WOLFHEART – Winterborn

Sometimes musicians understand intuition better than the fans. In the case of Tuomas Saukkonen, he needed to shut down all activities with Before The Dawn, The Final Harvest, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn Of Solace, and RoutaSielu at the beginning of this year to regroup and refocus his endeavors solely in this melodic death metal act Wolfheart. Performing vocals, guitars, bass, and drums in addition to writing and producing this debut 9 song album "Winterborn", the stunning display of atmosphere and aggression along with a healthy dose of extreme swings in emotional output make this a release most fans of the genre will return to again and again.

Because the man knows how to properly play drums in addition to his adept axe duties, you get the right sequence of pacing that will force your body to sway, stomp, and spasmodically bounce- especially in tracks like "Strength and Valour" as well as the insanely dynamic, low tuned "Ghosts of Karelia" where Tuomas unleashes some killer low screams against the musicality. You want something tranquil and tender? The opening acoustic parts for "The Hunt" build with a point/ counterpoint duality for the first minute before the melancholic electric weight takes over, the choice of a cultural/ melodic break stunning and dare I say some of Tuomas’ best sequences to songwriting date.

The use of cello in the epic "Routa Pt. 2" and the proper folk emphasis at times in "Chasm" are two more examples where Wolfheart start light years ahead of other bands in this genre- purposeful and tasteful within the context of their sound. And what can one say about his vocal style: vicious, gritty, cold in all the right places and giving the listener another aspect to key into on those days when life seems hopeless and you need that right emotional kick in the pants to turn things around in a proper direction.

These are major times for Wolfheart- and with "Winterborn" we can expect a journey with impressive results for all listeners into extreme melodic death metal. Essential.

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