Finntroll
Ur Jordens Djup

THE REVIEW

We had to wait three years, and after this relatively long period, the "Finnish Trolls" decided to derail.
Derailing from the chaotic and rogue path that made them famous with works like "Nattfödd" or "Visor om Slutet", to take a step forward that returns to the strictly "heavy" origin of their discography, up to their first, beautiful work "Midnattens Widunder". The amalgamation of sounds, the attitude and the more metallic edge of the tracks, in fact, project the listener into a sort of dark and indefinable Barnum Circus, with atmospheres that at times manage to really unsettle, without completely renouncing the strong "Folk" thrust typical of the band.
Here there are more robust guitars and rhythmic sections in general, that know where to hit and where to hurt. Keyboards, accordions, and all other Polka instruments, sure, they are also here, but they have been reduced to a pure accompaniment that is not part of the song structure, embellished and endowed with originality, without ever falling into the orgy of festive and boorish sounds to which they had accustomed us so far.

So those who listen to them and love them will certainly delight their ears with sounds that, today, are more akin (in attitude, not for other reasons) to the "new" Moonspell than to Ensiferum. This album is the right summary, the result of years and years spent experimenting, being avant-garde, revisiting what was good in the past, and adding splashes of new influences derived mostly from their colleagues, the prestigious Moonsorrow. Of course, achieving all this takes courage: the irreverent Finntroll stepping into the canons and criteria of Moonsorrow is hardly imaginable. The first are so eclectic, while the latter are tragically serious and martial (just consider, to corroborate what I say, their latest, beautiful work "V- Hävitetty", composed of only two songs, each more than half an hour long, to realize); yet it seems that the Trolls have once again managed to surprise us. Even in this task.

It is possible that many, conversely, are searching for that playful and brawling spirit from Finntroll that made them famous, and to them, I immediately say that this album will probably delight them partially because the band, after so many vicissitudes, even tragic, that have marked the time and character of the members, has decided today to take themselves a bit more seriously.
New singer, Vreth, who with his professional and well-executed screams, is a candidate to be the rising star of the extreme genre, possessing an acidic and scratchy voice just right to provide that "black" halo that today's Trolls want to highlight; the work of Trollhorn is always excellent and magnificent, but it has lost that tavern warmth to favor a more obsessive and visceral sound, cold at certain moments ("Gryning", "Ormhäxan").
All these things, I repeat, serve only to make us understand that the band today is no longer what we have learned to know over the years, but rather wants to be an example of artistic maturity and originality in its domain.

For this reason, perhaps the album will not please you deeply except after several listens. Perhaps, forgetting that those playing are an institution in the Folk domain, it might even be hailed as a miracle or might leave you disappointed because, in the end, what we are listening to is a work still branded as Finntroll, one of those bands that has built around itself a precise image, made of a festive and irreverent atmosphere, certainly not of evil put into music.
As for me, I am greatly appreciating and loving it, and this new stylistic direction taken, from the first time I placed the CD in my player, caught me off guard with songs like "Sång" or "Nedgång". For their power and for the great, immense apocalyptic taste they harbor.
Naturally, not all the material proposed here is serious and "evil", there are always moments that bring a smile to your face and that will not fail to wreak havoc live, and of those, you will be able to enjoy as well. "Korpens Saga", "En Mäktig Här", "Kvällning", will immerse you in a magical atmosphere made of snow, forests crossed by torrents streaming pure water, and smoky pubs where to enjoy conviviality and the pleasure of being together. Especially the last one I mentioned, in its thirteen minutes, at the end, surprise of surprises...