Year : 2013 Style : Death/Doom Metal with Folk/Melodic influences Country : Finland Audio : 320 kbps + scans Size : 116 mb
Bio:
A solo-project by Tuomas Saukkonen after he disbanded all of his other bands. Project Tuomas Saukkonen (Before The Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace, The Final Harvest)Wolfheart were born in 2013 from the ashes of Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Sole member, songwriter and producer Tuomas Saukkonen wanted to combine the musical elements from his previous bands and to embark on a fresh start after 14 years in music business and several albums.After the astounding critical reception that Winterbornreceived, Saukkonen realized that it was the right time to turn the Wolfheart solo project into a full-fledged band, and he did just that in early 2014.Armed with band members in place, a new label deal and two albums on the horizon, Saukkonen and Wolfheart are ready to storm the gates of 2015.
Album:
The band 2013 debut.The album was initially self-released, with physical versions only available in Wolfheart's native Finland. The additional tracks are titled "Isolation" and "Into The Wild."Wolfheart are currently finishing up their new album and Spinefarm debut, titled Shadow World. The album is due out in mid-2015. The band is shoring up plans to tour Finland and Europe in 2015, hitting the festival circuit. The band hopes to tour the US at some point in 2015, as well."After all the blood, sweat and tears poured into the self-released/self-financed debut Winterborn, it is truly amazing to have a worldwide release for the album and I could not think of a better label for the job than renowned Spinefarm," Wolfheart said. "It's super exciting times, since, while counting days for the re-release of Winterborn, the second Wolfheart album Shadow World is almost ready and 2015 will be a year of two albums out."
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums (2013-2014), Vocals, Guitars (2014-present) - See also: ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-Dawn of Solace, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke
Tracklist:
01. The Hunt 04:56 02. Strenght and Valour 04:09 03. Routa Pt.2 07:32 04. Gale of Winter 04:41 05. Whiteout 05:17 06. Ghosts of Karelia 04:41 07. I 04:48 08. Chasm 07:37 09. Breathe 05:53
Wolfheart - Winterborn (2013) (Spinefarm Records Digipak Edition 2015)
Year : 2013 (Spinefarm Records Digipak Edition 2015) Style : Melodic Death Metal Country : Finland Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 146 mb
Bio:
A solo-project by Tuomas Saukkonen after he disbanded all of his other bands. Project Tuomas Saukkonen (Before The Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace, The Final Harvest)Wolfheart were born in 2013 from the ashes of Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Sole member, songwriter and producer Tuomas Saukkonen wanted to combine the musical elements from his previous bands and to embark on a fresh start after 14 years in music business and several albums.After the astounding critical reception that Winterbornreceived, Saukkonen realized that it was the right time to turn the Wolfheart solo project into a full-fledged band, and he did just that in early 2014.Armed with band members in place, a new label deal and two albums on the horizon, Saukkonen and Wolfheart are ready to storm the gates of 2015.
Album:
Spinefarm Records has signed Lahti, Finland based winter metal act, Wolfheart, to its worldwide roster. The band will re-release their 2013 debut, Winterborn, with two additional bonus tracks on February 3rd of next year through Spinefarm. The album was initially self-released, with physical versions only available in Wolfheart's native Finland. The additional tracks are titled "Isolation" and "Into The Wild."Wolfheart are currently finishing up their new album and Spinefarm debut, titled Shadow World. The album is due out in mid-2015. The band is shoring up plans to tour Finland and Europe in 2015, hitting the festival circuit. The band hopes to tour the US at some point in 2015, as well."After all the blood, sweat and tears poured into the self-released/self-financed debut Winterborn, it is truly amazing to have a worldwide release for the album and I could not think of a better label for the job than renowned Spinefarm," Wolfheart said. "It's super exciting times, since, while counting days for the re-release of Winterborn, the second Wolfheart album Shadow World is almost ready and 2015 will be a year of two albums out."
