Winterborn – Farewell To Saints

Releasedate: 02-05-2009; Label: Massacre Records
By: Sabine van Gameren

Winterborn is power metal formation from Finland. Their second album us just out and it is called “Farewell to Saints”

The band formed in 2004 with a mission to make a mix of classic rock and power metal. Their first European tour was with the legendary Doro and they won the hearts from several music fans all over Europe. Since the debut album was released the band had to due with some line up changes and they fired their management as well.

The genre these Finnish guys make is not unique in their country and you will surely find influences from compatriots while listening to this album, but that only counts as pro, since the band has an own style, not being an ordinary copycat and their music has a little bit of a darker undertone.
The music is quite in balance, none of the musicians sticks out more than the others and even though it was tried a couple of times there are hardly any spectacular bursts in the music. The album holds songs that are fast and furious but also some more dramatic almost ballad-like songs. This is good for the variance and keeps it exciting enough to keep listening. The way the band was presented made me expect something huge. The new big thing which was not really the fact. Winterborn made an above average album, but maybe they are not able to fulfill the expectations of those who knew the debut album. Whether this is caused by the line up changes or the overhyped response on their debut is in debate, but there is nothing to change to the fact that it is a nice album to listen to anyway.

Line Up:
Teemu Koskela – Vocals
Pasi Vapola – Guitars
Pasi Kauppinen – Bass
Jukka Hänninen – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Lauri Bexar – Drums
Antti Hokkala – Guitar

Links:
Winterborn MySpace
Winterborn Official