Jari has spoken about the genre of Wintersun's music, and says "Well it´s difficult to put into a certain genre, cause there’s lots of variation. But to describe it, I would say something like: Extreme Majestic Technical Epic Melodic Metal." He has also stated "But it's really not death metal. It's very difficult even for me to label it, but if somebody would put a gun on my forehead, I would probably say something like Extreme Melodic Majestic Metal."
The first Wintersun album, "Wintersun" was scheduled for recording early in 2004 a time frame which clashed with the Ensiferum European tour. Jari Mäenpää was forced to choose between his booked recording time for Wintersun, or the Ensiferum tour; he chose Wintersun and was forced to leave Ensiferum behind.
The album was released on September 13, 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records.
Wintersun's self titled album was produced solely by Jari Mäenpää himself, with only a session drummer (Kai Hahto) to perform the drums and percussion. Jari performed the vocals, bass, guitars and programmed the synth on his own. Indeed, the album was conceptualised purely as a solo project in tandem to Ensiferum (evident by the fact that the Wintersun album bears Mäenpää's name on the front).
The live Wintersun line up consists of two other players in addition to Hahto; Teemu Mäntysaari (Imperanon) plays guitars and Jukka Koskinen (Norther) plays bass. Live keyboards come from background tapes because Wintersun hasn't yet found a suitable keyboardist. This is due to the fact that there are a lot of intricate keyboard passages in Wintersun's music and Jari has stated that there would probably have to be two live keyboardists in the band to make it work.
The second Wintersun album is called "Time" and was to be released in late 2006, but the schedule was changed to a release in 2012 because of delays in recording and technical difficulties.
Wintersun:
Jari Mäenpää (vocals, guitar)
Kai Hahto (drums)
Teemu Mäntysaari (guitar)
Jukka Koskinen (bass)
Winter Madness
Wintersun Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Strange visions of the ancient spirits, travesty of man appears
Coldness and the storming winds lurking for prey
The forces of the Winter reign in dreadful way, there's no escape
I'm following the mistress of night
Through the gates of snow we'll fly
We'll fly
Winter - The realm of eternal ice
Snowfall and darkness descends upon the vales of time
Distant caress of the sun's fading light
The lands were painted white with the Winter's might
My hands are frozen, my mind is at the edge of madness
Oh how many nights and days, I've been lost in this land of sadness
From the primitive thoughts, under the glimmering snow
And burning stones, they'll rise
The artful spirit: "You don't have to die,
You can rule in afterlife, just concede your soul to me,
(Your life is cheap) no price "
The lyrics to "Winter Madness" by Wintersun tell a story of a winter landscape that is both beautiful and haunting. The first verse sets the stage with the destruction of divine creations, which creates a haunted atmosphere. This is followed by strange visions of ancient spirits and a travesty of man. The coldness and storming winds represent the forces of winter and there is no escape from its dreadful reign.
The second verse describes the singer following the mistress of night through the gates of snow. The winter is described as the realm of eternal ice, with snowfall and darkness descending upon the vales of time. The distant caress of the fading sunlight paints the lands white with winter's might. The singer's hands are frozen, and their mind is at the edge of madness due to the length of time they have been lost in this land of sadness.
The bridge of the song mentions primitive thoughts beneath the glimmering snow and rising burning stones. The artful spirit offers the singer a chance to rule in the afterlife by conceding their soul, with the suggestion that their life is cheap in comparison to what they could gain.
Overall, the lyrics of "Winter Madness" describe the harshness of winter and the haunting atmosphere that it can create, while also blending in themes of temptation and the afterlife.
Line by Line Meaning
Divine creations now destroyed to uncover the haunted atmosphere
The once beautiful creations of God have been ruined to create a bleak and ghostly atmosphere.
Strange visions of the ancient spirits, travesty of man appears
Haunting visions of spiritual beings from ancient times are manifesting, while the foolish actions of man make it worse.
Coldness and the storming winds lurking for prey
The freezing cold and violent winds lie in wait to ensnare any living creature.
The forces of the Winter reign in dreadful way, there's no escape
The unstoppable power of winter dominates everything, with no chance of escape.
I'm following the mistress of night
I'm following the female creature that rules over the night, possibly representing death.
Through the gates of snow we'll fly
We'll soar through the snowy gates of the afterlife.
Winter - The realm of eternal ice
Winter is portrayed as a realm of icy, eternal stillness.
Snowfall and darkness descends upon the vales of time
As snow and darkness fall, time and nature come to a standstill.
Distant caress of the sun's fading light
The sun's light is fading as it becomes further away.
The lands were painted white with the Winter's might
Winter's power has turned the lands into a stark, white world.
My hands are frozen, my mind is at the edge of madness
My hands have turned to ice from the cold, and my mind is losing its sanity.
Oh how many nights and days, I've been lost in this land of sadness
I've spent countless nights and days wandering in this desolate, melancholic land.
From the primitive thoughts, under the glimmering snow
From the most basic thoughts, under the shining snow...
And burning stones, they'll rise
Even the burning stones are coming to life.
The artful spirit: "You don't have to die,
A cunning spirit speaks: "You don't need to die,
You can rule in afterlife, just concede your soul to me,
You can become a ruler in the afterlife, if only you give up your soul to me.
(Your life is cheap) no price "
Your life is worthless - there is no cost for me to claim your soul.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JARI TAPANI MAEENPAEAE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Johan August Sandels
heard it 100million times but damn that solo still melts my brains.
Malaneth
Still does. Yep.
Press Key to Play
I've heard hundreds of bands, but I have not yet found a guitar solo more epic than this song. Some Japanese bands come close, but do not surpass this solo.
Alex Sharp
Can you list some of those bands? I'm into that classical Japanese sound like When Time Fades Away if they're similar. They don't have to be orchestral, I was leaning more towards the musical style.
I hope i made enough sense lol
Press Key to Play
@Alex Sharp Some old bands: Volcano, X-Japan, Gargoyle, Galneryus.
Other "more modern ones": Takamiy, Janne da Arc, Sky Wings, Light Bringer, Area51, DELUHI, Matenrou Opera, Metis Gretel, Versailles, Far East Dizain...
But they are all bands that vary a lot, and none of them are similar to Wintersun.
With the more oriental folk style, When Time Fades Away style, you can try "Ningen Isu" and "Onmyouza", or lighter ones like "Kagrra", "D" and "yagakki band"
kreshBACON
This is no doubt one of the best solos of all time, but I still think that Tornado Of Souls has the best solo over
EM
In terms of epicness i would say painkiller solo by priest is really close one
Ravciozo
Into the Mouth of Hell We March or Like Like to Flies by Trivium both have solos combating this one imo
Nikolus Lira
This album will always mean more
Than I could ever put into words. ❤❤❤❤❤
LMHOrigin
The intro is very beautiful.The song never cease to amaze me with the super macnificient guitar solo.Jari , you are forever my number one favorite metal musician.