This is the debut full length by Finnish black/folk metal duo Riitasointu after a demo and a couple of singles so new voices to listen to. Apparently the name means ‘dissonance’ which is an interesting name for a folk influenced project, but there again lack of harmony can relate to many things, such as surroundings, your place in the world, such like..
The album opens with delicate acoustic guitar, the sounds of birds in a gentle sylvan setting. A nice, rich lilt to this goes a long way, setting a thoughtful mood for an album entitled something like ‘The Beast’s Play’.
‘1050’ comes in with a bass rich sound, and thick folk metal though sombre. The clean vocals are beautifully matched and harmonised, the harsh vocals in contrast fairly standard. There is a neat melody here and a strong sway to the tune for a decent start. It moves between the harsh sections and more ponderous folk elements. ‘Luopio ja Parras’ continues the slower, folk metal style. Deep clean vocals, light little guitar runs over the top and an almost introspective feel rather than the epic. It does however pick up both speed and expands the sound as though suddenly commencing on a journey. ‘Metsolan Vartija’ is similar paced, vocals harsh but the music most definitely folk metal rather than anything black metal related. The melodic refrains a nice, but I have to say that they don’t exactly dig in deep. Nothing wrong simply fine.
The title track does indeed begin in a kind of punk-ish/black metal style with a sense of urgency to the riff. Strangely kind of reminds me of early Glittertind which is hardly a bad thing. There’s a bounce to the upfront bass here and in other tracks that does lend that distinction.
As the album goes on it’s a curious thing to me. I listen to a reasonable amount of the harsher end of folk metal, and see a fair bit live with my, ahem, devotion to the Warhorns festivals in the UK and Riitasointu with their debut have firmly slotted in to a niche I see a fair bit. It is without a doubt good folk metal; well played and with an emotional intent that can only be commended. But on the debut not a great deal has stayed with me after finishing numerous play-throughs.
This does not mean this is remotely bad, simply that for me this is a foundation, laying out the stones on which they wish to build. There are passages, moments particularly where the energy lifts and takes the melodic runs, that will be excellent live. This is not pirate twaddle, this is proper folk metal with a heart and I think if you’re a devotee of that style you should get in on the ground floor with this lot.
For me I’ll watch from a distance for now. But they are certainly a welcome addition to the scene and could indeed produce some excellent music in the future.
A good beginning.
(6.5/10 Gizmo)
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