Lustmord56, April 9th, 2015 

Review originally posted at www.teethofthedivine.com by E.Thomas

Wolfheart is the solo project of one Tuomas Saukkonen, who you might recognize as the brainchild behind such acts as Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Winterborn is the first project under this moniker after disbanding all his other projects, and though it was originally self released back in 2013, Spinefarm is now making this slab of Finnish melodic doom death perfection available again to no doubt adorn year end lists in 2015.

Those familiar with albums from both Black Sun Aeon and Before the Dawn (2012’s swansong Rise of the Phoenix was a criminally underrated, brilliant release) will know what to expect here, as Saukkonen is going back to the same musical well in style; Lush Finnish melodic death/doom metal with a melancholy edge that’s full of big chunky riffs, deep bellows, crestfallen leads and all lightly flecked with some gorgeous cellos. You can’t help but make comparisons to the likes of Insomnium, October Falls, Noumena and Rapture and certainly at times, Amorphis, the godfathers of the style.

And my god is it ever good. Even with such obvious nods to a tried and tested sound, Saukkonen (joined by many of his Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon bros) as you’d expect, absolutely nails the sound. There are soooo many good riffs on here, it simply has to be heard from start to finish. The album has it all from more up-tempo urgent numbers (“Strength and Valor”, “Ghost of Karelia”) to slower more morose lopes ( “Gale of Winter”, “I” both where the Amorphis sound really comes through) and plenty of wilting atmospherics (“Breathe”, sorrowful interlude “Isolation”). And of course, all of it is rendered with a big Finnish crunch, rending leads, powerful bellows (no cleans here either) and the light gloss of morose cellos and synths.

Picking standout tracks is virtually impossible as there simply isn’t any filler here. Every track just oozes excellence. That being said, opener “The Hunt” and fifth track “Ghost of Karelia” which has pretty much a perfect opening riff, and the more somber “Routa pt 2″ are just simply jaw dropping in their perfect rendering of this style. But no disrespect to the likes of “Chasm”, or closer “Into the Wild”, as that’s like picking out the hottest person from a group of 10s. Every track is damn near perfect.

Winterborn is about a perfect album as I’ve heard in a looooong time. Not only is this going to be very high on my year end list, if I’m still doing this writing thing in 5-10 years, don’t be surprised if this gets the ‘New Classics’ treatment at some point down the road. Sublime.

Chernobog, July 31st, 2014 

There aren't many bands that can efficiently capture the cold bleakness of a northern winter, but those that can do so very successfully. One is of course Norwegian black metal outfit Immortal. The other, far more recent band is the one man project from Finland, Wolfheart. Of course, sole member Tuomas Saukkonen is no stranger to the cold; having also been the sole member of his previous project Black Sun Aeon, Saukkonen has a talent for blending aggression, atmosphere and melody together. "Winterborn" the first album under the Wolfheart banner is no exception. 

What is so striking about this album is how the myriad ideas all come together to create a very unique animal. The vocals are death metal, and the guitar work has the sort of cold atmosphere you would expect from a band like Dissection, complete with melodic and melancholy guitar solos. Further adding to the mix are the use of acoustic guitar passages and a melancholy string opener on "Routa Pt. 2", giving the album an old world, folk metal feel. The result is a rare type of album: an album that defies any real categorization, and exists as it's own cold monster.

What makes the album truly effective is how, as a songwriter, Tuomos Saukkonen allows these musical parts to come together. The softer passages serve as openers to songs such as "The Hunt", "Routa Pt. 2", and "Chasm", where they slowly draw the listener in, before blasting them with the icy fury of the music. This works particularly well in "Routa Pt. 2", where the melancholy notes from what I believe to be a cello seem to call back to a faraway time and place. Also working in the favor of the album are the lead guitar parts, which appear in nearly all of the songs, but work best in "I" and "Chasm", where the melody sweeps you into the frozen lands Tuomas sings about.

Speaking of the singing, the lyrics are just as important here as the music, even if the death growls don't make them immediately audible. Matching with the cold, melancholy music, the lyrics are full of love and longing for a land of frozen lakes and forests, remembrance of the battle ("Strength and Valour" and "Ghosts of Karelia" describe past battles and victories) and an intense reverence for the life giving and life taking side of nature. Call that description cheesy all you want, but when you read the lyrics of the songs along with the music (such as "Ruler of the frozen lands/ From these woods and beyond/ Embraces the hunter's moon/ With howling forlorn" from "The Hunt") the feeling that Tuomas is attempting to convey is perfectly captured.

In short, "Winterborn" is not just a good album, it is probably one of the best metal albums of 2013, and his Wolfheart project shows a lot of promise. The music and lyrics work perfectly together to create one consistent vision, and there is never the feeling of over indulgence or boredom with the material. Obviously the target audience is anyone into melodic death or black metal, but I would recommend this album to any metalhead looking for a perfectly composed album to take them to another realm. I've even known someone who didn't particularly like metal, yet highly enjoyed the album. When an album has the potential to be appreciated by different types of people, that's when you know the artist has done their job well.

Melo4EverPaiva, November 11th, 2013 

How can this man do it every single time he releases a new album? How, I ask you? I can't explain it. First of all, I must say, I got pretty sad with the end of my favorite triplet: BSA, DOS and BTD. The moment I opened my FB and saw that statement I was like: "worst day ever". However, Wolfheart was mentioned to be the new Tuomas' project, so I had two different feelings beside sadness: apprehension (I didn't know what was there to come) and, of course, happiness. But enough talking about this, let's focus on the "Winterborn".

In the middle of the summer, throughout the night, there I was in my computer, doing nothing, until suddenly we receive the news: first single for "Winterborn", "The Hunt", is released. A cold winter breeze suddenly went through the room, but I didn't care. My eyes were drowsy but dammit, I didn't care about them too. The ears were all I needed. They say the first impression tells a lot about a certain person, and it also told me a lot about this album. If Tuomas had done such an awesome first song, then the rest had to keep being mind-blowing. And there was no way I could be wrong. I was so damn right...

Combining touching melodies (like that part in "Breathe" that goes from "When sorrow calls my name" to "stop seace breathing") with powerful and aggressive riffs and drums (like the beginning of "Strength and Valour"), this album has almost everything you can ask from a melodic death metal album. Even though there has been some discussion concerning the genre of Wolfheart, I think melodic death is the simplest way to refer to it. As I already said, this album combines powerful and melodic guitar riffs but also beautiful acoustic guitar moments, great drums and bass work, awesome (of course) growls and great keyboards in the background (the touching cello moments, well expressed in "Routa Pt. 2" and "Breathe" are simply great). I think one of the songs that combines all of this elements is exactly "Routa Pt. 2": the beginning with the cello, followed by a more aggressive moment, followed by acoustic guitars and (once again) cello and then proceeded by all the other things: great growls, bass, drums, and a great solo by the special guest Mika Lammassaari.

Just one small (not so good) aspect and, notice, I'm not, for sure, saying I don't like the songs I'm going to mention. I'm not saying that there is lack of originality, but I can find some very similar songs in his old projects (but it is also true that he said this new band was going to be kind of a mix from his old projects). Let's follow the album's order: "Gale Of Winter", one of my favorite songs in this album, reminds me a lot (in the beginning) of "I Was Never There", Dawn Of Solace. The starting riff is, for me, pretty similar. Now, we go exactly to the next song, "Whiteout", which reminds me (also in the beginning) of "Frozen" by Black Sun Aeon. But on the other hand, there are good aspects in this "going back in time" thing. I am a huge fan of "Pitch-Black Universe" (BTD), and "Strength And Valour" could be named, I think, "Pitch-Black Universe Pt. 2". I just love this two songs, I simply fell for both of them. Then, we have another thing I loved. The song "Whiteout" has a part of the lyrics already written in "Nightfall" (BSA), and I appreciated that a lot, because now we had the chance to listen to them with Tuomas' growls:

"Embraced by the nightfall
The darkness came to me
Without descent of the sun

Before the flames shall return
And ablaze the sky on fire
I will hide myself
In the shade of the moon

Last ray of the light
Sole spark of the sun
Final and so fragile
Travelled from afar"

In the end of "Breathe", come the only lyrics sang in Finnish: 

"Vaikka aurinko jo nousi
Ja valossa kylpee maa
Jää minussa ei murru sillä sisälläni on vain pimeää ja kylmää".

