Grimtroll and Syrtroll sit on their mountain, Faanefjell, playing cards and drinking mead. They have been doing this for centuries. Lately, though, Christian humans have invaded the tranquillity, and the two brothers are becoming increasingly annoyed by the light of Christ and all that damn hymn-singing! They have tried to throw out the invaders, but those stubborn idiots just keep coming back! So they go north, on a great march through the forests and mountain of the old world. Everywhere they bump into human settlements, destroying the forests, corrupting the very nature of stones and trees, scaring away the darklings and fairies. During their march they gather allies, and eventually they arrive at the hall of the king of the glacier trolls. He calls in every troll in the old North, and with this mighty army the Faanefjell
brothers reclaims the land and their beloved mountain. To this day they sit there, drinking mead and playing cards...
I have to admit that I am deeply moved by this album. I simply love this kind of lyrical theme - hailing from the north myself, it is difficult not to. It is, admittedly, a simple recipe for happiness, but non-the-less, it reminds me of what made me a raving black metal fan in the first place: the magic of the old days, when monsters roamed on the outskirts of civilisation. And the power of being such a monster...
Faanefjell is more a part of the third wave of black metal, than the second - that is, they sound more like Finntroll and Windir, than like Immortal or Mayhem. But it is the Norwegian school and no doubt about it! A superior and complex mix of symph metal, folk music, classical overtures and grim black. Ad a solid portion of humor to the mix and you get me drooling - which is exactly what happens when this record is spinning!
With a respectful nod at the epic pioneering folk-metal opus Nordavind by black metal all-stars band Storm, Faanefjell wield the very essence of Northern folk music, fairy tales and traditional folklore. Even Edward Grieg is represented in this glorious mix. With more than enough space for grinding drums and raw guitars.
I am simply overcome by this. Bloody fucking hell, this album just gets better and better!
