a blend of "the hyper-fast precision of Yngwie Malmsteen-like guitar playing (witness the speedy "Beyond the Dark Sun") with the melodic sensibilities of post-Helloween power metal (see the more diverse "Winter Madness") and a homegrown passion for folk-styled songwriting descended straight from trailblazing compatriots Amorphis", describing their musicianship as "superb". He calls the guitar playing on "Death and the Healing" "jaw-dropping" and finds "Beautiful Death" "stunning (if quite morbid)". His overall impression was one of surprise, making note of the fact that he based his initial impression on the artwork, which "elicit[ed] thoughts of simplistic black metal infused with pagan or anti-Christian messages." Despite these "twists and turns", Rivadavia found the album formulaic at times and rated it 3.5/5. Mike Stagno, a staff member for Sputnikmusic, rated the album 4.5/5 and calls the band "stronger" than Ensiferum; he also describes their sound as "combining the likes of neoclassical metal, folk metal, power metal, black metal, and melodic death metal". Stagno emphasizes the connection between the music and the album's cover artwork, both of which are depicted as "bleak and cold" while retaining a "mystical attractiveness." Stagno's only problem lay with Mäenpää's clean vocals, which were "passive sounding" and weren't "quite as refined" as harsh vocals. Track listing Notes The five sections within "Starchild" are not listed on the back of the album, but the lyrics within the liner notes are segmented with the titles of each "part". There is also an early version of "Sadness and Hate" recorded back in 1996 as part of a demo from Jari Mäenpää's former band, Immemorial. Personnel Wintersun Jari Mäenpää – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, producer Kai Hahto – drums Teemu Mäntysaari − guitar (only on Live & Raw CD) Jukka Koskinen − bass (only on Live & Raw CD) Production Ahti Kortelainen – drum engineering Tuomo Valtonen – engineer Nino Laurenne – mixing Mika Jussila – mastering Kristian Wåhlin – cover art Helgorth – booklet design Mario Koivumäki – photography Tuomas Tahvanainen – Wintersun logo Wintersun: Special Tour Edition On September 29, 2006, Wintersun released Wintersun: Special Tour Edition, a live album. The tour edition is a Digipack that includes the original version of the album Wintersun and a live DVD from Wintersun's performance at Summer Breeze Open Air in 2005. Track listing Disc 1 (same as Wintersun) Release history References Wintersun albums 2004 debut albums Albums with cover art by Kristian Wåhlin