Epic heathen metallers MOONSORROW — a five-strong outfit formed in Helsinki in 1995 — will release their new album on February 23 in Finland and March 21 in the U.K. through Spinefarm Records.

Titled “Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa” (English translation: “As Shadows We Wander In The Land Of The Dead”), this 60-minute-plus opus sees the band taking an approach to its craft that borders on the cinematic, carving out truly monumental swathes of sound best enjoyed with a flagon of mead in one hand and a sharpened weapon of war in the other.

Whether pushing boundaries in the studio or bare-chested, blood-strewn and going for broke onstage, MOONSORROW — a band with an impressive discography straddling several studio albums, EPs and DVDs — requires absolutely no added motivation to pull down very hard indeed on the levers marked “over the top” and “heroic,” although even by their own heady standards “Varjoina Kuljemma Kuolleiden Maasa” is a body of work designed to take away the breath and leave the listener emotionally fragile and in need of a lie down with a strong cup of tea…

Drawing influences from the folk, progressive, black metal and classic rock scenes, and favoring the Finnish language and culture, MOONSORROW is truly a force of nature to be reckoned with. Since releasing its debut album (“Suden Uni”) in 2000, the five have chosen to pursue a path that has nothing to do with being obviously commercial or playing the corporate game; instead, their musical output has become increasingly challenging, conceived on the very grandest of scales with certain songs easily breasting the half-hour tape.

Coming on like Ennio Morricone if he’d been brought up by wolves on the frozen Tundra, this latest album has just seven individual interludes yet successfully brings the hammer down from first chest-beating note and rousin’ choral passage to last, proving that true Viking power is very much alive an’ well and ready to burn and pillage on command.

“Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa” track listing:

01. Tähdetön (Starless)
02. Hävitetty (Ravaged)
03. Muinaiset (The Ancient Ones)
04. Nälkä, väsymys ja epätoivo (Hunger, Weariness & Despair)
05. Huuto (The Scream)
06. Kuolleille (To The Dead)
07. Kuolleiden Maa (The Land Of The Dead)

Source: Blabbermouth.net

Finnish folk/pagan metal band MOONSORROW will release their new album, “Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa”, via Spinefarm Records on the following dates:

February 21 – U.K.
February 23 – Finland
February 25 – Germany, Switzerland, Austria
February 28 – Rest of Europe

A release party will be held on April 1 at Nosturi in Helsinki, Finland.

MOONSORROW previously described the new material as “cold, heavy and crushing. Lyrically we’re dealing with life after the end of the world, so there is no light at the end of that tunnel either.”

A studio diary from MOONSORROW‘s recording sessions, which took place at various studios in Finland, can be found at the band’s studio blog.

Source: Blabbermouth.net

MOONSORROW will take part in the Paganfest 2011 European tour in March alongside KORPIKLAANI, UNLEASHED, KIVIMETSÄN DRUIDI, VARG and ARAFEL.