Moonsorrow
Moonsorrow is an epic pagan metal band from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Its theme does not talk about the Vikings, like other groups of the same genre, since they distance themselves as far as possible from it since they are Finns.
History
Moonsorrow's story begins in late 1995, when cousins Henri and Ville Sorvali came together with the idea of creating a sound similar to epic folk metal. The first demo, Thorns of Ice, was recorded in early 1996; half of the material disappeared, so the tape was never released.
In the spring of 1997 Moonsorrow released Metsä, the demo considered to be the band's debut, obtaining some publicity in the press and a small number of fans. Another tape, called Promo, was also recorded, but never released either.
During 1998 the band worked on their next edition, Tämä Ikuinen Talvi, which was released at the beginning of 1999. With this last demo they got their first recording contract with Plasmatica Records. Soon after, Marko Tarvonen joined as the third member, and Moonsorrow were ready for their debut album. And so the album was recorded, in February 2000. At the same time Mitja Harvilahti and Markus Eurén joined Moonsorrow (initially as session members) and thus the band was also prepared for live performances. The first performance was in Turku.
In June 2001, the debut album Suden Uni was finally released, and Moonsorrow was already working on the next one. He signed a new contract with Spinefarm Records, with which they released Voimasta ja Kunniasta, which they released at the end of the year. At the end of August, Sagitarius Productions also released a new remastered version of Tämä Ikuinen Talvi in CD format, finally surpassing the sales of the original edition, already out of print at that time. Inspired by this, Moonsorrow also partially remade Metsä and offered it to their fans as a free download in 2002.
The band's third LP, Kivenkantaja, was released on March 10, 2003, offering a more progressive side to Moonsorrow's epic metal; Not surprisingly, the most difficult Moonsorrow album to swallow, it finally climbed to number 16 on the Finnish sales charts in its first week of release. After this album, Moonsorrow took a break and would not return with a new album until 2005.
However, negotiations between Spikefarm and Plasmatica regarding the reissue of Suden Uni were finally closed shortly after the release of Kivenkantaja. At the end of 2003 (December 16), the newly edited and remastered debut album was released with a bonus DVD.
In 2004 Moonsorrow made a strong comeback with a few live shows. Writing material all summer long, Moonsorrow finally entered the studio in September to record Verisäkeet, the band's darkest and most intriguing album yet. This last album is also characterized by the long duration of its five songs. Verisäkeet was released on February 23, 2005 worldwide.
The last album with the name Viides Luku - Hävitetty (Fifth Chapter: Destroyed) came out on January 10, 2007, featuring Thomas Väänänen, former Thyrfing singer. This album has only two songs, but 30 and 26 minutes each.
After the release of their latest album, they dedicated the rest of the year to their "Ravaged Hope" the largest in its entire history, which passed through a total of 10 countries.
On [March 26]], 2008 they released their first EP called Tulimyrsky ("Firestorm").
Members
- Henri Sorvali - Guitar, Keyboard, Voices
- Ville Sorvali - Low, Voices
- Mitja Harvilahti - Guitar
- Lord Eurén - Keyboards
- Marko Tarvonen - Battery, Secondary Voices.
Live Members
- Janne Perttilä - Guitars
Discography
Demos
- Metsä - 1997 (reissued in 2002 for internet download)
- Tämä Ikuinen Talvi - 1999 (reissued in 2001 in digital version with voices and remastered music)
Albums
- Suden Uni - 2001 (remastered in 2003 with an extra track + DVD with promotional videos and the Tuska 2003 tour)
- Voimasta Ja Kunniasta 2001
- Kivenkantaja - 2003
- Verisäkeet - 2005
- Viides Luku - Hävitetty - 2007
- Tulimyrsky [EP] - 2008
- Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa - 2011
- Jumalten Aika - 2016
Others
- Thorns of Ice - 1995 (demo never published)
- Promo - 1997 (demo never published)