Finntroll
“Nattfödd”
(Century
Media)
You really have to listen to this record with a good bass-amplifier in order to be able to really appreciate the numerous deep groaning sounds. Because as always you won`t be able to understand any of the words (unless you speak Swedish) because in good old Finntroll style it´s all in Swedish (which of course is absolutely essential for an album which is supposed to sound like trolls). In English this would be totally out of place. But let´s start at the beginning: “Vindfärd” > Finntroll simply never dissapoint their fans. After the song has granted us a few seconds of peace at the beginning (when a few quiet deep sounds give you the taste of things to come… the Troll is still fast asleep) the next moment it really gets going… and it is exactly what you would wish for a new Troll-CD: without any mercy! Fast, pulsating humppa sounds… but not quite right for a campfire, but rather serious and full of passion at first. It makes you want to put everything to the side and it simply demands your full attention.
But straight away with “Eliytres” it changes to more humppa in the music , although the tempo does not slow down whatsoever. It rushes on with an energy, which is beyond compare. Only very briefly is the tempo interrupted by a few extravagant interludes (one of them for example reminds you of a short fanfare). In this song you`re more likely to imagine a couple of wild trolls. Rather than them dancing around the campfire, if I try to visualize it, they rush wildy around all over the place.
“Fiskarens Fiende” > At last the tempo slows down somewhat, but at the same time more bombastic.. the song continues in this vein (broken up by fascinating troll-choruses either in the background or during the break) and in the refrain it builds up to an almost choral work, which leaves a deep impression on me. In any case we are now really close to the campfire mood. And nobody has ever reached such a finale in a song before (please listen to the details yourself… as a surprise).
“Trollhammaren” > Oh, I really love the way this song starts, even if this lasts only a few seconds, before the complete troll power strikes you again. The way this song starts even reminds me a little bit of “Moonsorrow”s style, perhaps because of these vocal exclamations. This is more of a rock song than the other tracks. And somehow simply good.
“Nattfödd” > Once again the beginning of this song is something I would never get tired of hearing. These trolls really are in a league of their own. And then the title track comes along with really a lot of variety and offers all sorts of surprises as it continues, even some almost epic sounding bombastic walls of sounds! Simply great stuff!
“Ursvamp” > … ah, now we are really around the campfire! A firework full of troll-like energy … in the background pure humppa… unfortunately the song ends just as quickly as it began, but not without you being completely covered in sweat (if you experience this live in a concert or perhaps even try out a couple of troll dances in your living room).
“Marknadsvisan” > The beginning of this song is worth its weight in gold! I´m not going to give anything else away! Make sure to listen! And afterwards this somewhat short interlude rushes past you in an impressive way, before you even know what`s happening!
“Det Iskalla Trollblodet” > the whole works… there´s nothing else to say about it! > Powerful, fast, catching! Pure Trollblood! And the troll fanfare is there too from time to time. As the song developes it gets more and more enthusiastic. The campfire atmosphere grows and grows.
“Grottans Barn” > The beginning of the track indicates that things are getting more serious now. And indeed the song starts off relatively mid-tempo and honest-way, but therefor every single note is played with even more intensity. Deep, powerful, gigantic tones and bass sounds which remind you of the occasional depression of the Finns in general. But exactly because of this it really is most ununsual. And it does have several troll-like variations despite the depressive mood and heavy atmosphere.
"Rök": So here we are, almost at the end of this really great record. All that`s left now is the short but good song "Rök", which brings the album to a gentle end with some sensitive and melancholic tones. (And just you wait and see: your fingers will automatically be searching for the "repeat all" button on the CD player!)
To sum it all up: maybe lots of fans have to take their time to get used to the new albums of their favourite bands... but with Finntroll and this album, this simply isn`t the case, because this CD captivates you really 100% right from the start (it edits your ears, your mood, your heart), so here it´s not necessary to get used to it slowly.... you will just love it right away, if you have just a LITTLE bit of troll blood flowing through any of your veins.