I just can't be the only one noticing that this is the exact same end of "Routa" (Black Sun Aeon). I find this awesome. One of everyone's favorite song from BSA has the ending part of the lyrics back in "Breathe". Amazing.

So as you have read in this lines, the album is, without a shadow of doubt, one hell of an album. My favorite songs are "The Hunt", "Strength And Valour", "Routa Pt. 2", "Gale Of Winter", "Whiteout", "Ghosts Of Karelia", "I", "Chasm" and "Breathe". Oh, wait a second, I just mentioned them all! And no, it's no mistake, they are all very good. And as one of the lucky ones that got the two instrumental pieces, "Frey" and "4:19 a.m", I will also talk about them in a couple of lines. Once again, the beginning of a song reminds me of a beginning of another. "Frey" reminds me of "Nightfall", Black Sun Aeon. But apart from that, it is a very beautiful song. "4.19 a.m" is also beautiful. These two instrumental pieces are good enough to fit in any album, from my point of view.

So although you can't have the bonus tracks if you order the album now, you will still have almost 50 minutes of great melodic death, done right. This man is a master in the realm of melodic death metal, and in every new album he proves that point. So when sorrow calls your name and grief runs in your veins, just pick up "Winterborn", listen to it and distract yourself from your sadness for 50 minutes.

Lustmord56, September 28th, 2015 
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Spinefarm Records

Review Originally Published at www.teethofthedivine.com by E.Thomas

Not content with dropping the reissue of debut, Winterborn, on us earlier this year, former Before the Dawn and Black Sun Aeon founder Tuomas Saukkonen is already dropping his new project’s second album on us to fuck up 2015 year end lists everywhere.

Whereas the template of the music is still heavily rooted in his past along with a touch of Amorphis, Insomnium, October Falls and Noumena, Shadow World expands it a little, and one only need look to the color scheme of the album artwork. Whereas Winterborn was a more somber, cold and cello laden affair, Shadow World is more indicative of autumnal, fiery hues and a more aggressive sound. The cello is all but gone, replaced by a piano and more driven, chunky riffs; though still flocked with that unmistakable downtrodden Finnish sheen.

The delicate piano that opens “Aeon of Cold” could have come from any recent Amorphis album, but explodes in a furious blast beat, immediately signalling Saukkonen’s more aggressive intent. And from there, if you heard the debut or any of the above mentioned bands, you know what you are getting into, production, riff and vocal wise, even if is is rendered with a little more bite than you might expect.

As with Winterborn, there isn’t a weak song or riff, even if missing the more introspective moments and atmospherics. This is all about big, crunchy, slightly sonorous Finnish riffs and big, bellowed vocals. Picking out favorites is difficult, but the frantic stomp of “Storm Centre” struck a chord with me reminding me of “Hell Is Where the Heart Is” from Edge of Sanity‘s Infernal. Also, “Last of all Winters” has that perfect, emotive Amorphis bounce and chug while “Abyss”, the album’s most restrained track, still rumbles with moody purpose. It’s followed by “Resistance” a polar opposite and one of the album’s most forceful tracks. 8 minute closer “Veri” is the album’s lone truly ‘slow’ doomier track closing things out with an appropriate mood and orchestral ending.

But really, all 9 tracks and 46 minutes are enthralling, top notch, Finnish melodic death/doom metal and it looks like Saukkonen and Wolfheart look to have the rare double dip of killer albums in one year in 2015.

VesselofLucifer, August 24th, 2015 
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Spinefarm Records

After the dissolution of Before the Dawn and all his other bands, Tuomas Saukkonen assaulted the metal scene in 2013 with his solo debut album from his new band, Wolfheart. Rave reviews, strong fan reception and the formation of a full band meant the expectations for the next album would be incredibly high...and oh how did they deliver.

