| CD REVIEW Korpiklaani |
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Band : Korpiklaani Having made my acquaintance with this Finnish Folk Metal band at the occasion of having to review their 2006 album Tales Along The Road, I was given he pleasure to review further albums by the band in 2007 (Tervanskanto) and 2008 (Korvus Koninga, posted 21/03/2008 with references to the prior reviews, containing all the historical facts on the band), but for some reason we at Concrete Web were looked over for the band's 2009 album Karkelo (a bummer, because I was actually beginning to look out for my yearly portion of Suomi Folk Metal – lyrics are for the most part done in the Sámi language with traditional yoik vocals) with a degree of anticipation), an album in promotion for which the Fins undertook their first North American tour during April and May of that year. After the festival season which saw the Dark Wood Clan participate to some of the bigger events (Finland's Tuska Festival, the Czech Republic's Masters of Rock, Holland's Zwarte Cross, Germany's Wacken Open Air, and then some...Korpiklaani toured Europe with the Paganfest Europe 2009 from early September to early October, did some loose gigs in Israel, poland, the UK and Russia to tie over the end of the year, and again toured North America on the Karkelo World Tour throughout January 2010. Restricting themselves to Finland shows in the latter part of February, the band crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the Southern hemisphere to play gigs in South America on their Vodka Revolution Tour during March. Following a 6-week “rest period” (more probably time was spent in the studio), the band hopped onto their van again to visit festivals all over Europe (passing through Belgium at Graspop in the process) until the beginning of October. A week later the happy group of shamans started a tour with Eluveitie, and October was spent visiting all the corners of Europe the guys hadn't been yet that year. To say the guys have been busy, would be stating the obvious...and an understatement at that! Now, you can't go wrong with a Korpiklaani album (still, sóme reviewers made a case against Korven Kuningas), as it contains all the elements a decent party needs to get started, and keep on going. Fins are known party-hardies in the rest of the world, by the way, and when you say “party” in Finnish, it comes out “karkelo”. And the title of the new album refers to an ancient pagan sacrificial feats dedicated to Ukko, a feast during which a specially brewed beer apparently richly flowed! With the new album the band also continues its tendency to use all manner of unusual and exotic instruments/ seven string guitars, mandoline, mandola and jouhikko are but a few of the instruments used. All songs are done in the Finnish language this time around, but the purely Finnish mood gets Mexican flavouring on the song “Tequila”...and the bonus track on the limited edition of the album is a cover of Motörhead's “Iron Fist”! To get a whiff of what this band sounds like, we do nót turn to the band's MySpace for once (because simply put, it's shite!), but to (www.) last.fm/music/korpiklaani, where two songs off the new album (the album title track with one Tuomari Nurmio as guest, and a track titled “Päät Pois Tai Hirteen”) are posted alongside a plenitude of material off the other albums! If you find yourself enjoying what's offered there as much as I did/do, you're a happy (wo)man! ...And another new album is propelled into the year-lists... 98/100 Tony. |
