Moonsorrow

Moonsorrow is a heavy metal band formed in Helsinki, Finland, in 1995. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" and try to distance themselves from the term "viking metal" as much as possible, as the vast majority of their lyrics do not concern Vikings.

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 2001, along with T?m? Ikuinen Talvi ("This Everlasting Winter"), a re-release of a 1999 demo. Suden Uni ("A Wolf's Dream") combined Finnish paganism and folk elements. After recruiting Mitja Harvilahti and Markus Eur?n, Moonsorrow started playing live, releasing Voimasta Ja Kunniasta ("Of Strength and Honour") in late 2001. However, the real takeoff for the band is generally held to be their 2003 release, Kivenkantaja ("Stonebearer"). In 2005 the band followed it up with their fourth full-length album, Veris?keet ("Blood Verses"). The album was 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 March 7, 2006, Moonsorrow announced a 2-album contract with Spinefarm Records, and that their next album was slated for release in late 2006. On June 19 it was revealed that the upcoming album would feature guest vocals by Thomas V??n?nen, the former vocalist of Thyrfing; Viides Luku - H?vitetty ("Chapter five - Ravaged") was released in January 2007. The album contained only two tracks and displayed more overts influence from progressive rock.

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. It was released worldwide by Spinefarm Records, and in May the German label Drakkar Entertainment released it in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Lyrics

Moonsorrow's lyrics draw inspiration from Finnish mythology, legends and poetry; since T?m? Ikuinen Talvi they have been written exclusively in Finnish. For instance, the song "Sankaritarina" from Voimasta Ja Kunniasta features lyrics directly translated from H?vam?l.

Politics

In April 2008, Moonsorrow and other performers on the folk metal festival Paganfest were accused of being Nazis, racists, and fascists from the German organizations Antifa and BIFF (Berliner Institut f?r Faschismusforschung). Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow and Heri Joensen of T?r issued a joint video statement to refuse these accusations, noting that the bands are in no way connected to far-right groups and actually are against fascism. Guitarist Mitja Harvilahti told the German Feindesland webzine that the band has nothing to do with fascism, and Mitja personally "strongly despises racists and Nazis."

Members

Henri Sorvali - guitar, keyboards, vocals
Ville Sorvali - bass, vocals
Mitja Harvilahti - guitar, backing vocals
Markus Eur?n - keyboards
Marko Tarvonen - drums, backing vocals
Guests
Thomas V??n?nen (Thyrfing) - guest vocals on Viides Luku - H?vitetty
Hittavainen (Korpiklaani) - fiddle, jouhikko, recorder
Janne Perttil? (Rytmih?iri?) - guitar (live), backing vocals

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonsorrow