The Moshville Times - Review: Korpiklaani

[avatar =”James” size=”50″ align=”left” /]It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Folk metal. And Korpiklaani has been creating some the finest for a good few years. This newest effort is surely some of the best I’ve heard.

Production wise, it’s nice and clean with everything audible. The danger with this style of music is that it can get a little muddy sounding as you’ve got multiple melody sources. I’m happy to say that nothing gets masked and it’s far from muddy. The drums are also upfront and in your face, almost a little too much. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, but you may want to turn down your subwoofer a wee bit before playing this album.

Opening the album, Viinamäen Mies begins with a wee chanting bit, which sets the tone for the whole song. A short mid-paced affair, with Jonne g in Finnish and some seriously good violin and accordion playing. Some serious Violin and Accordian ‘shredding’ occurs from 2:40 to the end of the track. It’s probably my favorite from the album and is such fun to listen to.

Onto the next song, Pilli On Pajusta Tehty. Opening with a drum solo before an opening shout brings everything in. This track really shows off Jonne’s style of vocal delivery and features a really catchy chorus. Add catchy guitar riffs and counter melodies on both accordion and Violin and you’ve got a song that will go down a storm live.

Lempo then plays and takes all the speed away, replacing it with a calm and reflective mood. It still has the same sound and feel as the two previous tracks, but it’s definitely one of the more emphatic tracks. Think ‘Rose for Epona’ and Synkkä from the previous album, Manala and you’ve got it.

Opening with a bar style chant, Sahti bring the speed back. Having a style reminiscent of older Korpiklaani tracks such as ‘Vodka’ and ‘Beer Beer’, it’s one that certainly get a crowd going at a show. More epic accordion and violin solos occur around 2:25 before a key change then brings the chorus once again before the track end.

Continuing with the speed is the track Luontoni. Opening with a quick drum fill and a t accordion solo before Jonne comes in with his vocals, it’s got a more modern and quicker feel than the previous tracks. Stripping back to just vocals, accordion and violin around 2:12 before bringing everything back makes for a nice touch.

Slowing down and bringing a emphatic atmosphere once again is the track Minä Näin Vedessä Neidon. It’s certainly one of the more memorable tracks of the album, mainly for how it tells a kind of story. It’s at this point I wish my Finnish was better… Putting that aside, it’s certainly a stand out track for just being so different from the rest of the album.

I’m reminded of an old school metal track instantly with the next track, Jouni Jouni. Driving bass and drums and a killer vocal line instantly gives a nostalgic feel before the accordion and violin come in at the chorus to give a little more life to the section. It’s a stand out track for me, just by how different it is from the rest of the album.

Kicking up the pace a tad is the next track, Kylästä Keväinen Kehto. Featuring counter melodies on the accordion and violin along with Jonne’s melodious singing in the chorus, it makes for quite a catchy song. Slowing down to a walking pace around 2:12 really changes the feel of the track before launching back into the catchy chorus and ending with what can only be described as an ascending death growl from Jonne. Nice touch.

Ämmänhauta then comes in with the main melody on the violin before kicking into the main laid back groove. Being a bit slower than the previous track allows for the song to strip back to just drums or just drums and violin at points. In short, a good listen and a fitting end to the surprisingly short album.

Whilst there was a few points where I was wondering whether it was still a Korpiklaani album, I was happily reminded of this with Jonne’s singing. It’s safe to say that after listening to this album, the band cannot only play superb crowd raising anthems, they can also play calm and reflected pieces and pull them off really well.

In of a recommendation, I’d recommend this album to fans of bands such as Heidevolk and Equilibrium. It’ll make for an interesting and enjoyable listen.

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