🎵🎸Moody, atmospheric, instrumental, one-man-band prog? Right this way 👇 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z9SHmJaYxJ3UoXU.html

2:43 pick up drink, try to drink 2:45 Jari and Teemu attack, smile prevents drinking 2:47 "I'll drink this in a bit, lemme listen", guitar stank face ensues 3:06 stank face continues 3:30 puts drink back down without drinking... Yep, that's the Wintersun effect alright.

The singer, Jari Mäenpää said in an interview, that after he had composed and played everything else in the song, he then send it to Kai for him to plan and play the drums. He thought he wasn`t good enough drummer to do them himself. Humble genius. Thank you for the interesting analysis of this epic song. Best I`ve seen.

IMO, this is one of the most difficult regularly reacted to songs coming in blind and you absolutely crushed it. It is amazing to me the details that you find on your first listen. This song blew my mind the first listen and I missed a ton at first. There is so much going on, as you noted, that it's so enjoyable to return to so I've seen quite a lot of reactions and this one might just be my favorite so thank you for taking your time on this epic monster of a track. Since you asked for feedback, I would be perfectly ok if you just listened to the music if it helps you with your analysis but there are probably a ton of others who want the visuals. One trick I have seen other reactors do is to admit they are kind of ignoring the video to focus on analysis of the music. This way the viewer can see the visuals but it isn't so distracting to the reactor. Anyways, I loved that you covered this song and I learned even more about it and I'm already looking forward to the next song, whatever it may be. Thanks John!

That was a class reaction

Next: *"TIME"* . It actually has a piano in the end plus a very tasty little guitar solo. :) Or, since you're a classical composer *"Winter Madness"* . That one has a crazy neo-classical guitar solo.

This guy just makes an hour go so fast and you feel constantly entertained. Great stuff.

Thank you! I've seen a few dozen "reactions" to this song and yours is by far the best! Really good stuff. That Tim Burton feel of the vocal harmonizing section has come to my mind also 😂 Please do 'Time' from this same rehearsal session, thanks.

Definitely more Wintersun!!!!!

Great reaction. One of the longest i have ever seen. Kai, the drummer is the drummer for Nightwish. Jukka, the bass player is the guest bass player for Nightwish for the upcoming live concerts. Hope they keep him. Great song. Certainly complex. Heard it a lot of times. Still hear different things. Thank you for this reaction.

Thanks for this, quality content! 😍 The mastermind Jari Mäenpää (the guy on vocals) classifies as a half mad genius in my books, with his talent, zero-compromise attitude and ambition. You'll stumble on a lot of varied opinions about his modus operandi if you google him. Personally, I find it admirable that he doesn't put music out there unless it sounds excaxtly what he wants it to sound like. Oh yes and the drumming machine Kai Hahto's machinery is currently residing in the Nightwish camp (since 2014) and they even snatched this here bassist Jukka Koskinen as session bassist for the tour of their latest album Human:II:Nature. Great pick, great bassist.

the "mastermind" is Jari (the singer , guitarist) who left Ensiferum to start his own band Wintersun. He is really nitpicky about his music which results him releasing new stuff ever 5 years or more. You might have good time reacting/analyzing to older Ensiferum records too (first and second). They are more of a folkish side but nevertheless really great piece of music.

This was a long reaction and I loved every minute of it. I really saw how you enjoyed this piece of music. I think that this song fitted well into your analytical profile, how you digest songs. Jari's complex composition and your analytical mind matched in this one. Now I'm waiting your reaction to rest of the songs from "Sonic Pump -session.

This was more than "mildly interesting", it was highly educational and entertaining. Thank you so much for investing your time to share your knowledge. Your comment about reactors is so true, there's only a handful - that I know of - who really explain things. The video is quite long, yes, but the time just flew by :-)

“ Hard on you”…. Dude! Your amazing, breeakdowns: timing : referencing. Perfect take on a great bunch of Musicians. You break it down on levels everyone can understand, and for this I admire n respect you. Rock on 🤘.

Kai Hahto demonstrated his playing of this track to fellow drummers at Extreme Drummers Universe 2014, and did a separate video talk about 4 sections and how he approached mastering them. Fascinating insights pulled out of the mix.

"My dreams wither in fragments of time" is one of the most poetic lines I've heard in any metal song...

One of my favourite Bands, an your "reaction" does Wintersun justice! Simply because you know what you're talking about. I am following you since your first Ayreon reaction. And yes the Mastermind Jari......

