Phonebook Eater 6/10

"Tama Ikuinen Talvi" is a decent demo that, although still having some flaws, is a promising piece of music for Moonsorrow.

Finnish Folk Metallers Moonsorrow, at the time of their first demo, had already released the extremely lo-fi, twenty minute EP “Metsa”, which wasn’t exactly one that promised the immense epicness of the future albums. This 1999 release, though, is a big improvement and it goes towards a direction that is much more accessible, haunting, and well developed.

For starters, the production is much less lo-fi than the first EP, even though still maintaining the very rough sound typical of Black Metal recordings. The music in fact for the most part of that kind of Metal: however, there are instant sparks of Folk Metal, and more than a few moments of Symphonic ones, thanks to the glossy, enigmatic, and quite atmospheric keyboards, much more dominant than in “Metsa”, where they were extremely subtle. Acoustic moments aren’t really present, but the orchestral/ambient/sample-based ones have a few spots here and there, especially in the beginning and the end of the demo.

Although not quite at the levels of the next albums, this demo has some of the epic, triumphant atmospheres typical of the band, however they never feel accomplished nor developed enough. Instead, there is a stronger Symphonic Black Metal influence, because of the mentioned keyboards: the atmospheres they create are desolate, at times anxious too. Other times, they sound like they’re completely drowned in the production, fusing with the big melting pot of the rhythm section and the guitars. This kind of result comes out in several moments of the demo, and when it comes around, it feels like a snowstorm is surrounding the listener, disorienting him completely.

Moonsorrow start off with the best song off this album, “Taistelu Pohjolasta”, a sort of a mini suite that has as an intro an Ambient/ Orchestral section, until it blasts into a dense, enigmatic track with more than a few fiercely fast moments. The second track is another huge surprise, being the track that more than any of these five songs brings up a lot of Folk Metal passages, all of them extremely memorable (although still smothered in the particularly rough production). Starting from the third track however things start to go downhill in terms of variety and innovation, and even more so for the fourth track, where the melodies are very flat and unexciting. The closing piece is a short epilogue in the same vein as the opening minutes of the album.

Overall this first demo, called “Tama Ikuinen Talvi”, is an interesting start for Moonsorrow, a piece of work that still has some flaws, but, in the end, it’s really only a demo, so no extraordinary things can be expected, especially when a band is at such an early stage.