Talvikuningas is an album by the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 rock group CMX

CMX (band)

CMX, originally Cloaca Maxima, are a Finnish rock band. They originally played hardcore punk, but soon expanded to play a wide variety of rock formats, including progressive rock, heavy metal, and mainstream rock n roll. Throughout their career, they have been influenced by progressive rock bands...

. The title is Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

 and translates to "The Winter King".

Talvikuningas is CMX's first concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

. Although the CD is divided into 12 tracks, they flow seamlessly into each other and the record is effectively one long song.

The first limited edition of 8 000 copies of Talvikuningas was released on September 5, 2007. This limited printing features special packaging and a 40-page booklet, which contains extensive artwork and the full libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 to the album. Digital downloads of Talvikuningas became available the same day. A regular CD version with ordinary jewel case packaging and reduced liner notes was released on 9th of January 2008.

Story

The album tells the same story as A. W. Yrjänä's yet-unfinished book. It's an epic science fiction story taking place in the 25th century. The album's sections are pieces of the saga of the Winter King. Some previous CMX songs, like Mekaanisten lintujen Puisto (The park of mechanical birds) and Sivu paholaisen päiväkirjasta (A page of the Devil's diary) can be linked to the story.

Track listing

Music by A. W. Yrjänä

A. W. Yrjänä

Aki Ville Yrjänä , better known by the stage name, A. W. Yrjänä , is a poet and the singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the Finnish rock band CMX. In addition to his musical work he has published four collections of poems.- Music :Yrjänä has studied theology and comparative religion,...

 except where noted. All lyrics by A. W. Yrjänä.
All arrangements by CMX and Rake.

1. "Kaikkivaltias" – 10:26 ("The Almighty")
2. "Resurssikysymys" – 1:54 (Yrjänä/Halmkrona) ("A Matter of Resources")
3. "Pretoriaanikyborgit" – 5:50 (Yrjänä/Halmkrona/Rasio) ("Praetorian
   Praetorian
   Praetorian is an adjective derived from the ancient Roman office of praetor. It may refer to:*Praetorian Guard, a special force of skilled and celebrated troops serving as the personal guard of Roman Emperors...
   
    Cyborg
   Cyborg
   A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
   
   s")
4. "Vallan haamut" – 5:31 ("Ghosts of Power")
5. "Tähtilaivan kapteeni" – 4:08 ("Captain of the Starship")
6. "Kosmologisen vakion laulu" – 3:52 ("Song of the Cosmological Constant
   Cosmological constant
   In physical cosmology, the cosmological constant was proposed by Albert Einstein as a modification of his original theory of general relativity to achieve a stationary universe...
   
   ")
7. "Parvatin tietäjä" – 4:26 ("The Sage of Parvati")
8. "Punainen komentaja" – 4:05 ("The Crimson Commander")
9. "Langennut valo" – 4:26 ("Fallen Light")
10. "Quanta" – 5:05 (Yrjänä/Rasio)
11. "Rusalkai" – 3:41 (Yrjänä/Halmkrona)
12. "Kaikkivaltiaan peili" – 8:31 ("Mirror of the Almighty")

Personnel

• A. W. Yrjänä
  A. W. Yrjänä
  Aki Ville Yrjänä , better known by the stage name, A. W. Yrjänä , is a poet and the singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the Finnish rock band CMX. In addition to his musical work he has published four collections of poems.- Music :Yrjänä has studied theology and comparative religion,...
  
   – vocals, bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Janne Halmkrona
  Janne Halmkrona
  Janne Halmkrona is a Finnish musician. He is best known for playing in CMX, a band he joined in 1990, replacing Kimmo Suomalainen. He has also released two albums with Sapattivuosi, a Black Sabbath tribute band. Halmkrona also works as a production manager for Sony BMG Finland.Halmkrona holds a...
  
   – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Timo Rasio – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Tuomas Peippo – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Rake (Rauli Eskolin) – keyboards
  Musical keyboard
  A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
  
  , recording, production, mixing
• Pauli Saastamoinen – mastering
• Sami Saramäki – artwork and graphical design
• Gabi Hakanen – executive producer

See also

• CMX discography
  CMX discography
  The discography of CMX starts in 1985 and continues to this day. During this time, the band has released twelve studio albums, two box set compilations, 20 top ten singles on the Finnish charts , four EPs, and a DVD....
  
  
• Talvikuningas in English