67. Wintersun - "Time II"

Back to real bands and more power metal, ironically just after I had stated that there is very little power metal. This is the culmination of a project that was initiated nearly twenty years ago. Back in 2006 Wintersun founder and former Ensiferum member Jari Mäenpää stated his intention to create a sprawling complex concept album entitled “Time”.

Its release was constantly pushed back until a ‘first part’ finally appeared in 2012 entitled simply Time 1. The completion of the saga was slated for 2013, but that was subsequently delayed. A non-connected album “the Forest Seasons” was released in 2017 and many assumed that the intentions to bring the Time tale to a finale had dissipated.

However a good seven years after Wintersun had released anything, missives were suddenly released earlier on in the year that stated “Time II” was 100% complete and would see the light of day August 2024. Those of us who have waited over a decade for this album took this with a pinch of salt. But here it is the second instalment of Time and boy is it worth the wait.

 It is a lavish over engineered monstrosity of an album that goes big from the moment that it starts. No bell or whistle has been spared. Instead, it revels in its overtoppness. This is metal without borders and without any understanding of restraint. Instead, it is gloriously opulent and you can see where the time has been spent. It is immaculately designed and just wonderful.