Finntroll - Blodsvept

Finntroll

Blodsvept

by Tuoksu Holopainen at 18 March 2013, 9:38 PM

"Blodsvept", meaning "Shrouded in Blood", is the title of the newest release by one of the most prominent (and one of my personal favorite) Finnish Extreme Folk Metal  bands.

The album has all the typically - FINNTROLL elements, but shows more maturity and diversity than its predecessor "Nifelvind", swinging between extremely harsh vocals, heavy riffs, loud drums and the cheerful  humppa melodies.

As usual, nothing has changed concerning the overall lyrical themes and the tradition of using the Swedish language continues. The tracks are very diverse and too short (as usual) that you barely notice when a track ends and the other starts. The whole thing is around 43 minutes, but still a very decent effort from the never-disappointing Finns. Again, Vreth proves great vocal skills making him an ideal frontman for the band.

The title track "Blodsvept" which has been released a while ago,  is the most down-to-earth track, whereas "Ett Folk Förbannat", which means "A cursed race", is a much more interesting song, and the melody in the background reminded me a little of Týr's "Shadow of the swastika". It is beautifully ornamented with breathtaking keyboards complimenting the great riffs. It's followed by "När Jättar Marschera" (When the giants march) in which the trollish yet heavy sound goes on. This latter one has one of the best melody lines in the whole album, and it's indeed one of my favorite tracks so far. "Rösets Kung" is another outstanding track, featuring some enchanting orchestrations, and at some point it sounded like a HAGGARD track to me.

"Skövlarens Död" (Death of the Waster) is quite dark while "Skogsdotter" (Daughter of the Forest) is more speedy and humppa-driven. And then comes my favorite track: "Häxbrygd" (Witch's Brew). The highlight of this track is a little oriental-sounding interlude which I find very intriguing, making it the catchiest song in the album."Två Ormar" (Two serpents) is another humppa-driven, rather funny track.

To sum it up, "Blodsvept" is not a groundbreaking release per se, but merely another great album by a great and outstanding band.