| CD REVIEW Metsätöll |
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Band: Metsätöll It is early 1999. Three friends share a passion for Folk music and Metal, as well as traditional folkloristic subjects, and they decided to start a band, even though they weren’t experienced at all as musician. It didn’t stop them to continue anyway, and soon they wrote and composed some material. At that moment, they decided to call themselves Metsätöll, which is an ancient euphemism for ‘wolf’, by the way. Throughout the years, the band grew a lot. This goes for their ‘inner’ strength (read: the musicians became experienced and started to write more mature songs with stronger lyrics), as well as for their fan base in their home country. A highlight might be their participation at the 2005-edition of the Estonian Music Awards. They did win, somewhat unexpectedly, the ‘Best Metal Act’ award. And in 2008 they did win again (‘Metal Act Of The Year’), which was followed by signing a contract with Finnish ultra-label Spinefarm Records.
During these years, the band underwent several line-up changes, they did record and release tons of material, and they were able to play live many times, with, for example, last year’s European tour with Finnish masters Ensiferum as mention-worth element. Earlier this year, a single and a video clip were unleashed as amuse-bouche to the new studio full length. This album, called Äio, was recorded at the Finnish Finnvox Studio and the Estonian Sinusoid Studio, and mixed by legendary producer / engineer Mikko Karmila (of Children Of Bodom/ Amorphis/ Nightwish/ Eternal Tears Of Sorrow/ Therion/ … fame).
The fact that these guys are still full of ideas is clear, because Äio lasts for an hour. And it also gets proven by the fact that this album is a superb one too, that never bores one single moment.
All tracks, or at least almost all of them, are just interesting. No, they aren’t renewing, but it isn’t cliché-influenced pulp either / at all. As a matter of fact, the use of ‘traditional’ instruments (flutes, percussions, mouth harp, yet also stuff like torupill, ängipill, lokulaud, kannel and stink drum), besides acoustic guitars, comes in the most perfect symbiosis with the ‘real’ Metal instruments (guitars, bass and drums). And there’s so much variation, yet without losing its grip, without fading away in a pathetic, superfluous cacophony. Balancing between acoustic archaism and up-tempo power, the album consists of a complete collection of epic hymns in a wonderful cohesive way.
The vocals are varying too. Most of them are rather rough (yet not grunting or squealing, for example), but there are also harmony chants, spoken words etc.
And what about the total atmosphere? Well, it floats between victorious, epic, revengeful, emotional and proud. …sometimes aggressive, then again hymnic or story-telling, and so on, and so on. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you’re into Baltic, Finnish, Swedish, or whatever kind of Folk-influenced Metal, with or without a Black or Death Metal-touch; this material is superior stuff, and therefore highly recommendable for every fan of the scene, without any doubt. Besides, the album ‘grows’, meaning: time after time it gets better, and after listening to it for a tenth time, I’m still craving for more. 83/100 Ivan Tibos. |