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums (2013-2014), Vocals, Guitars (2014-present) - See also: ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-Dawn of Solace, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke
Tracklist:
01. The Hunt 04:56 02. Strength and Valour 04:09 03. Routa Pt.2 07:32 04. Gale of Winter 04:41 05. Whiteout 05:17 06. Ghosts of Karelia 04:41 07. I 04:48 08. Chasm 07:37 09. Breathe 05:53 10. Isolation 04:05 (Bonus Track) 11. Into the Wild 04:50 (Bonus Track)
Year : 2015 Style : Melodic Death Metal Country : Finland Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video Size : 145 mb
Bio:
A solo-project by Tuomas Saukkonen after he disbanded all of his other bands. Project Tuomas Saukkonen (Before The Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace, The Final Harvest)Wolfheart were born in 2013 from the ashes of Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Sole member, songwriter and producer Tuomas Saukkonen wanted to combine the musical elements from his previous bands and to embark on a fresh start after 14 years in music business and several albums.After the astounding critical reception that Winterbornreceived, Saukkonen realized that it was the right time to turn the Wolfheart solo project into a full-fledged band, and he did just that in early 2014.Armed with band members in place, a new label deal and two albums on the horizon, Saukkonen and Wolfheart are ready to storm the gates of 2015.
Album:
Disbanding all of his prior units BEFORE THE DAWN, BLACK SUN AEON, THE FINAL HARVEST, DAWN OF SOLACE and ROUTASIELU, multi-instrumentalist Tuomas Saukkonen created WOLFHEART in 2012 as his one-man show. Now with a full ensemble behind him for the entity's second offering, "Shadow World", WOLFHEART sounds like a proper harbinger of Hell, corralling black and death metal modes in frequently majestic sequences for an album that musically rouses the elements at their most brutal."Aeon of Cold" may begin with what sounds like a cheerful piano intro, but anyone who knows Tuomas' work knows what's coming next: a full onslaught of lambasting mayhem. At 6:34, however, a full-on grind methodology isn't going to cut it. Thus Tuomas smartly pulls the song's flail to a tempered check down and then a slow and somber solo section between keys and guitars. The blast beats are kicked back up behind a methodic slog of guitars and ultimately rocket off again. The effect is akin to a sonic speed blizzard capped by a will-shattering post-chill from a gorgeous, if frosty piano sonata.The pounding velocity of "Zero Gravity" produces some of the richest guitars on the album with blends of black and death metal sent through jettisoning propulsions more often than not. Even the mid-tempo portions feel like they're at top flight, since the guitars and bass are relentless, while the choruses soar sublimely. "Storm Centre" may only get up to mid-tempo velocity itself, but the gusting guitars and railing double hammers create whirling effects until the acoustic-led breakdown. Every other portion of "Storm Centre", however, feels like inescapable engulfment.A gorgeous acoustic intro and reprise on "Last of All Winters" gets ensnared by a metallic outburst that trades between melodic and nasty, surrendering to a somewhat unexpected uplifting set of choruses jockeying between the slow, rugged harshness leading up to them. Still, no matter how much this song threatens to plunge into ugliness, Tuomas Saukkonen bravely embraces the melody he creates for it, making "Last of All Winters" an unlikely toe-tapper, as he does on the banged-out, though eloquent "Abyss". Before he gets into too comfy a spot with his work on this album, Saukkonen summons his stations full-force again on "Nemesis", shelling out the first stanza, then working through slower, though no less potent progressions. The bridge features a naked guitar line picked up by an echoing death march and somber keys before the track detonates again."Shadow World" is highly impressive and superior to its predecessor, "Winterborn", the latter album well-deserving of the accolades showered upon it. Tuomas Saukkonen has proven to be a gifted songwriter who can fill his horrific odes with grandiosity and harmony. "Shadow World" is thus unexpectedly accessible, by extreme metal standards, anyway. Anyone who can make the calamitous thrash on "Resistance" and the emotive, ENSLAVED-worthy closing epic "Veri" sound like they belong in a movie deserves worldwide attention.
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Bass, Drums (2013-2014), Vocals, Guitars (2013-present) - See also: ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-Dawn of Solace, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke Mika Lammassaari - Guitars (lead) (2014-present) - See also: Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Mors Subita Lauri Silvonen - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2014-present) - See also: Casket, Death Confronting Joonas Kauppinen - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Disease of the Nation, ex-Ancient Misery, ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Burning Empire, ex-Misery Inc.
