ago, and found something that has constantly surprised me again and again with every release. Cheers, Moonsorrow. PS - I saw them this May, and they were incredible, as well as playing Pimea, in it's entirety! Though, off this one, Jotunheim is my favorite.

Great Album. I love all the tunes, from beginning to end. Pimea is an especially cool song.

moonsorrow did it again with wonderfull epic viking black metal at its best. you cant beat this when it comes to epic viking black metal

The epic folk/ black metal band Moonsorrow are back with another epic album. With every release they seem to becoming more and more epic sounding which makes them sound like the metal version of Richard Wagner but better. There are only 5 songs but they are each pretty long. The first 3 songs are 14 minutes long the 4th one is 19 and a half minutes long and the last one is 8 and a half minutes long. However they throw in a lot of nature sounds like birds that eat up a lot of time like the last 5 minutes of the last song is only birds and a crackling fire.

The cd gets things started with a song that pumps you up and gets you ready for whats to come. From there the songs become longer and more epic with nice little folk touches in between. The last few minutes of each song is acoustic which leads into the next song. The last song is a pure folk song with a chorus singing. They also added the recorder to their list of folk instruments which kindda give it a Celtic feel. It can usually be heard during the acoustic parts at the end of the songs.

Some things I didn't like were some of the vocals on songs 3 and 4 because he does this really annoying shrieking that just gets on my nerves. Now I tend to like his harsh vocals but I just can't stand or overlook the annoying shrieking because it just seem to ruin the parts of the songs that they're in. Also in the booklette they have the Finnish lyrics but they didn't add the english translations like they usually do but that's not really much of a problem.

I would have to say that in my opinion this isn't their most memorible cd but it's still very good and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Moonsorrow or epic viking folk metal but if you're new to the band then I would suggest that you try one or all of their 3 earlier cds first before listening to this one.

Alright, I admit it! I was always going to struggle to like this album. There are certain bands that play a style of metal that really grates on my senses. Finntroll for example play an absolutely ludicrous sounding polka infused black metal that sounds so happy that it makes me want to vomit. There are many fans that praise Finntroll as the best thing they've ever heard. Moonsorrow are not as ridiculous to me as Finntroll, but they do have similarities that I cannot ignore. In my opinion, the best way to ruin decent sounding atmospheric black metal is to throw some sound effects that sound exactly like this...boing. Now I'm certain that the boing...boing...boing that goes on in the background of some of Moonsorrow's work is there for a reason. I just have no idea what it is. Maybe it's a cultural thing or it has some Viking rationale that I'm unaware of.

Moving on, this is the bands 4th full-length album and all of the albums have received very good reviews, so I've made sure that I have given "Verisakeet" a fair amount of attention out of duty, more than general interest. After quite a few listens, I've decided that this is not bad, but I'm still not convinced of Moonsorrow. It is epic and grand at times, and has some aggressive sections that I enjoy quite a bit, but I just can't get into the little flourishes that come up all the time, with what sounds like an accordian and a fiddle, and some horribly fluffy marshmallow guitar sections. The point is, Satyricon, Ulver and Borknagar did nature-based aggressive black metal much better and Bathory did the Viking influenced epic black metal better also. I find myself losing interest halfway through the overlong (70 minutes) album.

But let's face it. If you're into this type of thing, then no doubt you'll think I'm an idiot and call "Verisakeet" album of the year, and that's the beauty of opinion. This is not for me! I can see its finer qualities, but it just doesn't do it for me the way that Primordial's latest masterpiece does. No-one can say I didn't give it a shot!

Alright, I know you don't care. But, you should read on for this may help. Moonsorrow has released an album that contains some tremendous Viking/Metal. The music seems to come over you in waves. This music is truly epic. However, IMO, the vocalist should be torched on a Viking funeral pyre. This guy is a shreeching maniac who takes this style way over the top. He could have used some restraint and still accomplished the same affect. If you are indifferent to harsh vocals, you need to rethink a purchase of this album. I assure you he sounds as if he is being impaled by a Viking sword. And if he isn't maybe someone should do us a favor and put him out of his misery.