I will try to be brief, mate. You keep your reactions as long as you like them. I loved every second of it! On the other hand it is not fair to chuck at you this masterpiece and to expect a reaction that will cover everything. You need at least five good listens. And yet you pulled it off. When you wrote the other day that you got obliterated, I knew exactly how you felt. Wintersun are an awesome band, so complex and yet so fun to listen to. Loved the reaction. Saw it twice today. I told you, they are metal gods! Cheerz, mate!

one thing I noticed from many wintersun songs, is that there is so much musical transitions, the songs becomes it, a series of infinite transitions masterfully composed and played, so it somewhat feels like 50 songs mashed into 1.

Thank you for this thorough and thoughtful reaction (or should I say dissection?), by far the best I have seen. To give you an idea: Just yesterday I saw a reactor listening to this song for 14 minutes straight without a single break and in the end he literally said the band is decent but the song is too long and too complex to be a good song. I had the advantage that I have heard the song several times before, but you still pointed out stuff that I have never realized, so I definitely learned a thing or two (I am currently listening to Mechanical Poet while writing this). I understand that this type of music is not for everybody (even I just recently got into heavier music like this) but it still puzzles me how the original video "only" has 1.5 million views since the musicianship is "superb" and the composition is "elite" (using your words here).

I think you should continue this Wintersun journey with "Time". This song is the first to the album (following the instrumental intro), and Time is a title and the closing song of the album. P.S. I'm really really surprised you know about Mechanical Poet. They're not very well-known even here in Russia...I'm waiting for the album since their last release in 2008, but guess it will never happen due to Lexx's health issues, though he tried to revive the band. It's also nice that he put all his music to his official KZfaq channel for free, here's a link: m.kzfaq.infofeatured

That was hella interesting, thank you! I'd really love to hear your take on "Time" from the same rehearsal session. 👀

I always thought that it's not a song for a common metal show, it's actually a song and a band to behold in a great theater and give a standing ovation after so. ♥

Just 10 minutes in your reaction but (perhaps premature but nevertheless) ..... I hope you recognize the man behind the drums ... Kai Hahto (also the drummer of Nightwish). And about the vocalist, Mäenpää served in the Finnish military as part of his national defense duty, during which he contracted tuberculosis. The diagnosis was late, and Mäenpää required surgery to remove part of his lung, hospitalizing him for months.

As a casual listener, your description of 6/8 vs 3/4 was really helpful - thanks!

Excellent analysis. I have grown tired of the reaction scene with the exception of a handful of people who actually offer some value to their reaction instead of the typical "ohh Ahh" ... I will defiantly add you to the list of few people who are awesome!

Awesome reaction again, thank you!

OH JOY. The Wintersun journey has begun. I have been interested in whether we would go there. Hard to skip over Wintersun on a reaction channel I suppose. Well done John. Always appreciate the analysis. Doubt that we will get much new Wintersun for a while considering both Kai Hahto and Jukka Koskinen have joined Nightwish on their world tour.

Nice reaction Man. This band is so talented it`s crazy. React to "Time" from the same rehearsal. That song is perfection in my opinion but who am i ;) Keep up the good work. Greetings from Sweden

Your reactions are very niche, and I say this as nothing but a compliment - I've watched a fair few of your videos as we appear to share similar tastes, I don't generally do "reaction" videos per se but do enjoy channels that truly get personal with the music in one (or many, in your case) way or another because I think it's interesting to see someone who really does love music get involved with something new. You showcase that through and through and it's quite apparent that you are very intelligent (musically and otherwise I'm sure), I wish you the very best and I will continue to be a regular on the channel. Your own music (which I have purchased) is very impressive too, by the way.

This was one of the best reac... sorry, song analyzations of not only Wintersun, but like anything ever that I've seen. Well done, sir!

Brilliantpick up for your first time listen. I was learning new stuff from this song after 20 listens. A great band with epic songs and amazing composition.

Awesome reaction and breakdown As some already pointed out Jari is the mastermind But I would ad the drummer, kai hahto as well Jari sends him the music and he creates the drum parts And you are right. He is a machine. A very humble one. There are a lot of videos of him talking drumming and videos were he shows some warmup routines. He also plays jazz. And, yes, those videos are out there to

Can confirm from personal experience, this song is absolutely godlike live. Same with their other songs.