Tracklist:
01. Aeon Of Cold (06:34) 02. Zero Gravity (05:44) 03. Storm Centre (05:23) 04. Last Of All Winters (04:46) 05. Nemesis (06:57) 06. Abyss (04:08) 07. Resistance (04:30) 08. Veri (08:23)
Year : 2017 Style : Melodic Death Metal Country : Finland Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Videos Size : 150 mb
Bio:
A solo-project by Tuomas Saukkonen after he disbanded all of his other bands. Project Tuomas Saukkonen (Before The Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace, The Final Harvest)Wolfheart were born in 2013 from the ashes of Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Sole member, songwriter and producer Tuomas Saukkonen wanted to combine the musical elements from his previous bands and to embark on a fresh start after 14 years in music business and several albums.After the astounding critical reception that Winterbornreceived, Saukkonen realized that it was the right time to turn the Wolfheart solo project into a full-fledged band, and he did just that in early 2014.Armed with band members in place, a new label deal and two albums on the horizon, Saukkonen and Wolfheart are ready to storm the gates of 2015.
Album:
Tuomas Saukkonen is a man of many talents. Multi-faceted, he lurks the metal scene since the early 2000’s creating as many bands as the amount of instruments he plays. From Before the Dawn to Black Sun Aeon, the guy has been releasing music non-stop in the form of melodic death, doom or folk metal, but in 2013 he decided it was time to focus on one particular project and disbanded all his active bands. This particular project is, as far as I’m concerned, the best thing the dude has done: Wolfheart.As it was with his previous endeavors, Tuomas’ Wolfheart displays material in a constant and steady basis, with two albums (and good ones, for that matter) released so far in the small span of 5 years, and the third one, ‘Tyhjyys’ coming out of the oven on march 3rd via Spinefarm Records. Accompanied again by his trusty squires Lauri Silvonen (bass), Joonas Kauppinen (drums) and Mika Lammassaari (guitar), Tuomas proves again why he is considered a genius in this third album by his now lone band, with highly intelligent musical prowess, profound songwriting and an unique ability of putting the right notes in the right spots, always. From the gelid and atmospheric start of “Shores of the Lake Simpele” to the epic ending in the title track, the album preserves the already classic melodic death metal approach portrayed so well by bands such as Omnium Gatherum, Be’lakor and Insomnium and actually takes it to the next level in the most inspired parts of the album. Songs like “Boneyard” and “The Rift” borrow from the more aggressive approach – despite the latter being highly melodic and diverse – with competent vocals and absolutely mind-blowing leads, while the album also features melancholic and sorrowful bits in tracks like “The Flood”, that relies on the acoustic guitar in its first verse and bridge and features characteristic doom elements. Melodic and catchy components are also abundant and cover most of the songs, but appear more prominently on tracks such as “Call of the Winter”, “World on Fire” and “Dead White”. Slow and melancholic parts go hand-in-hand with fierce and raw ones in a very natural way, making the experience highly enjoyable.“Tyhjyys” means “empty” in Finnish. Gladly, the lyrical and musical contents of the effort are inversely proportional to the album’s meaning. Deep and insightful passages flood across the compositions and intertwine to form rich, colossal and gallant sounds that will make you revisit ‘Tyhjyys’ time and time again. There are numerous elements taken from Wolfheart’s cousin bands Dawn of Solace, Black Sun Aeon and especially Before the Dawn, true, but this album stands out and is very different from works such as ‘Darkness Walks Beside Me’, ‘Deadlight’ or ‘The Darkness’, and even flees from the comparisons to its brothers ‘Winterborn’ and ‘Shadow World’ at times. Production-wise, though, don’t expect to be amazed of how crystalline the album sounds, but you will also not be disappointed by the quality of the mixing and the engineering.Seldom do I find so little to complain about in an album, and so much to extract from in a positive way. I have tried time and time again to find those weak spots, dissect them in the most impartial way and write about them so that you can grasp all that’s good and bad with ‘Tyhjyys’. The thing is, those weak spots hardly exist and are crushed by the dynamic and classy awesome parts of the effort. Of course, this particular take on melodic death metal only fits a niche and is not for the casual listener – as it is heavily personal, emotional and complex -, but fans of that genre and the band will find it plentiful for their taste. As I said above, the album has strong moments that easily compensate for the weak ones and the overall experience is deeply satisfying. Because of that and of how easy it is to see (or hear, in this case) that Tuomas poured his heart and soul into yet another great display of his abilities, I find ‘Tyhjyys’ the most gratifying album I’ve reviewed so far in 2017, and so well deserved of the highest rating I could give it. Highly recommended.
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Bass, Drums (2013-2014), Vocals, Guitars (2013-present) - See also: ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-Dawn of Solace, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke Lauri Silvonen - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2014-present) - See also: Casket, Death Confronting Mika Lammassaari - Guitars (lead) (2014-present) - See also: Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Mors Subita Joonas Kauppinen - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Disease of the Nation, ex-Ancient Misery, ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Burning Empire, ex-Misery Inc.
