Producer Reacts to WINTERSUN Time II - The Way of The Fire

[@Mendelian]

What’s your favorite part of the song? Let me know down in the comments!

[@jona7940]

definitely the orchestral break after the second solo leading into the main melody riff

[@rocknrollguitar]

The weedly weedly part, always the best part! Unless its dragonforce, then it gets to be an annoying partytrick

[@mums_poop_sock]

when it ended

[@fredrikbillington6029]

The orchestral part after the solo. These breakes is what defines the whole feeling of the album (speaking here of time 1 and 2)

[@kazmeisterkometh122]

Been trippin on that small section between 00:00 - 10:08

[@WintersunJari]

Thank you for this reaction! Awesome! 🙂🤘

[@fredrikbillington6029]

Keep going with the other songs! Storm is massive and has a lot of small hidden treasures in the mix, Silver leaves is also a monster!

[@MikkoRantalainen]

Storm is really complex song and requires active listening to enjoy. All the other songs work for me while playing on the background while I'm writing code but Storm is too complex to use as background music. I already wrote elsewhere that Storm is the worst song if you don't listen actively and the best song if you really focus on listening.

[@smote_his_ruin]

@@MikkoRantalainen Storm is overwhelming. I had the urge to stop it but it was overloading my senses.

[@jaakkopohja]

I also wasn't fan of the snare in the beginning. However got used to it already and another snare would sound already weird :D On the other hand, Buster and Nolly snare sounds are so widely used so this gives variety in modern mixing

[@jona7940]

Storm and SIlver Leaves are a must from this album

[@codydaniel3097]

I came here to say this, too! 100%

[@paulakuljunlahti]

I concur!

[@Bjornsguitarspecials]

Album is on repeat. Love it

[@madooks404]

Ominous Clouds into Storm is the obvious choice here. So much neoclassical vibe

[@RÅNÇIÐ]

The shredding in "Storm" is super epic as well.

[@Patralgan]

This song has been my absolute favorite song ever for 13 years and I'm stoked that the studio version has been released. The crazy thing is that I think I love "Storm" from the same album even more

[@vayne92]

Love seeing you break down the isolated tracks. Would be great to see you do the rest of the album!

[@AndrewTpowell]

React to Storm. That song melted my brain hearing it in a studio version. So big (lol), intense and melodic. Its a musical journey.

[@AIDILDARWISYMOE]

Jari the best music arrangements...very creative..I love it

[@colipadulles_MMHC_TDC]

Not in a lifetime would I be able to do 10 seconds of something as exquisite as this …, great!!

[@Triforce12345678]

This is awesome! Nice reaction / breakdown of the song

[@jvalfin3359]

My favourite was Storm, hands down

[@parlamedia]

It's rsre that an album comes where I can obsess over for days and days. Combining Time I 2.0 with this one has been a bliss. Keep doing these

[@thegoblonoid]

Holy shit this video was fun! Do all of the songs!!!

[@narmagil7524]

There is something new I find every time I listen to the song again but that goes for the whole record. Jari is a masterful composer and for me the absolute guy I admire the most. For me it was worth the wait... and there are so many songs I love from the whole Time II package. I have hours and hours of music for now to listen to. Thursday night I couldn't even sleep but spend all night listening to everything that was in the package. I love the solos and I just really love the instrumetation of the orchestra. Jari's vocals spot on. There are a few things that could be changed like you said about the snare and few other sounds as well. But then would it work as a whole better is the question... Every mix is always for me a bit of a compromise. Listening to 1000's snare samples gets to you and then all of them starts sounding the "same" after you go through them. I think that's where I lose it most of the time. When I'm trying to find the right sounds... That is freaking hard. Then there are always those sounds that you know that work. But if you put them in all the songs they all start to sound exactly the same and in the end a little bit boring. So what I think Jari's done here is bloody marvelous. Briging the whole mix and sounds together like they are.

[@thegoblonoid]

Do the whole album this was so cool to watch! Really like to hear a professional opinion on these songs!

[@WMfin]

Snare really stood out for me (not positively) even from the first snippets that were given prior the album release. I have listened this song for years from some low quality live video so it's amazing to be able to listen to it properly now!

[@WodenTruthSpeaker]

Damn what a great channel. 👍 One With The Shadows is my personal favourite but I´m not sure if it is channel worthy as it´s one of the more stripped down Sleeping Stars esche´ traditional sounding songs. Ominous Clouds and Storm together would be perfect as the next video, would be great to hear your take on those.

