Review by SilentScream213 for Moonsorrow - Voimasta ja kunniasta (2001)

Moonsorrow was a band I had extremely high hopes for after hearing their “Tämä Ikuinen Talvi” demo. The word “demo” does a terrible disservice to this release because not only is it long enough to be a full length album, it’s also so well written, played, and composed that it could be a band at the top of their career. The production isn’t bad either!

By their sophomore album, Moonsorrow had improved in many areas. The production, of course, was at a polished, professional level, and the mix sounds perfect here. The dense yet restrained orchestration is fantastic, the layering of numerous folk elements adds intrigue and aesthetic. The playing is of course more precise. The progression of songs also feels very strong, often featuring well-earned rests and crescendos.

The issue is, in my opinion, they regressed in terms of capturing mood. Or perhaps, it’s better to say, they moved away from the kind of mood I personally prefer. While their demo had a darker, more somber feel (as a band called Moonsorrow should) they had since gone towards the direction of more epic, uplifting, and unfortunately jovial sounding tracks. At the worst of times, the instruments and melodies can sound silly even.

I mean, the 3rd track “Kylän Päässä” prominently features boing boing noises, sounding like a goofy cartoon medieval villain’s theme song.

“Hiidenpelto” is where they get back into the territory I like. That is, dark! Sorrowful! Yet still retaining that incredibly epic, folky feel of grand medieval adventure. This is what I had hoped they would evolve into. The song has a fantastic mix of slower, doomy sections and aggressive energy, and features an instrumental outro with a build up and crescendo that is just sublime. Probably the best song the band has ever wrote.

And then the next song opens up with more boing boing noises. Despite how well written and layered this music is, there’s the simple fact that I just cannot take some of this stuff seriously. Aside from the egregious “instrument” choices, there are melodies here and there that just sound too… playful. Not what I want from a band called “Moonsorrow.”

That’s not to say the album isn’t great, because it is. There are only so many points you can lose when music is this perfectly executed. The sheer force of these tracks is awe-inspiring, the way they totally encompass you in their atmosphere and take you to another time and place. Undeniably amazing album. I just wish they kept their darker sound… in which case, this could have been a masterpiece.