Power of Metal.dk Review

 
Finntroll
Blodsvept
Rating
Style: Folky Black Metal
Release date: 25 March, 2013
Playing time: 43:03
 

On the sixth album Finntroll has left the path of black metal even more than on the predecessor. There are less black metal parts, instead the songs rock even more and the humppa rhythms and the traditional instruments have an even bigger role. More trombone, saxophone and trumpet parts accompany the music too. Have they become a kind of In Extremo then? No, fortunately not, vocalist Mathias Vreth still uses his aggressive singing and there are still some very fast songs. The first track "Blodsvept" sounds like a traditional Finntroll track, which could have been on the predecessor, but after that you hear that Finntroll has changed a bit.

The album sounds not as over produced as its' predecessor, which sounded very detailed and orchestral. The guitar sound is mixed more in the background and the keyboards more in front. To keep the album aggressive there is hardly any clean singing anymore, just aggressive. Like I already wrote, new are also the big band influences best heard in "Mordminnen".

Other tracks I have to mention are: the 'lets start drinking' track "Rösets Kung" and the orchestral more epic dark song "Skövlarens Död". Very nice is the very fast track "Skogsdotter", the combination of the fast humppa rhythm, the electric guitar and the banjo make this an excellent kind of country song. In "Tva Ormar" the band uses Hammond organs and only in the last track "Midvinterdraken" we hear some real black metal blast beats. This is also a track that could have been on the 'Nifelvind' album.

If you are still sitting in your chair after listening to this CD, you are probably deaf and have no feeling for rhythm at all, because almost every track makes me want to jump around. I like this album for sure, Finntroll really rocks and swings on this album and although they distanced themselves further away from their black metal roots, they still sound rather aggressive. If you liked 'Nifelvind', I'm sure you'll dig the new one too, even though it is a little less heavy and aggressive.


Tracklist
01. Blodsvept
02. Ett Folk Förbannet
03. När Jättar Marschera
04. Mordminnen
05. Rösets Kung
06. Skövlarens Död
07. Skogsdotter
08. Häxbrygd
09. Tva Ormar
10. Fanskapsfylld
11. Midvinterdraken
Label: Century Media
Distribution: EMI (Denmark)
Reviewed by: Reinier de Vries
Date: 24 March, 2013
Website: www.finntroll.net