Proper reaction

It never ceases to amaze me how Kai's snare displacements make this song's rhythm interesting from beginning to end. Great insights from the reaction, rock on!

So happy you got around to these guys! This was the first song i heard from them, and it was too much to take in, so i didnt listen to anything from them or a while. But then later i listened to this a few more times, and i absolutely love this music now. 🙂 I also find music videos distract from the music. Have a nice weekend!

As many followers have already suggested, song "Time" from the same session is a natural way to go, John. It's slower, but very ambiental, folky, hard...and another epic masterpiece. Please so treat us with another Wintersun reaction. Cheerz, pal.

Love hearing you break these down. I don't think I ever would have heard that timpani on my own, but it comes through pretty clearly after you mentioned it. One of the best reactor on the tube. Class!

I'm already waitin for ''TIME'' ! Great informative reaction, keep it up man!

I mean this is just one big technical wintersun flex

Great reaction/analysis! hope to see more Wintersun in this channel 🤘🏻

I loved your reaction. Not many people can dissect this like you did. Keep it up my friend

The most enjoyable breakdown of this masterpiece of music... so far 👍👌 Great job... and I've listened/watched dozens of reactions already...

That was awesome, you did fantastic! thank you for such a great reaction! Wintersun Time is amazing, can’t wait to see you react to that one.

great review, more wintersun and long epic songs :)

That was a ride. Thank you for the effort you put in.

Thanks again, this was interesting! I think you really get more out of Wintersun when you listen to it from a classical perspective. Yes, they are all super talented musicians, but what really sets them apart from other bands are the intricate compositions. This song for example. It has different movements and themes that are developed throughout the song... I feel like Jari should write us program notes or something. :]

Class!! 10mins in, but I'll have to come back and watch your entire breakdown. Looking forward to it, what an amazing piece from ana amazing band! Really looking forward to see how you receive the rest of it!

This'll probably be the musical highlight of my weekend. Will edit after the hour is up. :) Edit: So, as expected, hard not to be really caught off guard with Wintersun. I only found out about them from Kai stepping in to tour with Nightwish in 2015 and had a listen and was similarly gobsmacked. Lots of the comments below are excellent here in terms of some backstory etc. For me, Jari is in a tier with Arjen and Tuomas for composing and complexity, etc. If I might make a request, it'll be Kamelot. Their singer, Tommy Karevik, was in the Aryeon masterpiece (as is everything Arjen has done) you reacted to. The specific song would be Sacrimony (Official Live Video) but there are many. Also, if you go back to the previous singer prior to 2012, Roy Khan, almost anything is great but The Haunting Live - featuring Simone Simons of Epica (who is married to Kamelot's keyboardist, Oliver Palotai). Their music is a bit more straightforward power metal but I love all of it across the spectrum. Cheers John. Keep up the great work.

Kae’s performance is more emphasized by him blinking sweat out of his eyes, almost the entire performance.

that intro sound -like static- seems more like the sound of snow blown away across ice, didnt realize it at first ... wow thx for mentioning that !

Kai (=drum player/jazz drummer/drum mechanic/drum teacher) is mastermind behind everything that has something to do with drums (currently one of the most talented drum players in the world) and Jari is behind everything else. Jari is lead singer, guitarist, composer ect ect ect and apparently he is a little bit perfectionist and probably uses every minute in his life for creating a music, so he literally lives music. His old band was Ensiferum (=Folk Metal band, so thats why we have Viking vibes here), but Wintersun has strong Black Metal base so it's mostly black metal and then many other genres as addition. Wintersun - The Forest Seasons album is pure Black Metal (much less any other genres and it's more evil and dark music overall than this Time album here). Kai is now playing drums in Night Wish and bass player from this band was lately also taken to Night Wish. Kai used to paly drums in grindcore band Rotten Sound kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ia6fjJhiu6nQpX0.html. There is also drummer aspect video of this very same song Wintersun - Sons Of Winter And Stars - Drummer aspect kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zp6Pg8emuLGyh4k.html.