Tracklist:
01. Shores of the Lake Simpele 03:17 instrumental 02. Boneyard 07:36 03. World on Fire 06:29 04. The Flood 06:06 05. The Rift 05:25 06. Call of the Winter 05:52 07. Dead White 04:13 08. Tyhjyys 04:55
+ Video "Boneyard" (Official Video) + Video "The Flood" (Official Video)
Wolfheart - Wolves Of Karelia (Digipak Edition) (2020)
Year : 2020 Style : Melodic Death Black Metal Country : Finland Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 96 mb
Bio:
Tuomas Saukkonen shocked everyone in 2012 with his announcement that he will bury all of his metal music projects at the same time to start anew. Before The Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace and RoutaSielu received their coup de grâce February 23rd, 2013.After years of pouring his creative juices to projects too numerous to count, since the end of 2012 Saukkonen has focused on just one labour of love, WOLFHEART.Be the approach melodic and hopeful, acoustic and fragile, harsh black/death metal or atmospheric doom, 'WINTERBORN' has it all, in a mix like of which you haven't heard before.Saukkonen recorded and released 'WINTERBORN' entirely by himself playing all the instruments and doing all the vocals, with Mika Lammassaari (Eternal Tears Of Sorrow, Mors Subita) as his only guest, playing guitar solos.'WINTERBORN' proved a roaring critical success scoring high ratings in reviews left and right. To cap off a great year for his project, 'WINTERBORN' was elected the best debut album of 2013 in the annual Record Store Äx customers’ poll. WOLFHEART deserved to be a fully operating band.2014 / 2015 took the band on the road to the national stages with Shade Empire and Finntroll, into the international stages with the first European tour with Swallow The Sun and even to Tokyo with Sonata Arctica etc.Also big european / scandinavian festivals were targeted and the climax of the 2015 was the 2nd album 'SHADOW WORLD' which continued the path of critical praises and was the first product from the co-operation with Spinefarm records (Universal).After a rapid ride since the release of the debut and second album the band cleared the calender in the beginning of 2016 and started the pre-production of the 3rd album in the legendary Petrax studios (CoB, HIM, Korpiklaani etc). Only few selected festival shows were booked to break the studio cycle but the focus has been intense and the scheduled release of the 'TYHJYYS' -album was set to the march of 2017.January 2017 Wolfheart headed back to tour in Europe with Insomnium and Barren Earth for 19 concerts.March 2017 started with the release 'TYHJYYS' (finnish meaning emptiness) -album via Spinefarm Records. The album received dozens of high-rated reviews across the globe. March 2017 continued with a headliner tour in Spain and with two concerts with Dark Tranquillity in Finland and with autumn tour in Europe with Ensiferum and Skyclad.Festivals 2017: Dark Troll Festival (GER), Nummirock (FIN), Rock Harz (GER), John Smith (FIN), Gothoom (SVK), Wacken Open Air (GER), Rockstadt Extreme Fest (RO), Brutal Assault (CZ), Bloodstock (UK), Summer Dying Loud (PL), Iberian Warriors (ESP).At the beginning of 2018 the band performed in the legendary 70000tons of metal cruise (US) and Nordic Metal Cruise (SWE) and soon the band will hit the stage in Ragnarök festival in Germany. The band has also announced so far their headlining tour in Canada and summer festivals; Rock Fest Barcelona (ESP), Gefle Metal Festival (SWE), Party San Open Air (GER) and Summer Breeze festival (GER).At the beginning of 2018 Wolfheart signed to Napalm Records. The band released their 4th album CONSTELLATION OF THE BLACK LIGHT at the of end september 2018 and started their north-american tour. Tour across the Europe will follow the Americas.