[@FlakeUnlimited]

please do the rest of the album

[@yourDeath86]

I love The forest seasons too

[@vimtyr1181]

Do all the songs!

[@wondertim0]

Well of course you should check out Silver Leaves, the best song from the album

[@kazmeisterkometh122]

Keep em rolling brother... Lovely stuff

[@argieStream]

Reactions of the other songs of the album would be appreciated indeed.

[@lukzriffs1564]

My neo classical mind is getting blown too!!! Your reaction in this Moment and the Song gives me Goosebumps… More Content Like This, awesome!!!!

[@rtremblay87]

Man, what a track. Love your commentary man! Just subscribed!

[@Silvabulletproduction8337]

Good video great band and great channel man 🤘

[@GanjawarsLostPro]

Wintersun are amazing guys, need to listen to their new album too

[@nicolasbeaugrand4467]

Great review/reaction. I love this album and would be really stoked to hear your thoughts on Ominous Clouds/Storm. It's so cool that Jari put those isolated tracks in the Time Package, it allows people like you to share some deeper thoughts on his work.

[@TrIs1493]

What about a: Full Time 1 2.0 + Time 2 reaction livestream Comparizons of the original Time 1 with both the 1.5 and 2.0 versions (would be an interesting to analyze how Jari's producing evolved over these 12 years, maybe even ask for notes from Jari from what he used with the original version and the 1.5 and 2.0 version). Btw: Wintersun brought me here :)

[@MikkoRantalainen]

Superb reaction! Great use of multichannel audio. I'm looking forward to see similar reactions to other tracks of the Time II, too. I would have wanted to see some kind of comment about how would you have mixed this - for example, I feel like the tracks would be better with the volume of drums slightly reduced and bass a bit stronger.

[@BlackHermit]

Strong reaction Mendel bij de Leij.

[@djkarvanoppa213]

I loved when you opened the song in a completely different way than listening normally. hears better how many layers the songs are. hope you go through each paragraph.

[@Patralgan]

16:13 ask and you shall receive

[@juliogutierrez7497]

Do all the album please hahaha, great video

[@lrtt99]

I made the same face when the solo started. Nice video, pls make one with One with the shadows

[@dmr87]

Great work, do all of them And you’re right the songs aren’t new new Wintersun because they were written long ago

[@Mendelian]

@@dmr87 True, I forgot these songs were finished for 15 years or so.

[@b.a3127]

What is the name of the program u are using?

[@Mendelian]

Cubase 13 Pro and Fabfilter Pro Q 3

[@b.a3127]

@ is it free? Can u add all songs to it?

[@elf_from_space]

10:05 I think you are talking about 'Death and the healing". Btw I really liked watching your reaction, seeing somebody making evident what it's actually on the album. I saw you have your keyboard very low in height, do you use different chair heights for different tasks? I really can't manage back pain lol

[@drewthrush8275]

You need to react to storm. The most controlled chaos you'll ever hear

[@vorpalblades]

You obviously haven't listened to Borknager/Vintersorg. That's controlled chaos.

[@GrotesqueSmurf]

What I'm missing on those newer tracks are those intricate riffs like in Battle Against Time that remind of his old Ensiferum stuff but are way more tricky.

[@ilikevideos4868]

Would love to have more of those riffs. I think Sons of Winter and Stars was the last song with those tricky riffs

[@tubeworkshop]

Nice shirt! Heard they also do amps... 😉

[@TheJayKnight]

Stoked you're digging into this. A lot of those layers are so intricate, yet when in the full mix they just mesh so nicely.

[@PKua007]

You cannot go wrong with minor third apreggios, especially when you are Jari

[@Abzshred]

mind blown

[@joshkuhnmusic]

Find someone that looks at you the way Mendel looks at Wintersun stems

[@Totenlieder]

What software do you use to isolate the separate tracks? Or how do you do so in Reaper?

[@Mendelian]

They released isolated tracks

[@AntiN0os-yo2be]

10:05 death and the healing i think is what you are referring to. :)

[@NikolajChristensen]

"Not a fan of the sound but it works well for the mix." Not sure what that means :). Who cares what it sounds like in isolation :). Thanks for making the video - will check the album out next. Thanks again.

[@teatime6414]

How did you get the individual tracks ?