I love this band and your reaction was great for another by them Time is very good

TIME 👍

Great reaction and attempt to break it down. Enjoyed your 'struggle'. x) This is such an amazing band. It is immensely complex, but I guess that's the reason Jari only writes an album every 10 years or so. :P

You're fun EDIT: Mastermind lol, you were on the right track It's a Jari Mäenpää solo project with his friends that are crazy talanted

Oh! This is gonna be good =)

Excellent video! There are a few people put off by the frequent pauses but I will echo what most people are saying, most of us watching this video are fans of the song and want to geek out over it, so you pausing frequently to dissect what is going on is perfect. I like that you listen to a section and then go back to dive deep. I have watched a few of these videos for this song and yours is the most in depth, but everyone notices different things. I thought it was interesting you mentioned not watching the video because it directs your attention to specific aspects which can distract from the background layers or from the whole piece. That being said, I see a lot of people recommending the some Time from the same album. I ask that you listen to the album as a whole. I'm not asking for an analysis video of the whole thing (that would be probably 3-4 hours long 😅) , just that you listen to it yourself. There is a four minute instrumental intro building up to Sons of Winter and Stars, and the ending of Sons leads into Land of Snow and Sorrow, with another instrumental before Time. The album should be listened to as a whole, in my opinion, to really appreciate Jari's work composing it. None of the videos analyzing this song include the four minute intro because they all go with the video you use, which is a good mastered live recording, but I feel like the whole album is on piece with the songs being movements. I'm listening to Mechanical Poet now and will be checking out The Rupal Face as well. 🤘🤘

"52 minutes!? I don't have time to watch a 52-minute video! I need to go to bed!" *52 minutes later* "Well, shit."

You are up there with The Charismatic Voice and The Fairy Voice Mother in my opinion, proper analysis from the perspective of musical knowledge, different approach but equally excellent. Keep doing things how you do them.

I recommend the song Time as a next Wintersun reaction, they also did in this live studio setting. Just finished the video, I really enjoyed to see you trying to break this down. Luckily I saw them live twice and they were flawless

Really great analysis! Well done. Greetings from Finland.

Great reaction and analysis! Probably my all time favorit song 🤟

Your reaction to this song is…. top notch! You truly have taken this to a new level!

Thanks for this great analysis! I love Wintersun and I’m a weird time signature nerd, so I really appreciated your comments! 🤓 “Time” and “Loneliness” next for them are good suggestions - but really, all of their stuff is good. New subscriber here! ❤️

27:17 if you wanna hear just exactly how much Teemu is holding back at that point, you should listen to Winter Madness and watch him play the bloody solo in that song, that dude is blessed by the guitar gods...

Well done, nice reaction / dissection / whatever! 👌When the blastbeats started in the beginning, I thought you’d never finish up your coffee. 😄

Great reaction dude, thank you 😃👏🏻 you should check out the song Time from the same session. Even better 🤯

Just catching up on your channel. Loving your de-compositions and showing how the music is put together. Brings back memories of my mother, who, as she said, was a good listener, and every artist needed a good listener. After retiring she studied music and art at Uni and she said it detracted something from the simple listening in the fact that she was now analysing the music and how the piece was constructed but it added so much more to her enjoyment in knowing the how and why it "worked", so please don't stop pausing, analysing, and reconstructing.

2:42 wanting to take a sip and is stoppend before the cup reaches your mouth and then totally forget it :-) . Nice you finally got to my favoutite band that me and alot of others recommended. We were right ...its worth it isnt it?

Yes, Kai Hahto, the drummer is a machine and a drum teacher. He replaced Jukka as drummer for Nightwish in 2013 probably for a rest !! The bassist, Jukka, has recently also joined Nightwish as stand in bassist but not singing with them yet.

Jari (guitar, vocals) is the mastermind. He writes and records and programs everything. On the album The Forest Seasons the other members only provided vocals

The things you pick up on are such a joy. I heard this song many many times. Still you point out stuff that I hadn't really noticed. I would love to hear your point of view on Permian: The Great Dying by The Ocean. A hugely underrated band. They kind of specialize in taking one idea and modulating it in the song, building and building, bringing it back and exploding.

You should review time, loneliness or winter madness 1.5. Those songs are great.

Kai Hahto (drummer) is currently a member of the band Nighwish and the bassist is still playing in it for the time being.

Here I come 1 year later.. Yup. The Drummer, Kai Hahto is a machine. In one of your Nightwish reactions you called Jukka (the former NW drummer) a human metronome. Well. Jukka's good friend and mentor Kai IS the human metronome. NW is lucky to have snatched him 🙂 Wintersun? Absolutlely brilliant. Pure effing Metal. I love it! And I totally agree in your point in removing the visuals to catch more of the layers in the music. I do that all the time.

