Moonsorrow - Verisakeet

Y'know those bands that you upload to your iPod and only give two or three listens to before losing interest only to re-discover them a year later when nothing else is quite appealing? That's just how I rediscovered Moonsorrow's Verisakeet (Bloodverses) the other day, boredom.

For those that don't know Moonsorrow is similar to Finntroll but serious. Both hammer out epic Viking Metal ballads in a somewhat similar manner but whereas Finntroll create their music tongue-in-cheek (influenced by alcoholic debauchery), Moonsorrow are dead serious, creating grandiose, drawn-out opus' (opi?). Lead singer, Ville Sorvali yelps in an impressive Black Metal shrill while his orchestral-like band belt out swooning anthems. Bathory is clearly a huge influence here as most Moonsorrow songs start off with or lead up to somber (post or pre-Great Viking battle) Lute licks.

I'm not sure if I like Moonsorrow, think they're alright or if they need improvement. Either way I find their approach annoying but interesting. Moonsorrow are not the kinds of artists the dance around the point or head right to it. On the contrary, they beat the point into you. These sprawling 10+ minute songs (which is a great deal for only $10 at Generation Records), can become quite an ordeal. Not to say that noisy, speedy songs of no longer than three minutes, with respect to utility and convenience are more appealing to me; I'm all for pondering beyond boxy confines. However, if you're going to compose songs approximately three to four times larger than modern day conventional songs, you better have a good reason to do so, not to mention a good way to keep your listeners interested. Moonsorrow both tumble and succeed in this area. While the band forgo the bridge-chorus structure, melodies are repeated between one to three minutes before shifting gears again. While some parts will reach intense climaxes and surges, you might be slapping yourself on the head due to the redundancy of their formula. While Verisakeet is an interesting and mostly fun album, these sort of give and takes, teases and highs and lows marshaled by anthemic folk metal can become repetitive and a little tiring. Furthermore, Finntroll's success is largely due to their casual take on the mostly straight-faced, bombastic Viking genre. Perhaps Moonsorrow could loosen up a little and shake off some of their pompousness; image-wise they're not cutting a unique niche from other Viking bands. Still, a good Viking metal album best listened to when combating rude New York City subway pedestrians during rush hour.