Alright guys sorry for the wait but here's the next entry on my list, and be warned it's gonna get a little long...
#4. Varjoina Kuljemme Kouleiden Masssa (English: As Shadows We Walk In The Land of The Dead) (2011) Moonsorrow is a Folk Metal band that's been around since 1995 (first album was released in 2001 however), and since then they've been making some of the most beautiful and atmospheric music on the planet. When you think folk metal you generally may think of stuff like Ensiferum or Eluviete, who are generally more fast paced and energetic, however Moonsorrow is a little different. They've always made more slow paced music that had more of a march oriented mentality to it.
So after releasing a slew of great albums (only hiccup being 2005's Verisakeet which was only just okay) it was noticeable that their music was becoming a lot darker, and less focused lyrically on classic folk mythology to other things, well for this album they decided to make this album about their own little story, it's not big, and it's not anything particularly original per-say, but it's really well executed.
The album is a journey, through the frozen finnish wasteland, we fallow a group of weary travelers fighting against the relentless winter. The album is 7 tracks long, with 4 true songs and 3 interludes. All of the tracks flow together perfectly to immerse the listener in the music and the journey of the characters. You almost begin to feel the cold around you, almost as if you yourself are being caught in a blizzard in the merciless Finnish winter.
Though all songs on this album can be considered equal, as this album is almost impossible to enjoy fully without listening to it in it's duration, the song on this album that has the most impact on me, and as of right now is my single favorite song of all time is track 5 entitled Huuto (English: The Scream).
This 16 minute song is just absolute perfection, and if I were to pick out the song on the album that perfectly sums up the album in one song it's this one. The song isn't fast by any means, but it's intensity comes from it's pure emotion, the vocals of this band may be hard to swallow for some but to me they are absolutely perfect for this band, and this album in particular, as they are a desperate battle cry, befitting of this album's concept.
Also I might as well mention that all the lyrics here are in Finnish, and some would probably be turned off by that, but really, they don't need to be English for the impact of this album and the concept in it to come across with the same level of emotional investment. This band can perfectly convey what the want to with purely the music alone, and that is what about this album that really just blows me away. The music is fairly simplistic, which works in it's favor, it doesn't need to be all over the place and in your face with itself to get it's point across, it simply comes out with nothing fancy and blows the walls down.
Truly an album that resonates with me and one I cannot pick out a single flaw with, and one that i urge you to listen to, as it is one that you will not want to miss on