[@fredrikbillington6029]

Time package

[@teatime6414]

@@fredrikbillington6029 make available pls :)

[@ilikevideos4868]

22:40 me first time I heard neoclassical metal

[@blacklai161]

plz make a reaction to Silver Leaves. I must say I never see that coming. And, if available, react to the whole album. I mean...come on, it's a 12-year-epic-work, and he just sent the whole work into isolated tracks. I'm sure Jari wants us to dive into his soundscape.

[@Metalhead119]

Great breakdown and reaction would love to see you do the same for Storm and Sliver leaves as well

[@rodneyflores6190]

It’s all so good, but my favorite song is Storm! Check that one out!

[@T1hitsTheHighestNote]

Agree about that snare. Was the first thing I noticed. I think the bass has to much low end/lacks trebble. But then I'm more of a Steve Harris and Marko Hietala guy.

[@demondrive147]

Epic ❤

[@linuxsauna]

So, who is the current Metal Mozart now? Holopainen (Nightwish) or Mäenpää?

[@Mendelian]

Michael Romeo?

[@linuxsauna]

@@Mendelian Fine choices all

[@vorpalblades]

That would be Vintersorg or Øystein Garnes Brun.

[@linuxsauna]

@@vorpalblades Sure! Borknagar used to be one of the greats (if i remember correct on Vintersorg associations apart from his solo)

[@cernunnosch427]

I would gladly listen to a 10/10 if you can give some recommendations

[@lagadraumar]

hey mendel..... I'm such a huge fan of yours. I like everything you do and love your hell redux album..... I listen to it at least once a day on the way to work after you, wintersun is my second favorite musician. how the hell did you get the individual tracks of jaris' new album in cubase???? that's awesome I also use cubase for the music I create I definitely want STORM for your next REACTION VIDEO

[@Mendelian]

Thank you so much for the kind words, truly appreciate it. The Stems are in the special edition of Time II.

[@lagadraumar]

@@Mendelian Thank you very much for the answer I feel so honored right now ^^ Do you mean in the pre-order TIME package??? I have to check that right away. Did you have to put the lines together yourself? I mean in the right position?

[@jimmydodopage]

Dont you think the orchestral part lower all the voices?

[@alexander2kx]

Imo yes. I cant listen to it. It's just to much going on

[@Patralgan]

I understand not being a fan of the Forest Seasons Album. I'm not too impressed of the first two songs of the album, but the remaining two are just beyond incredible and I can't understand how they would not impress any metal fan.

[@johnniewelken5417]

Would this, or close to this sound be near impossible to accomplish in the early 2010s or slightly earlier in your professional estimation? Does the whole "my computer doesn't have enough RAM" argument make sense based on this? Genuinely curious. Rephrased: is this mix that much better than Time 1 that it couldn't have been released at nearly the same time? My wife thinks this sounds just like the same album yet she's no pro

[@vorpalblades]

This was possible 25 years ago. There was no reason for such a delay. An outside producer/engineer would have made this a lot more listenable.

[@RaiKov]

Ah, Mr. bdL. You think if you start leaving 2 comments per Wintersun post, Jari might release new material sooner? Asking for a friend :P

[@RFistioKing]

Not first album.

[@childrenofkoris]

the problem with the new songs especially way of fire and storm is that both the songs has no verse one or verse two that we can tell any difference, and all the song parts is just either interlude and all the rest is blast chorus from the drums snare and bass including guitars.. yes it is fast and brutally metal.. but i can hardly hear any stops or melody intersection or even any interchanging verse of the song.. its new and fast but its not something i can hear more than just once because most of the time the music is just LOUD NOISE.. just my point of view.. anyhow i love their first Album

[@trollstjerne]

Whaat? Not a fan of the Forest album??

[@kosherun]

I guess Time I set too high of a bar...

[@thestarseeker8196]

Something is off about that very first kick/snare, or is it just me? It keeps bothering me. Performance/ punch wise, not sound wise. I really enjoy this album. 🙏🏻 I don’t think the released mix should have been the way it was in some aspects, though.

[@Patralgan]

About the snare and the drums: I totally understand that by their own, they're not good if this was a normal metal album, but this is definitely not such. Indeed in this particular mix they work great but I'm sad to see that some reactors have a very strict idea of how a metal album should sound like and everything beyond that is just trash.