Album:
The mix of Melodic Death Metal with a slight touch of Doom and Black Metal makes the band Wolfheart quite unique. The melodic, atmospheric and emotionally composed music has found an ever-growing fan base since the foundation of the Finnish Melodic Death legend Tuomas Saukkonen, known from Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon for example. The band Wolfheart has been heard a lot lately and this year they will honor us with the upcoming album ‘Wolves Of Karelia’.The first song “Hail of Steel” goes straight into the ear. The mighty beginning together with the powerful guitars makes you hungry for more. In fact, you will not be disappointed at all. Fast, hard and the suitably selected orchestral samples in the background give the music its special touch. This whole package is just as you would expect from Wolfheart and at this point, it should be said: The whole album follows a golden thread that you can hear throughout the whole album. Thematically as well as instrumentally, this is typical for Wolfheart and almost gives the impression that you are listening to one single long song, of which I am a big fan personally. All songs are on a very high musical level, with my favorites appearing in the second half of the album. The instrumental song “Eye of the Storm” introduces what I think is the best part of the album. The three following songs are hard to beat in general concerning atmosphere and epicness. “Born From Fire” is carried by groovy headbang parts, a very well done guitar solo and epic lead melody in chorus and outro, which is a very cool mix. After that comes “Arrows Of Chaos”, which is fast, hard, but still playful. The latter is probably, because of the very concisely perceivable orchestra. All in all a very cool composition. But my absolute highlight on this album is the song “Ashes”, which is a worthy conclusion of the album. It starts with fine acoustic sounds, increases with impelling orchestral parts and powerful guitars up to very nice doom-like halting lead melodies and all accompanied by powerful and emotional vocals. All this then mixed with groovy parts for headbanging. The other songs already get me, but this song takes it one step further.I can’t complain about the sound on this record. Whoever likes a good Finnish Melodic Death Metal sound will be happy with this album. The sound is powerful, well mixed and has received brilliance in the right places. I don’t miss anything and I haven’t noticed anything bad even after listening to it several times.All in all, Wolfheart’s new album ‘Wolves Of Karelia’ is an album that should definitely be on shelves that are within easy reach, because this album should listen more often. The excellent sound, the consistently high niveau of the songs and explicitly the two half of the album are worth it.
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Bass, Drums (2013-2014), Vocals, Guitars (2013-present) - See also: ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-Dawn of Solace, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke Vagelis Karzis - Guitars (lead) (2020-present) - See also: Full House Brew Crew, ex-Rotting Christ (live) Lauri Silvonen - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2014-present) - See also: Casket, Death Confronting Joonas Kauppinen - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Disease of the Nation, ex-Ancient Misery, ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Burning Empire, ex-Misery Inc.
Tracklist:
01. Hail of Steel 05:51 02. Horizon on Fire 06:03 03. Reaper 05:00 04. The Hammer 06:19 05. Eye of the Storm 02:44 instrumental 06. Born From Fire 05:26 07. Arrows of Chaos 04:36 08. Ashes 05:31
Year : 2024 Style : Melodic Death Black Metal Country : Finland Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 96 mb
Bio:
Tuomas Saukkonen shocked everyone in 2012 with his announcement that he will bury all of his metal music projects at the same time to start anew. Before The Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace and RoutaSielu received their coup de grâce February 23rd, 2013.After years of pouring his creative juices to projects too numerous to count, since the end of 2012 Saukkonen has focused on just one labour of love, WOLFHEART.Be the approach melodic and hopeful, acoustic and fragile, harsh black/death metal or atmospheric doom, 'WINTERBORN' has it all, in a mix like of which you haven't heard before.Saukkonen recorded and released 'WINTERBORN' entirely by himself playing all the instruments and doing all the vocals, with Mika Lammassaari (Eternal Tears Of Sorrow, Mors Subita) as his only guest, playing guitar solos.'WINTERBORN' proved a roaring critical success scoring high ratings in reviews left and right. To cap off a great year for his project, 'WINTERBORN' was elected the best debut album of 2013 in the annual Record Store Äx customers’ poll. WOLFHEART deserved to be a fully operating band.2014 / 2015 took the band on the road to the national stages with Shade Empire and Finntroll, into the international stages with the first European tour with Swallow The Sun and even to Tokyo with Sonata Arctica etc.Also big european / scandinavian festivals were targeted and the climax of the 2015 was the 2nd album 'SHADOW WORLD' which continued the path of critical praises and was the first product from the co-operation with Spinefarm records (Universal).After a rapid ride since the release of the debut and second album the band cleared the calender in the beginning of 2016 and started the pre-production of the 3rd album in the legendary Petrax studios (CoB, HIM, Korpiklaani etc). Only few selected festival shows were booked to break the studio cycle but the focus has been intense and the scheduled release of the 'TYHJYYS' -album was set to the march of 2017.January 2017 Wolfheart headed back to tour in Europe with Insomnium and Barren Earth for 19 concerts.March 2017 started with the release 'TYHJYYS' (finnish meaning emptiness) -album via Spinefarm Records. The album received dozens of high-rated reviews across the globe. March 2017 continued with a headliner tour in Spain and with two concerts with Dark Tranquillity in Finland and with autumn tour in Europe with Ensiferum and Skyclad.Festivals 2017: Dark Troll Festival (GER), Nummirock (FIN), Rock Harz (GER), John Smith (FIN), Gothoom (SVK), Wacken Open Air (GER), Rockstadt Extreme Fest (RO), Brutal Assault (CZ), Bloodstock (UK), Summer Dying Loud (PL), Iberian Warriors (ESP).At the beginning of 2018 the band performed in the legendary 70000tons of metal cruise (US) and Nordic Metal Cruise (SWE) and soon the band will hit the stage in Ragnarök festival in Germany. The band has also announced so far their headlining tour in Canada and summer festivals; Rock Fest Barcelona (ESP), Gefle Metal Festival (SWE), Party San Open Air (GER) and Summer Breeze festival (GER).At the beginning of 2018 Wolfheart signed to Napalm Records. The band released their 4th album CONSTELLATION OF THE BLACK LIGHT at the of end september 2018 and started their north-american tour. Tour across the Europe will follow the Americas.
