moonsorrow is a finnish pagan metal band. i first saw them easter 2007 in the z-7, which was also the first time i heard anything from them. going there was a good idea, in fact i liked moonsorrow so much that it almost instantly got one of my most favourite bands. (i also mentioned them several times on spielwiese.) using elements from folk and black metal, they produced a variety of different, but almost always very good songs. the first song i want to present is pakanajuhla from their 2001 suden uni (wolf’s dream) album; it is a good example of moonsorrow‘s more folkish sound:

the second song i wanted to present is the balad sankaritarina from the 2001 voimasta ja kunniasta album. unfortunately it cannot be embedded, whence you have to listen to it here.

the next song is from their 2003 kivenkantaja (stone bearer) album. its a mostly instrumental piece, only featuring some heavy parts. a real beauty.

the last song is karhunkynsi from their 2005 verisäkeetalbum. this was one of the first of their albums i owned, and especially this song, which is the opener of the album, made me want more. its a beautiful mix of folk and metal, and finally ends with a black metal thunderstorm. a true masterpiece.

after verisäkeet, they released their album viides lukiu: hävitetty in 2007. it consists of two songs, each having around 30 minutes. its a fantastic album, and i already raved about it here. since its hard to rip something out of this album, i won’t embed a sample here. go listen to it completely. there’s also another album coming up, varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa to be released tomorrow (or a few days later, depending on where you live). i’m really looking forward to that one…