Moonsorrow - Suden Uni Reviewed by Knut Austegard in 7/12/2004 I was not sure whether to judge this as a new "fresh stuff" release or as an attempt to squeeze some money out of the fans' pockets when I held the promo pack in my hands. I was soon convinced that this little beauty is worth every penny I would have paid if I bought it in the store. First of all, it has a new cool cover with a wolf-headed exhibitionist and some rather suspicious hunting horsemen doing their thing in the form of runes. Very viking. Second, and most importantly, the re-mastered songs sound awfully good compared to the originals. They somehow put more "force" to the overall sound this time around, and it feels like the different elements (vocals, guitars, drums etc) are more connected. The songs are less varied than the newer material Moonsorrow have produced (Voimasta Ja Kunniasta, Kivenkantaja), which is obvious since it is in fact older material you’re listening to, so if you're looking for something greater than the latter one, Kivenkantaja, you'll most likely be disappointed. The 7 original tracks go nicely together though: the vocals change between cleans and growling and the instruments also differ depending on the mood of the songs, or mood of the parts of the songs rather, as Moonsorrow has a tendency of dividing their stuff in several parts which transitions go smoothly so the feel of connectivity doesn’t get interrupted. In addition to the original tracks, they threw on a bonus track, Tulkaapa Äijät! which was recorded during the Kivenkantaja session but never used if I'm not mistaken. This one is a surprisingly cool "drunken party" song which brings forth the jolly side of Moonsorrow's musical geniousity. It doesn't fit the theme of the original album, but is as I said earlier it's only a bonus, and does really strengthen the list of reasons to get this release. Oh wait, there's more! A DVD of their performance at the Tuska Open Air festival last year (which I had the honor of attending to) bundles with the album. This disc wasn't included in the promo edition I received but friends of me (fellow attendants at the gig) informed me that it was worth a look. Yours truly popped up on the screen a few times too and that alone is a reason to get it a.s.a.p! All in all, I think it's a nice addition to the collection. Remastered songs, a bonus track and a live performance DVD should keep every fan of the band or the viking metal genre in general from hesitating.

Rating: 8/10 Website: http://www.moonsorrow.com/ Label: http://www.spinefarm.fi/ Distribution(Norway): http://www.tubarec.com/ 01 Ukkosenjumalan Poika 02 Köyliönjärven Jäällä (Pakanavedet II) 03 Kuin Ikuinen 04 Tuulen Koti, Aaltojen Koti 05 Pakanajuhla 06 1065: Aika 07 Suden Uni 08 Bonus track: Tulkaapa Äijät! 09 Special bonus DVD More related on BTB: news\New album from MOONSORROW (12/21/2006) concerts\Gates Of Metal 2005 (8/15/2005) concerts\Tuska 2003 (4/30/2003)