Thursday, August 5, 2010

Album Review: Finntroll-Nifelvind


I am finally starting to catch up on a few records that were released in the first half of the year. I still have some left to listen to but it seems like there were a few gems that I ignored untill now. Among those is the new record from Finnish folk metal act Finntroll.
Finntroll has always been a band that plays a unique style of folk metal. Of course they still have the folky crazy parts with folk instruments but out of all the folk metal acts that I listen to Finntroll is the heaviest. They effortless blend folk metal with old-school euro black/death metal. Througout its duration Nifelvind seems like one big party. From the intro track "Blodmarsch" to the preceding track "Solsagan" you can tell exactly how great and fun Nifelvind will be. Sure its still a heavy record for folk metal its actually very heavy but Fintroll knows how to blend the elements of folk and death metal extremely well. Plain and simple if your are listening to this record and are a fan of the genre you will have a fun time listening. That being said if you don't like folk metal this album most likely won't change your mind. It has all the core elements of a typical folk metal record and really doesn't try anything too out of the blue for folk metal.
Fintroll has done it again an stuck to their winning formula. They have made a folky and fun yet heavy record. I am sure these tracks sound even better live and hopefully they do another US tour soon so I get the chance to see them live. Nifelvind is going to make a run at my top 20 albums of the year for sure. 2010 needed another great folk metal record and Finntroll has delivered in that area. Bottom line when it comes to folk metal not many acts maintain the balance of heavy and folk as well as Fintroll and they are absoultey one of the leaders for the genre.
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Solsagan
2.Ett Norkensdad
3.Forfamnad

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