Finnish metallers WINTERSUN will release their second album, Time I, on October 12th via Nuclear Blast, prior to hitting the road in October/November headlining the Heidenfest tour.

An update from the band: "In June 2012 we recorded choirs for the final chorus of 'Sons Of Winter And Stars'. We asked some friends from fellow bands to help us out. We were honored that all of them were excited to do it. We knew that this would turn out to be something special. The recording took place at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland. The choir consisted of Markus and Sami from ENSIFERUM; Mathias, Olli and Jukka-Pekka from TURISAS; Heri from TÝR; Mikko from KIUAS and Teemu and Jukka from Wintersun. It was a real pleasure to see all these talented guys around the microphone singing their hearts outs! And the end result was amazing! Thanks guys! Here's some video footage from the session, enjoy!"

During the listening session for Time I at the Nuclear Blast HQ in Donzdorf, Germany on July 28th, Jari Mäenpää was interviewed by BLEEDING RED frontman Timo Joos, who asked the Wintersun mastermind fan questions that had been collected via the official Nuclear Blast Europe Facebook page. Watch the second part of the Nuclear Blast Facebook fan interview below (part one follows):

Time I tracklisting is as follows:

'When Time Fades Away'

'Sons Of Winter And Stars'

I - Rain Of Stars

II - Surrounded By Darkness

III - Journey Inside A Dream

IV Sons Of Winter And Stars

'Land Of Snow And Sorrow'

'Darkness And Frost'

'Time'

Check out three studio trailers below:

Time II will be released in 2013. Further details to follow.

Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE and Wintersun will co-headline a North American tour this winter. The trek will commemorate Eluveitie’s 10th anniversary as well as serve as Wintersun’s introduction to North American shores. Also included on the tour will be German pagan metal band VARG.

Wintersun’s Jari Mäenpää commented: "We are very excited to tour US and Canada for the first time in November/December. We've had lots of requests from the fans before, but finally we are able to come there and kick some ass with new material from the Time I album and of course play the old stuff too! Hope to see you guys there. Let´s make it special!"

Tour dates are below:

November

28 - 910 Live – Tempe, AZ
29 - The Roxy Theater – Hollywood, CA
30 - Oakland Metro – Oakland, CA

December

1 - Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
2 - El Corazon – Seattle, WA
3 - Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
5 - Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
6 - Republik – Calgary, AB
7 - Louis’ Pub – Saskatoon, SK – CANADA
8 - West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB
9 - Station 4 – Saint Paul, MN
11 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
12 - Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
13 - The Opera House – Toronto, ON
14 - Mavericks – Ottawa, ON – CANADA
15 - Club Soda – Montreal, QC – CANADA
16 - Imperial – Quebec City, QC – CANADA
18 - Water Street Music Hall (at The Club) – Rochester, NY
19 - Mr. Small’s Theatre – Millvale, PA
20 - Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
21 - Royale Boston – Boston, MA