Shadow World showcases a matured sound from Winterborn. Musicianship is at an incredible high and the songwriting has taken a heavier change. Aside from the heavy doom sound that carried over from their previous effort, Shadow World incorporates a more melodic black metal vibe, especially with the drumming. Joonas' insane blast beats and double bass work is a welcome addition and doesn't seem to pervert the sound Tuomas has envisioned. Tuomas and group have once again proved they are truly masters at what they do. 

The production quality is outstanding with no instrument overpowering anything else. And the run time feels just about right so it doesn't over stay its welcome. My only complaint with the album is that I feel some of the melodic elements I've come to enjoy with Tuomas' previous work seems to have been lost in the brutality Shadow World brings. That, and the "clean vocals" Mikka brings occasionally come off as off pitch yelling that bring down certain parts of a song. But other than those two things, Shadow World is a worthy successor to Winterborn. And knowing how Tuomas works I would not be surprised if he's already got material for a third album. 

Stand out tracks include Last of all Winters, Resistance and Nemesis (though the entire album is truly magnificent). Horns high! \m/

VesselofLucifer, December 10th, 2016 
Written based on this version: 2016, Digital, Universal Music (Amazon)

It's a rare phenomenon when a musician/band exceeds their previous material with each new release. Tuomas is one such maestro in that everything he has put out since 2008 has gotten consistently better. In terms of song structure and sound, his band Wolfheart has matured immensely following Winterborn in 2013 and Shadow World in 2015. 

He has kept the doom elements from the previous work and intertwined them with speedy melodic black metal riffs and brutal blast beats...which is a welcome addition. I like how he has raised the keyboards and synth from a back element to more of a front line sound. The brief but strong chants from a choir are very reminiscent of early music by Equilibrium. I have no complaints about this release, aside from the desire that Tuomas will invite Janica Lonn to do some guest vocals or backgrounds on future work as I think the dynamic could be beautiful between the growling and raw angelic voice. 

If this is a taste of what the entire album will be like then I strongly believe Wolfheart will outdo themselves yet again!

VesselofLucifer, September 21st, 2017 
Written based on this version: 2017, CD, Spinefarm Records (Digisleeve)

Tuomas Saukkonen and company have proven for a third time that they reign supreme in what they do. Wolfheart's third effort, Tyhjyys, is a brutal, cold, blast beat ridden, heavy as fuck piece of music. 

Taking a slight departure from the doom elements that were found in their first two albums, Tyhjyys offers a more fast paced almost symphonic black metal vibe. More prominently featured are acoustic guitars which have a place in nearly every song. Conversely, the piano has been scaled back to be used as a more general atmospheric instrument rather than having it's own passages. Tuomas throws everything he has into the vocals of this album, and boy does he not disappoint. This man's skills, both lyrically and technically, definitely show maturity and evolution since I first heard Deathstar Rising back in 2011. Musicianship is at an all time high in this album, with Joonas again proving to be a beast behind the kit and Lauri offering some harsh clean vocals. Stand out tracks on this release include The Flood, World on Fire and Dead White. 

With three albums under their belt, each getting progressively better and heavier, the one question lingers...can they top it? I believe they can. I cannot offer any criticism for the album save for two recommendations: I wish it was slightly longer (by one or two tracks) and I would love if Tuomas would invite Janica Lonn to contribute female vocals on the next release. I feel her voice would add a well received flare of Black Sun Aeon to Wolfheart's more epic songs. 

Do yourself a favor and listen to this album!!!

Abdolmartin, March 28th, 2017 

Let's get one thing straight first. Tuomas Saukonnen is a fucking genius. The true father of winter metal.

The third album by these berserkers, Tyhjyys (whoever can pronounce it correctly will receive a cookie), is more brutal than they have ever been. One of Wolfheart's more prominent stylistic features is their use of very fast blast beats, and this album takes that to the next level. The song "Boneyard", also released as a single, showcases these brutal blast beats beautifully.

Another prominent feature in this album is the extensive use of acoustic guitars. Some of Wolfheart's best works (the masterpiece known as "The Hunt" comes to mind) feature extended acoustic passages, but here it exists in almost every song, and to me it never feels out of place. There is no sign of the piano, used in the previous album in several songs. However, orchestrations do feature here and there and they add to the atmosphere of the songs. Overall, the cold and epic atmosphere of the previous albums is strong as always in this album and as they get more and more technical, Wolfheart never abandon the frozen landscapes that their music brings to mind.

