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Author Konsta Hietaniemi - 1.4.2023

Finnish epic metallers Wintersun have released a new statement on the current situation of their long-awaited Time II album. The bands frontman Jari Menp published a long two-part update this morning, in which he stated that mixing the album is only possible with a quantum computer. A quantum computer is a computer that utilizes quantum technology, so far only at the prototype level, with a computing power several thousand times higher than the worlds fastest supercomputers. However, in the second part of the update, Menp offered a light at the end of the tunnel to all fans feverishly waiting for new music by announcing an ambitious collaboration to finish the album: Wintersun has teamed up with the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant and the Technology Research Center VTT. The plan is to build the worlds most powerful quantum computer in connection with the power plant, the processing power of which, according to Menps calculations, should be enough to mix thousands of tracks on an album.

In 2014, I realized that mixing Time II wouldnt be possible with this generations technology, so I set my sights on future solutions. After following the news, I noticed that the recent completion of Olkiluoto 3 resonated very strongly with my own creative process, and I cant say exactly why. At the same time, I also started getting to know quantum computers, but since there was no such thing in Apples selection so far, I contacted VTT. They were so excited about the possible release of Time II that they joined the project without a moments hesitation. The soon-to-be-completed computer is so powerful that it requires its own nuclear power plant as its power source, but luckily there were also loyal Wintersun fans in Olkiluoto, for whom the completion of Time II was more important than national electricity production. Jari Menp

The money for the project was raised through crowdfunding and product sales. Especially the uranium sticks signed by the members and the Time II stress balls that were still left in the band went like hot stones. The long construction project is finally coming to an end, and the trial runs carried out throughout the winter have been promising. The quantum computer, dubbed the Extreme Majestic Technical Epic Quantum Computer, has managed to run almost the entire number of tracks without crashing, but work still needs to be done in order to completely stop the power plants outages caused by crashes. Menp estimates that the computer/power unit is about 90 percent complete.

Inspired by the collaboration, I added several new tracks to the album. The computer needs to be developed a little more so that they run smoothly, but the improvement over the previous one is clearly visible. I believe that it is possible to finally finish this great project. I still need to find the perfect wind chime sound for the album, because here it is no longer possible to spoil it perfectly with mediocre mixes. But dont worry, Ive already booked a flight to Japan to learn more about the topic. I promise the wait will be worth it!

The release of Time II is finally getting close, but according to Menp and it is only the beginning.

The album sets that come after the Time albums are much more massive and multi-layered. Regarding them, my eyes are turned towards the possibilities brought by fusion energy. I have also started self-studying how to build a quantum computer, so that I could use a machine that suits my work as well as possible. It is hard for me to see that I could fully realize my visions of the future with third-party quantum computers.

Olkiluoto 3s electricity production is currently interrupted, but the power plant is scheduled to start up next month, once the maintenance work has been completed. The release date of the Time II album is (not yet) known.

Read more:
Wintersun's Jari Menp starts collaboration with Finnish nuclear ... - Chaoszine