Finnish folk metal titans are at it again, Korpiklaani ‘The Clan Of The Wilderness’ are now on their eighth album release ‘Manala (Underworld)’; after the spectacular Ukon Wacka I’m hoping for something special.
Beginning with the track ‘Kunnia’ with some pretty cool wailing styled singing, the vocals change to the recognisable frog in the throat singing. The jiggy feeling is still there like the previous albums and the feeling of wanting to have a stein or a mead horn full of dirty alcohol is still there too.. great.. just what you want while listening to these guys. After listening to the English version of this track it’s clear that the Finnish language adds a lot of the magic to it. ‘Tuonelan Tuvilla’ goes a little darker with a grindy guitar riff and some deep growly vocals. Then there’s ‘Routa’ which at first listen I didn’t quite get… as it seemed to repeat a lot. However, after a few listens it grew on me. The chorus sounds a little pop rock but nevertheless it got me bopping about the room.
The wailing along to ‘Ruumiinmultaa’ in a Middle Eastern style adds a little edge to the track and the violins going along with the raw guitar riffs are pretty special. ‘Petoeláimen Kuola’ starts with a Slayer inspired riff showing that Korpiklaani aren’t just stuck in the folk genre. The riffs are heavy, yet there’s still a sense of Finnish magic in there with a faint touch of violins.
Calming down now for ‘Synkka’. A full sounding bass/guitar riff and violins swiftly entwine within each other. The only problem with this is there are no vocals (Boooo!). Without hesitation the next track jumps in; ‘Ievan Polkka’ which is catchy as hell! Think a heavy metal barn with hay, beer, metal and lumberjack shirts and you’ve got it! (Ok maybe not the shirts then..).
And now… I can understand why Santa is on the front cover of the CD. ‘Husky Sledge’ sounds like Santa’s sleigh jingling along…. (sorry guys…. but he does look like Mr Claus!) Other then that the track doesn’t really offer much else. Another instrumental ‘Dolorous’ follows, which to be honest is pretty clever and beautiful indeed.
Moving on to the last track ‘Sumussa Hamaran Aamun’ for the brutal pounding drums and the filthy riffs again, showing the darker, more grown up side to Korpiklaani. The Zakk Wylde styled pinch harmonics add a little spice to the mix too!
A pleasant listening experience all-round. Production work done to perfection and the CD cover art is perfect for the genre (even though a lot of them look the same, but what the hell, it works!) So Korpiklaani have done it again, managed to impress with yet another album filled with a journey of magic and mayhem. (And booze). However, speaking of which… I did feel the album lacked a number like ‘Happy Little Boozer’ or from Karkelo ‘Vodka’ ? So maybe a slight disappointment due to there being no alcohol inspired anthem!.
(Charlene Rance 7/10)
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