Under the Northern Sky

Under the Northern Sky
Studio album by Immortal Souls
Released	January, 2001
Recorded	February 26–29 2000, Studio Watercastle, Jyväskylä, Finland
Genre	Melodic death metal
Length	39:36
Label	Little Rose Productions
Producer	Manu Lehtinen
Immortal Souls chronology

Last updated May 13, 2019

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
PowerMetal.de	(positive)^[1]

Under the Northern Sky is the first full-length album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Immortal Souls. This album was the last recording to be released by previous record label, Little Rose Productions in 2001.

Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The style originated and developed in Sweden and the United Kingdom around 1993. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal” scene.

Immortal Souls is a melodic death metal band from Kokkola, Finland, formed in 1991. They released a split album and their debut on Little Rose Productions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002 Immortal Souls signed with Dutch label Fear Dark which released their second and third album as well as a compilation. They have performed at Tuska Open Air Metal Festival. Their musical style is characterized by their use of melodic guitar riffs and singing which shifts between growls and shouting. Their music has been called winter metal since Immortal Souls utilizes frosty metaphors in their lyrics and usually creates a cold, wintry atmosphere. The album Wintereich was released in 2007 in Europe on Dark Balance and in the USA through Facedown Records.

Recording

Under the Northern Sky was recorded during the same studio sessions as The Cleansing EP on February 26–29, 2000 at Studio Watercastle, Jyväskylä, Finland. The studiotechnics were handled Arttu Sarvanne, and the album was produced Manu Lehtinen, co-founder of Little Rose Productions and the band Deuteronomium.

Jyväskylä is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland, some 130 km north-east from Tampere. It is the largest city in the region of Central Finland and on the Finnish Lakeland.

Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Norway to the north, Sweden to the northwest, and Russia to the east. Finland is a Nordic country and is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia. The capital and largest city is Helsinki. Other major cities are Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Oulu and Turku.

Deuteronomium is a Christian death metal band formed in 1993, Jyväskylä, Finland, one of Finland's earliest and most influential groups in that genre.

According to the liner notes of the vocalist and bass player Aki Särkioja, during the recording of the album "the winter was extremely snowy and that boosted the lyrics more and more to the wintertale direction." "Frostmind" contains some of the fastest guitar riffs Immortal Souls have written and combine traditional metal to death metal. The album contains two instrumental songs: "Snowfalls" and "Metsäkukkia." The first is calm song that is characterized by folky clean guitar playing that creates a wintry atmosphere. "Metsäkukkia" is a speeded up melodic death metal adaptation of the traditional Finnish folk song. "Painthings" is about an artist's misery.^[2] "The Cold Northwind" was released on Little Rose Productions' compilation album titled The Metal Rose Collection.

Under the Northern Sky received a positive reception among fans and critics, although it remained rather unknown for years because Little Rose Productions did no t have enough resources to promote the album widely. Under the Northern Sky was the band's last release on that label.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Frostmind" (E.Särkioja / A.Särkioja)	3:34
2.	"The Cleansing" (A.Särkioja / E.Särkioja)	4:06
3.	"The Cold Northwind" (E.Särkioja)	3:35
4.	"Blue Flamed Fire" (E.Särkioja)	4:53
5.	"Snowfalls" (A.Särkioja / E.Särkioja)	2:13
6.	"Dark Night Under the Northern Sky" (E.Särkioja / A.Särkioja)	4:29
7.	"Love Demise" (J.Hakola / E.Särkioja)	3:53
8.	"Metsäkukkia"	2:09
9.	"Winterheart" (A.Särkioja)	3:26
10.	"Painthings" (A.Särkioja / E.Särkioja)	6:15

Personnel

Aki Särkioja – death growl, bass guitar
Esa Särkioja – guitar
Pete Loisa – guitar
Jupe Hakola – drums

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References

↑ PowerMetal.de review
↑ Särkioja, Aki. Liner notes of Once Upon a Time in the North compilation album. fear Dark 2005.

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[1] PowerMetal.de review

[2] Särkioja, Aki. Liner notes of Once Upon a Time in the North compilation album. fear Dark 2005.