MOONSORROW Jumalten Aika Vinyl/CD (2016)

Finnish pagan black metal exists in its own timezone, somewhere between a frozen lake and a very long saga about things that happened before Christianity showed up uninvited.

Moonsorrow have spent two decades being one of that scene's most serious architects, and Jumalten Aika, their 2016 record, is the sound of a band who have absolutely nothing left to prove deciding to make something enormous anyway. The album runs to two sprawling, ritualistic tracks that unfold like ancient myth rather than songs. This is not background music. This is the kind of record that demands you sit with it, ideally somewhere with weather. The 2016 release comes in a 2LP plus CD package, which means you get the full analog warmth of the vinyl alongside a disc you can actually take somewhere.

2LP plus CD. 2016 release. Finland. Folk metal, pagan metal, black metal.

Fans of: Finntroll, Thyrfing, Windir, Ensiferum, Wintersun, Turisas.