Album:
This was an excellent album, with a nice combination of Melo Death elements and symphonic ones. The orchestral sounds didn’t take over the music however, but rather were there in support. The music was vital, and powerful, and leaves the listener with a sense of the magnanimous.From their record label’s website, “Originated by hardworking multi-instrumentalist Tuomas Saukkonen (BEFORE THE DAWN, BLACK SUN AEON), WOLFHEART stand for a unique combination of sinister atmosphere and intense Northern European metal. Their music is based on sheer strength and poetic depth what generated much appreciation for their work within the worldwide metal community. While WOLFHEART's art is mainly inspired by their Finnish surrounding, their albums tell eclectic stories connecting nature and human feelings, and with each and every album, they've managed to extend their artistic horizon and to give even more utterance to their music.”“Ancient Cold” is first, and the symphonic elements are strong in the opener, followed by the familiar snarl of Suakkonen’s vocals. The two walk hand in hand towards the front of the army, ready to command the troops of the dead. “Evenfall” has a faster moving sound, fueled by thick bass notes, an energetic riff, and ultra-fast drums. But just when you think you have the sound down, a melodic passage springs out of the ground, like the first flower of spring. “Burning Sky” begins with acoustic guitars, and, like a storm brewing on the horizon, you know what is coming. The first few distorted guitar notes are powerful, and the symphonic elements help to thicken up the sound. “Scion of the Flame” has a slower pace and is fueled by both a weighted, chugging riff as well as clean and harsh vocals. It also has another powerful chorus that is quite catchy.“Grave” begins with delicate piano notes that quickly segues into a monstrous riff and some musical dissonance. From there, the song remains hidden in the shadowy dark. “Throne of Bones” also has a dark sound, and as the riff chugs away in unison with the drums, symphonic elements are peppered in. Listen to the chorus, the sound takes a sharp turn into controlled chaos and madness, and I love the guitar melody. “Trial by Fire” is yet another dark and powerful song, and Saukkonen’s harsh vocals provide much of the might. “The Gale” closes the album, and it might be the best song on the album, featuring a perfect combination of melody and aggression. The clean vocals are somber, and melancholy, while the harsh vocals grate against your skin. Overall, this was an excellent album, with a nice combination of Melo Death elements and symphonic ones. The orchestral sounds didn’t take over the music however, but rather were there in support. The music was vital, and powerful, and leaves the listener with a sense of the magnanimous.
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums (2013-2014), Vocals, Guitars (2014-present) - See also: ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-Dawn of Solace, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke Lauri Silvonen - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2014-present) - See also: Casket, Death Confronting Mika Lammassaari - Guitars (lead) (2014-present) - See also: Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Mors Subita Joonas Kauppinen - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Disease of the Nation, ex-Ancient Misery, ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Burning Empire, ex-Misery Inc.
Tracklist:
01. Ancient Cold 05:37 02. Evenfall 04:03 03. Burning Sky 04:15 04. Death Leads the Way 03:22 05. Scion of the Flame 04:01 06. Grave 04:22 07. Throne of Bones 05:28 08. Trial by Fire 03:53 09. The Gale 04:28
