Voimasta Ja Kunniasta - Moonsorrow

*****

I've always heard the word 'epic' used frequently in music to describe a band or album but i never gave it much thought; that abruptly changed when i first heard Voimasta Ja Kunniasta by Moonsorrow. Personally i think the definition of epic does not even begin to describe the sheer greatness of this band's stellar blackened viking/folk metal release.
Voimasta Ja Kunniasta which basically means ' of strength and honor' starts off with a beautiful piano intro called 'Tyven', very short and sweet and instantly sets the mood of the album. Immediately after this is an immensely catchy battle hymn called 'Sankariha' which kicks off with perfectly executed raspy scream. Amazing guitars of great harsh vocals make this a most enjoyable listening experience. It should be noted however that this song is the template for the following songs, so if you don't like it you may not like the album at all. Now comes the more folk sounding 'Kylan Paassa', again great guitars and the signature scream. Following is 'Hidenpelto including Hapean Haijaiset Vedet' which one of my favorites on the album it is a much slower and darker piece than the previous tracks, here some good drumming and guitar work(some acoustic as well) augment perfectly with the harsh vocals and the background keyboard effect that adds a lot of the ambience throughout the entire album. Some great riffs can be found here, i especially like the one that starts at around 4.05. There's a nice instrumental interlude just before the end of the song. Awesome stuff! 'Aurinko ja Kuu' starts with an acoustic intro, the guitars and scream kick in at around 0.32. Nice chorus of deep clean vocals punctuate this one, superb instrumentation as well. Finally comes 'Sankaritarina' my other favorite and arguably the best track, as well as being the longest, being 13.50 in length. It starts off with the sound of wind and waves and within a few minutes of you hear how atmospheric and epic this track really is. One might comment about some of the repetitive aspects of the album. I'll admit that even though the basic formula of the songs are sort of repetitive, the music and overall feel is in no way boring, even though the songs are pretty long.
Veteran fans of viking/folk metal will love this, also highly recommended to those new to this genre and want an excellent album to start off with.
Must download - Hidenpelto, Sankaritarina