The lyrics of the album seem to be partially based on Tuomas' personal struggles (as he once mentioned in an interview) and they are quite dark. One of my favourites, "World on Fire", for which an awesome music video was released, is about going to great lengths to take revenge. This is another one of the songs that features an epic blast beat with tremolo picking that would give most of the melodeath scene a run for their money. Another one of the masterpieces, "Boneyard", is about an apocalyptic war. I mentioned these two songs because they are, in my opinion, the two top songs of the album.

In the end, I have but one recommendation: buy this album. There is no better companion in cold weather, than a Wolfheart album.

stefan86, September 29th, 2018 

Tuomas Saukkonen is one of metal's most hard-working musicians. Wolfheart has managed to release four albums since he disbanded his array of musical projects in 2013. I was a big fan of his previous project Black Sun Aeon (check it out if you haven't heard it), and Dawn of Solace and Before the Dawn delivered quality dark metal music as well. Most of his music is somewhere in between melodic death metal and doom metal, zoning in on the darkness that is present in so many Finnish metal bands.

Wolfheart's releases have been somewhere in between the catchy Before the Dawn melodicism and the more heavy, emotionally driven sound from Black Sun Aeon. The debut album Winterborn is probably my favorite so far, even though all three releases are well over par.

The song "Breakwater" that was released prior to the album is a signature Wolfheart tune. Walls of blastbeat-fueled Finnish melodic death metal neatly cascades into lighter, atmospheric parts. It's majestic, confident and catchy; right up there with previous Wolfheart singles like "Boneyard" and "Zero Gravity".

10 minute opener "Everlasting Fall" is the longest Wolfheart song released so far. It has a three minute atmospheric opening that suddenly erupts in the familiar Wolfheart sounds; a growled verse accompanied by fast melodic tremolo guitars and blasting drums. The ambitious scope of the track is a new take. Some parts remind me more of Insomnium than Wolfheart ever previously did. However, it's not as adventurous as 10 minutes entails though, it's basically just a drawn out Wolfheart track, for good and bad.

In terms of guitar melodies and vocal hooks, the Wolfheart sound hasn't changed much. It doesn't have the freezing winter feeling that the first album had, but you can certainly tell that this album is from Scandinavia. There's an underlying folkiness to the melodies and atmospheric parts. The keyboard presence is slightly stronger on "Constellation of the Black Light".

The reliance is still on a backbone of melody driven guitar riffs and Tuomas's vocals. In terms of vocals, nothing has changed. It's still the same mid-range growls and rasps. They're competent and deliver the hooks confidently, but rarely go beyond that. Some clean sounding choirs are added in the places in "Breakwater". I find myself missing the extra edge that the clean vocals gave some of his previous projects. It's not a big deal, but the variation would help.

The downtuned guitar tone packs a lot of punch. It's masterful in the album's stronger moments and fuels the less inspired guitar melodies. To me, Wolfheart has always been more of an atmosphere band than a riff band. It feels like the band is trying to bring some straight death metal fury at times and it's not really what they're best at. "Breakwater" and "The Saw" stand out as the strongest tracks, due to combination of Wolfheart atmosphere and memorable hooks.

Despite strong musicianship, my relationship with this band is based on its passion and character. There is a lot more to this music than the notes played on paper. I can see many non-Scandinavians fall for Saukkonen's focus on snow, cold and other things Nordic. I find myself doing the same. There's an intangible force of nature present in Wolfheart that I really like.

As usual with Tuomas Sakkuonen's projects, the production and musicianship is noticeably professional. Soundwise, this competes with the absolute metal elite. Drums and guitars sound massive and it really gives the album extra magnitude. To me, it's no doubt that the massive production is a big factor in Wolfheart's success.

To sum it up, "Constellation of the Black Light" is simply another quality album. This won't turn around any Wolfheart haters, but it's another solid addition to their discography. Saukkonen fans will like it. It will probably help them to win over new ones as well. I recommend this album to fans of melodic death metal and doom metal.

Originally written for deathdoom.com