Wintersun is truly an epic underrated band. I heard this track had so many tracks going on at the same time that computers weren't able to handle at the moment of the composition so the album got delayed several years...now we are still waiting for Time II, the sequel to Time I the album that has this track. It seems that it will be the longest wait ever but certainly worth it if it's this quality. Great dissection, your knowledge is always impressive

Was gonna sub because your analysis was wonderful, then I definitely subbed once you said you were a black metal guy, because same. Also bonus points for mentioning Bal-Sagoth

The guitarists in Wintersun are all beasts, but they really kept it tame on the solo front in the Time album. You should check out the self titled Wintersun album for face melting solos by Jari.

Sons of winter and stars is their most complex song from what I know.

Awesome reaction! Keep on reacting exactly like you do. No matter if each video is one hour long. Many said it already, but Time is worth another reaction from Wintersun eventually. Please also react to Amorphis (for example Bee). And more Nightwish

Great breakdown and reaction, hope you look into some of their other compositions, the whole first seasons album is a gem.

Have you ever heard Galneryus? As you mentioned Power Metal my mind instantly jumped to their music, since i would call (at least some of it) neo classical Power metal. As a start i would suggest the live version of Angel of Salvation (since the music video version is shortened). The song is based on a violin concerto by Tschaikowsky and it's an insane piece of musicianship.

Tnx for an honest review. Complex is the word, and well performed also

Like your style and videos. Finland say thank you.

My first thought when seeing the length of this video was: "oh hell no if I'm watching this all the way trough without skipping" (which is a bit ironic considering the length of the song) after an hour I'm happily giving it my like. Ps. this was also probably the first time I didn't skip the intro guitar diddling on channel

Kai Hahto used to play in a grind band Rotten Sound before Nightwish. He also played in a latest Darkwoods My Betrothed album that came out a while back. I believe he's still teaching playing drums and drumming ergonomics.

BTW I really enjoyed your analysis although it was pretty long :D

You were great. Actually best so far after many years. So, dont change anything. 👍

Great analysis. Next: 'Wintersun - Time' from the same rehearsal session. There is an intro called Darkness and frost in the beginning.

Thanks for the Mechanical Poet suggestion, It sounds great so far.

See it as a compliment that people request your reaction to more complicated symphonic metal tracks. You know what you're talking about and people like to hear your insight. No use asking you about simple radio songs imo. And when it comes to Wintersun, it's good to be challenged sometimes. And even better to be blown away.

I love metal but am not really a harsh vocals guy, but my first listen of this song I was initially hooked. Time is an amazing song from the same studio live recording.

Fantasitic sir! I finally got the "after party" (everyone's asleep) situation lined up to view this entire video. I enjoyed this nearly more than listening to the song itself! In regards to your questions, you've probably already researched or been told about Wintersun. Basically, Jari used to be in Ensiferum (listen to "Iron"). Then he went off to do his own brilliance. 8 years after his first album, this happened. I'd imagine it was a mastermind style setup indeed. He is an absolute genius. Ensiferum went on however to make some brilliant releases however, (check out Victory Songs) or even just the title song itself. Wintersun has now become an entity that even their own fans struggle to understand, but it's definitely all fantastic, whether you want to pay for the patreon or not.. Your breakdown on first listen was incredibly interesting to watch. It's so epic! In a similar vein, somewhat, I would suggest listening to Rhapsody "Legendary Tales" (the title song), ((all their back catelogue is incredible)), or why not "Valhalla" by Manowar. It is beyond what you might expect! Last option, if you want something more recent: "All Heroes Fall" by Tyr. They are incredible also. Good job and keep going good sir! P.S. Go me for managing to type, after a night out on the beer!

This is now Night Sun , playing the music of their other mad genius composer.

Nightwish is a day off for the Human Metronome!!😂😂

This Drummer is the current Nightwish Drummer Kai Hahto (he replaced Jukka Nevalainenon 2014).The Black Haired guitarist with Green/Black Tiger painted Guitar on the Wintersun video is the current MEGADETH Lead Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, who replaced Kiko Loureiro in Megadeth on last September and is now established as the Lead Guitarist.. AND the Bassist in the video is the current Nightwish Bassist Jukka Koskinen, whom Kai Hahto lured to join Nightwish 2021 when Longest time Bassist Marko Hietala (the tall guy with blonde long hair and double pig tales beard, seen in this video also) quit from the Nightwish - Finland Metal scene is quite close and people change from band to another very quickly :)

John Lennon looks like you 😀 Thanx for entertaining video