Moonsorrow

Last updated
Moonsorrow
Moonsorrow-3 (53893349203).jpg
Moonsorrow performing in 2024
Background information
Origin Helsinki, Finland
Genres Folk metal, pagan metal, black metal, progressive metal
Years active1995–present
LabelsSagittarius Productions, Plasmatica Records, Spinefarm, Century Media
Members Ville Sorvali
Henri Sorvali
Mitja Harvilahti
Markus Eurén
Marko Tarvonen
Website www.moonsorrow.com
Mitja Harvilahti at Party.San [de] 2017 Moonsorrow Party.San Metal Open Air 2017 12.jpg
Mitja Harvilahti at Party.San  [ de ] 2017
Janne Perttila (live guitarist) at Party.San 2017 Moonsorrow Party.San Metal Open Air 2017 17.jpg
Janne Perttilä (live guitarist) at Party.San 2017

Moonsorrow is a Finnish pagan metal band formed in Helsinki in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" [1] and try to distance themselves from the term "Viking metal". They have distanced themselves from other folk metal bands, emphasising that their music is pagan and spiritual and is challenging for its listeners, rather than happy or danceable. [2] The band members have varying levels of pagan belief [3] but they draw on pagan spirituality for lyrics and inspiration. [4]

Contents

History

The group's earliest formation consisted of cousins Ville Sorvali (vocals and bass) and Henri Sorvali (guitar and keyboards; also keyboards for Finntroll, Barathrum, and session member of Ensiferum) who released various demos that were much more characteristic of melodic black metal than future releases.

Their debut album, Suden Uni , recorded in early 2000, was released in early 2001, along with Tämä Ikuinen Talvi ("This Everlasting Winter"), a re-release of a 1999 demo. Suden Uni ("A Wolf's Dream") combined Finnish paganism and folk elements.[ citation needed ] After recruiting Mitja Harvilahti and Markus Eurén, Moonsorrow started playing live, releasing Voimasta Ja Kunniasta ("Of Strength and Honour") in late 2001. It was followed by their 2003 release, Kivenkantaja ("Stonebearer"), and Verisäkeet ("Blood Verses") in 2005. The album is also their first to use ambient sounds such as birdsong and crackling fire in between tracks.

In January 2006 the band played their first US show at the Heathen Crusade Metalfest in Columbia Heights, MN. On 7 March 2006 Moonsorrow announced a 2-album contract with Spinefarm Records, and that their next album was slated for release in late 2006. On 19 June it was revealed that the upcoming album would feature guest vocals by Thomas Väänänen, the former vocalist of Thyrfing; Viides Luku - Hävitetty ("Chapter five - Ravaged") was released in January 2007. The album contained only two tracks and displayed more overt influence from progressive rock.[ citation needed ]

An EP called Tulimyrsky was released in 2008. The EP is over one hour long and contains one new song (the title track), two remakes of old songs, and two cover songs. [5] It was released worldwide by Spinefarm Records, and in May the German label Drakkar Entertainment released it in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. [6]

In Fall 2010, Moonsorrow entered the studio to record their sixth full-length studio album, Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa ("As Shadows We Walk In The Land of The Dead"). The album was released on 21 February 2011 through Spinefarm Records.

In April 2012 Moonsorrow announced on their official website that they have signed a deal with Century Media Records. The band commented: "We are thrilled to start working with Century Media, a label that is home to many fellow artists already! We never make our music half way or with compromises and we know our art is in good hands with people who have the same mentality in running a record label. Now, after a year since the release of our last album we are ready to begin creating something new. The new chapter in this epic journey of Moonsorrow!"

In June 2013, the band announced a vinyl box set of its collected works to be released through Blood Music. Given its planned size of thirteen LPs, it was advertised as the largest metal box set in history. [7] Entitled Heritage: 1995-2008 - The Collected Works, the box set was released in 2014, and ended up consisting of fourteen LPs. (The same label's forthcoming box set for the Norwegian black metal band Emperor is intended to outstrip it in size.)

The band's seventh album, Jumalten aika, was released on 1 April 2016 through Century Media.


