Finnish folk metal heroes Finntroll return after 7 long years with their latest album “Vredesvävd” which translated to English means “Wrath-woven,” which captures the spirit of the band within the 10 tracks on offer. The band says, “After seven years of hiding, ‘Ormfolk’ slithers its way to bring the human race a prelude of the forthcoming chaos which even global pandemics are unable to prevent. Catchy melodies, furious speed and the rabid black humppa will ensure that your ears will be hissing for a long time!” We sink our teeth into some new Finntroll.
“Vredesvävd” kicks off with a cinematic intro in “Väktaren” before launching the album with what may be the most frenetic track on the album, “Att Döda Med En Sten“, a blast beat infested ode to their black metal influences. From here on though it’s mostly Finntroll doing what they do best in that groove oriented folk metal style with single “Ormfolk” leading the charge in their now trademark sound. Lot’s of head banging stuff can be found here mixed with thrashy passages to up the tempo a bit.
Following on from that is the dancy “Gränars Väg” with the scandinavian language utilised to full effect, crowd inducing and catchy as hell. The band move into more rock n’ roll territory with”Forsen” which has a bit of a gritty feel to it with lots of melodic folk elements lavished around and further cinematic passages worked into the crux of the song.
The production on the album is solid as it usually is with Finntroll’s recordings, an aspect that really helps build on the song’s strengths. Many of the more melodic metal oriented tracks like “Vid Häxans Härd“, “Stjärnors Mjöd” and the fast paced “Myren” almost rely on a good sound to really make it’s impact on the listener, with many instrumental arrangements all working cohesively as one while still being able to differentiate themselves from each other rather than just a wall of noise.
“Mask” is another highlight, spotlighting the band’s love of the speed metal components that have greatly influenced the band’s core sound. Closing the album out to contrast that is the slower, foot stomping “Ylaren” which ends things on a fairly good note. Finntroll definitely know how to have fun with their records and “Vredesvävd“ is no exception, taking in all the fun factors of good old fashioned folk metal and injecting some riff oriented melodies and heavy grooves at the same time. Let the good times roll with the troll horde!
7/10
TRACKLIST
Väktaren
Att Döda Med En Sten
Ormfolk
Gränars Väg
Forsen
Vid Häxans Härd
Myren
Stjärnors Mjöd
Mask
Ylaren