[@alexsharp3481]

you mixed Aria by Dessiderium didn't you? one of the best sounding records i've ever heard

[@alexander2kx]

Nice Album but mix and master is my biggest complaint. The vocals are not clear enough in this wall of drums and bass. Am I the only one not liking this?

[@vonzox]

Exactly! But i only listened a couple of times and "in the open" - with speakers.. maybe a mistake. In some passages is just "too much" - nevertheless, its Epic. 🤘🏼

[@argieStream]

Yeah, the snare sounds like Kai is hitting a cardboard box. Hey, cant get everything right when you only have 12 years.

[@davisantos3431]

You may like it or not, but it doesn't make sense to say that it's wrong

[@argieStream]

@@davisantos3431 Thank you for your valuable input sir

[@ilikevideos4868]

The snare sound is what Jari wanted it to be. But I guess he should ask @argieStream about his opinion on the snare sound before finishing the next album!

[@davisantos3431]

@@ilikevideos4868 that's what I meant. It's bizarre to call it a mistake when it sounds exactly like they intended to, regardless of whether you like it or not.

[@smote_his_ruin]

He expects perfection yet his vocals are too low, the drums sound like cardboard and the whole thing is a wall of sound that you can barely pick out whats happening.

[@miharoskar]

I respect the work they've put in this, but it sounds much too synthetic for my taste. No life, no emotions. Too much quasi audiophile high frequencies and bass, and huge dips in other parts of frequency spectrum. ...Music is so dead that, suprisingly, works quite good as an unobtrusive background noise.

[@vorpalblades]

This shit is bricked to the max. So much background VST bullshit. Sounds like video game soundtrack shit.

[@blastfromthepast999]

I'm not a big fan of the snare sound and kick! If I made add, the vocals are a bit low. This is all my personal taste.

[@Džejms_Bong]

When drums are sounding like this, it could be programmed to save some money and time.

[@TenOfTwenty]

Honestly the vocals are really low, they get drowned out. This is the major thing i noticed on this song

[@blastfromthepast999]

@@Džejms_Bong I always thought they were recorded, but yeah at one point of the song the ghost notes sound bad.. Not a great job.

[@blastfromthepast999]

@@TenOfTwenty Everything sounds a bit, to overcompressed for my taste.. Idk if we listened to the "dynamic" version of the song here,but the one on bandcamp is weird! Sometimes less is more..

[@juliogutierrez7497]

Kai actually recorded the drums on Sonic pump studios, not a big fan of the sound of the drums they sound very artificial but i think they work for the mix, time 1 drums sounded more natural. I feel like i can't fully appreciate Kai's brutal blastbeat. I hope to see drum playthroughs from Kai that would be fkg epic specially from storm.

[@vorpalblades]

This album gets fatiguing very quickly. The mix isn't great. The song structure isn't great. Glad I wasn't that invested in waiting.

[@michaelmishou388]

You were in Aborted, yeah?

[@Mendelian]

@@michaelmishou388 correct.✅

[@Mulukkis]

The snare sound is just god awful. Ghost notes sound like some 80's dance drum machine sound.

[@sand_la]

Yeah I love everything else about the mix, but the drums make it borderline unlistenable for me

[@blacklai161]

Should I say that this is some kind of "Jari drum"? Which made Kai's perform like a digital sample-made sound, lol.

[@vorpalblades]

​@@blacklai161it is a digital sample. 95 % of this album is.

[@blacklai161]

@@vorpalblades But the booklet says the drums are recorded by Kai at Sonic Pump Studios. Kai’s a legend. I’m mean there’s no technical problems on recording real drums, right?

[@vorpalblades]

@blacklai161 That doesn't mean they were not replaced with samples. I'm not saying it was done for performance reasons. But they sound like shit.

[@omramoryth]

Anyone else heavily underwhelmed with the compositions and especially production value?

[@mikkohuikuri531]

No.

[@vorpalblades]

Yeah, this is atrocious. Especially considering it was worked on for what, like 15 years?

[@omramoryth]

@@mikkohuikuri531 Well, different strokes for different folks.

[@omramoryth]

@@vorpalblades It's overly compressed, unbalanced and the snare is 80% of the mix wherever I've listened to the album. It feels rushed and patched up just to be released already.

[@kirksutherland2226]

Who cares if you are a producer just review the song

[@Mendelian]

@@kirksutherland2226 Hi, I’m a producer.

[@vorpalblades]

Lick balls Kirk.