MOONSORROW is one of those bands that there's no looking back from once you hear them. Once you hear them, their masterful use of composition and instrumentation takes over. This is nothing really new to MOONSORROW fans at all. The band has been snowballing in notoriety since their explosive LP "Kivenkantaja" not just among the core fandom of Viking Metal and Pagan Metal, but all throughout the heavy metal underground. This year's album they're released through Century Media is "Jumalten Aika" or "The Age of Gods" in English.

This album is set up the same way an old storybook is. And this is exactly how MOONSORROW has been putting their albums together for years and it seems as though they have released an exceptionally fine tuned monster of an album. The album is told through these massive tracks; some that run past fifteen minutes in length. Like the music's character speaks for, these songs speak with a voice that is connected to something very ancient and all-but-forgotten.

MOONSORROW utilizes every member of the band to do more than one job with this overall product. Ville Sorvali, for example, plays bass and provides the harsh vocals but also produces and composes the music. His brother and band mate Henri provides a lot of the guitar work but adds in most of the folk instrumentation on their songs too. The songwriting process must be so insanely meticulous for MOONSORROW, especially at the lengths they are pushing themselves to write these elaborate compositions.

The listener's experience never gets tiresome on "Jumalten Aika". Songs like "Suden tunti" and "Ruttolehto incl. Päivättömän päivän kansa" are both good examples of songs that go on for a very extended amount of time but the song tends to grow and shift into variations of different riffs and melodies. MOONSORROW's firm roots in Black Metal don't get lost in the mix either. Whether it's the harsh vocals or the buzz of the rhythm guitar, metalheads will never be lost in the folklore and Northern mysticism that flavors the songwriting. All of the mouth harps and chanting vocals can't take away from the shear power this band can harness and dole out. Fans of later-era BATHORY, ELUVEITIE and FINNTROLL will be more than satisfied with MOONSORROW's latest offering.

Overall, "Jumalten Aika" is a heavy accomplishment and yet another one for MOONSORROW to chalk up with all of their other successes. Although I will admit, "Jumalten Aika" didn't stick with me quite as well as their past releases have. But nothing is all that different with their sound and signature tone and ambience. They are still the same, old MOONSORROW, figuratively speaking. I am glad that the band is gaining much more attention now through the promotion of "Jumalten Aika" because its so unjustly overdue for these Finnish Metal warriors.