Relationships with right-wing extremism

Over the years, Moonsorrow has been accused a number of times of having ties to right-wing extremism. The band has invited Loits to tour with them, a National-Socialist Black Metal band whom drummer Tarvonen called "soulmates". [8] When asked why they were inviting a known white supremacist band to tour with them, their response was "We don't care". Additionally, the Moonsorrow side project Lakupaavi has used homophobic lyrics in their music. [9]

Lyrics

Moonsorrow's lyrics draw inspiration from Finnish mythology, legends and poetry. In the beginning the lyrics were written in English (the first demo was titled "Thorns Of Ice"), but since Tämä ikuinen talvi they have been written exclusively in Finnish (with the exception of a brief spoken-word monologue added to a re-recording of "Hvergelmir", which is in Swedish). For instance, the song "Sankaritarina" from Voimasta Ja Kunniasta features lyrics directly translated from Hávamál. [10]

Members

Guests

Timeline

Moonsorrow

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays
Demo albums

Side project: Lakupaavi

Lakupaavi (Liquorice Pope in Finnish) is a grindcore side project of the band. [12] The project started as a joke: when Moonsorrow were recording their 2005 album Verisäkeet, they said in an interview that the album would be named Raah Raah Blääh and it would be very different stylistically than their previous releases. Although this was just a joke, many people took it to heart. Later they stated that it had been a joke, but they then decided to actually record one of the songs, called "Kuolema Taidehomoille... Ja Muille" (engl. "Death to Art Faggots... and Others"). It didn't end there, however: the band ended up actually recording the whole Raah Raah Blääh album and released it on the internet under the new moniker Lakupaavi. Markus Euren was the only member not wishing to participate in the project.

Related Research Articles

Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles. It also sometimes features soft instrumentation influenced by folk rock.

Pagan metal is a genre of heavy metal music which fuses extreme metal with "the pre-Christian traditions of a specific culture or region" through thematic concept, rustic melodies, unusual instruments or archaic languages, usually referring to folk metal or black metal. The Norwegian band In the Woods... was one of the first bands commonly viewed as pagan metal. Metal Hammer author Marc Halupczok wrote that Primordial's song "To Enter Pagan" from the band's demo "Dark Romanticism" contributed to defining the genre.

<i>Midnattens widunder</i> 1999 studio album by Finntroll

Midnattens Widunder is the debut studio album by Finnish folk metal band Finntroll. It was released in Finland in 1999 by Spinefarm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyrfing</span> Swedish Viking metal band

Thyrfing is a viking metal band from Sweden. The band is named after the royal sword Tyrfing from Norse mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthemesia</span> Finnish black metal band

Arthemesia was a Finnish black metal band active between 1994 and 2010. The band derives their name from Artemisia absinthium, Latin for wormwood, thought to have many spiritual qualities. Their music mainly concerns a projection of the band's philosophy, namely glorification of the occult and Satanism, but also nature and Shamanism.

Henri Antti Viljami "Trollhorn" Sorvali, is a Finnish musician, known as a keyboardist and guitarist of pagan metal band Moonsorrow, and keyboardist of black metal band Finntroll.

<i>Kivenkantaja</i> 2003 studio album by Moonsorrow

Kivenkantaja ("Stonebearer") is the third full-length album by Finnish pagan metal band Moonsorrow. It was released on 10 March 2003 through Spinefarm Records.

<i>Verisäkeet</i> 2005 studio album by Moonsorrow

Verisäkeet is the fourth full-length album by Finnish metal band Moonsorrow. It was released on 23 February 2005 through Spinefarm Records. The album comes in a full-black shining case with golden Moonsorrow logo, with the original booklet inside. The United States release of the album, through Season of Mist, however, is packaged in a clear jewel case displaying the album's artwork.

<i>Voimasta ja kunniasta</i> 2001 studio album by Moonsorrow

Voimasta ja kunniasta is the second full-length album by the Finnish folk metal band Moonsorrow. It was released on 26 November 2001 through Spinefarm Records.

<i>Suden uni</i> 2001 studio album by Moonsorrow

Suden uni is the first full-length album by Finnish pagan metal band Moonsorrow. It was originally released in 2001, and then re-released in 2003 with one bonus track, different cover art, and a 40-minute DVD.

<i>Ensiferum</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Ensiferum

Ensiferum is the debut studio album by Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum. It was released on 9 July 2001 on Spinefarm Records.

<i>Tämä ikuinen talvi</i> 1999 demo album by Moonsorrow

Tämä ikuinen talvi is the fourth demo album of the Finnish folk metal band Moonsorrow, released in the very beginning of 1999 by Meat Hook Productions. It was re-released on 28 August 2001 on CD by Sagittarius Productions, with significantly remastered music and vocals. Some vocal tracks were redone with different lyrics.

<i>Viides luku – Hävitetty</i> 2007 studio album by Moonsorrow

V: Hävitetty is the fifth full-length album by Finnish pagan metal band Moonsorrow. It was released on 10 January 2007 through Spinefarm Records. As a joke by the band, the name "Homosika" was released as the working title for "Viides Luku - Hävitetty".

<i>Ur jordens djup</i> 2007 studio album by Finntroll

Ur jordens djup is the fourth full-length Finntroll album. It was released on March 28, 2007. The album is the first to feature vocalist Mathias Lillmåns, who replaced Tapio Wilska in 2006. Unlike in Nattfödd, the lyrics for this album were written by the band's original vocalist, Jan "Katla" Jämsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ville Sorvali</span> Musical artist

Ville Tuomas Sorvali is a Finnish musician and music journalist. He is the vocalist, bass guitarist and lyricist for the Finnish pagan metal band Moonsorrow. His cousin Henri "Trollhorn" Sorvali is the guitarist, keyboard player and main songwriter.

<i>Tulimyrsky</i> 2008 extended play by Moonsorrow

Tulimyrsky (Firestorm) is the first EP released by Finnish folk metal band Moonsorrow. Initially scheduled for release on 26 March 2008 through Spinefarm Records, the release date was postponed until 30 April 2008 to allow for proper promotion.

Mannhai is a Finnish stoner rock band from Helsinki. The band was formed in late 1999 by bass player Olli-Pekka "Oppu" Laine and guitarist Ilkka "Ile" Laaksomaa. Soon they were accompanied by a young drummer, Mikko "Junior" Pietinen, and the following year by lead singer Jani "Joãnitor" Muurinen.

<i>Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa</i> 2011 studio album by Moonsorrow

Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa is the sixth full-length album by Finnish pagan metal band Moonsorrow. It was released on 21 February 2011 through Spinefarm Records.

<i>Metsä</i> (album) 1997 demo album by Moonsorrow

Metsä (Forest) is the first officially released demo cassette by finnish folk metal band Moonsorrow in 1997. Originally 215 copies of the demo were released, all of which were sold out.

<i>The Forest Seasons</i> 2017 studio album by Wintersun

The Forest Seasons is the third studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Wintersun. It was released on July 21, 2017 via Nuclear Blast. The band cited Antonio Vivaldi's violin concerto The Four Seasons as an inspiration for the album title.

References

  1. ↑ "Moonsorrow". www.moonsorrow.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ Roth, Rachel (2012). "Interview with Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow". Metalunderground.com. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Interviews: Moonsorrow". Spirit of Metal. February 2005. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  4. ↑ Angle, Brad (November 13, 2009). "Pagan Metal Roundup: Moonsorrow". Guitar World . Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  5. ↑ www.moonsorrow.com https://web.archive.org/web/20080330234454/http://www.moonsorrow.com/moonsorrowcom/cdtulimyrsky.html. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "Drakkar Entertainment GmbH || MOONSORROW | DISCOGRAPHY". Drakkar.de. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  7. ↑ "Moonsorrow - Timeline Photos". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  8. ↑ "Estonian NSBM band Loits play shows in Finland as invited guests on the Moonsorrow tour in Europe". 2020-02-21.
  9. ↑ "Moonsorrow's Troublesome Relationship with White Supremacism". 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  10. ↑ www.moonsorrow.com https://web.archive.org/web/20070513041311/http://www.moonsorrow.com/moonsorrowcom/lyricsvoimasta.html. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ "Moonsorrow Official Website". Moonsorrow.com. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  12. ↑ "Griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind!!!!!!!". www.moonsorrow.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009.
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