News: trailer for Finntroll's upcoming album released

Artist: Finntroll

Album: Blodsvept

Genre: Extreme Folk Metal
Country: Finland
Release date: March 25, 2013

After the info about Finntroll's upcoming album somehow leaked at the end of January, the band officially revealed the details about Blodsvept, their highly awaited new album. Hence, we found out that the album is scheduled to be released on March 25th, 2013 via their label, Century Media.

The painting used on the cover was done by the band's guitarist Skrymer (who also did the artwork for the band's previous releases). Along with this eccentric image, the anticipation for Blodsvept just keeps rising. Three years after their last release, the band gives us a six-minute preview of all the songs set to appear on the album. You can hear bits from this upcoming album in this YouTube video:

Finntroll - Blodsvept (album trailer)

Also, last month the band released the album's title track, which you can still listen to and enjoy at the end of this post. You can also expect a new video from the band soon as they recently filmed a video for the song "Häxbrygd". For those interested in the full tracklist, here it is:

1. Blodsvept

2. Ett Folk Förbannat

3. När Jättar Marschera

4. Mordminnen

5. Rösets Kung

6. Skövlarens Död

7. Skogsdotter

8. Häxbrygd

9. Två Ormar

10. Fanskapsfylld

11. Midvinterdraken

Finntroll

The band has also announced some very special release shows with exclusive extended setlists for once-in-a-lifetime gigs. If you're interested in catching them on tour, confirmed Finntroll shows so far this year are the following:

08.05.2013 - GER - Berlin - K17 w/ Keep Of Kalessin

09.05.2013 - BEL - Vosselaar - Biebob w/ Keep Of Kalessin

10.05.2013 - NED - Dordrecht - Bibelot w/ Keep Of Kalessin

11.05.2013 - GER - Cologne - Live Music Hall w/ Keep Of Kalessin

12.05.2013 - FRA - Paris - La Machine Du Moulin Rouge w/ Keep Of Kalessin

13.05.2013 - UK - London - Underworld w/ Keep Of Kalessin

01.06.2013 - NED - Nijmegen - Fortarock XL

20.06.2013 - POL - Jaworzno - Metalfest Poland

22.06.2013 - FRA - Clisson - Hellfest

13.07.2013 - GER - Ballenstedt - Rock Harz Festival

14.07.2013 - FIN - Joensuu - Ilosaari Rock

03.08.2013 - GER - Gößnitz - 21. Gößnitz Open Air

16.08.2013 - GER - Dinkelsbühl - Summer Breeze

Blodsvept, the title track, was described by the band:

"'Blodsvept' is the track that sets the tone for this new abomination of an album. This song is perfect for driving - Driving for your life, that is, while being chased by a gang of trolls, in a catapult, on a motorway! Pull out your sun-spectacles from your glove compartment and honk if you love blood and guts!"

News: Two upcoming October Falls songs streaming online

Artist: October Falls

Album: The Plague Of A Coming Age

Release date: March 15, 2013 via Debemur Morti Productions

Finnish ambient melancholic metal group October Falls has recently released two songs off of their new album: Boiling Heart Of The North and earlier Snakes Of The Old World. The album, named The Plague Of A Coming Age, is set to be released March 15, 2013 via Debemur Morti Productions. You can find the streams of the songs below.

Earlier this year, the band unveiled new details regarding the forthcoming album, which will be unleashed on both CD and vinyl format, and is already available for pre-order at this location. The full tracklist will be as follows:

1. At The Edge Of An Empty Horizon
2. Bloodlines3. The Verge Of Oblivion
4. Snakes Of The Old World
5. The Plague Of A Coming Age
6. Mouth Of A Nation's Harlots
7. Boiling Heart Of The North
8. The Weight Of The Fallen
9. Below The Soils


Here's also the official press release by Debemur Morti Productions:

"On this new offering, the band continues to explore its exquisitely sonorous world, deeply melancholic, subtly aggressive and always divinely melodic. Once again, M. Lehto gathered gifted musicians around him for the recording: M. Tarvonen (Moonsorrow) on drums and S. Hinkka (Ensiferum) on bass. A very special guest contributed clean vocals on two songs: T. Joutsen (Amorphis). The visual art was imagined and painted by talented Argentinian Artist Santiago Caruso."

 

Source: MetalStorm (January 9, February 21)

Review: Kentin Jivek's Third Eye (2012)

Artist: Kentin Jivek

Album: Third Eye

Release Date: March 2012
Written for: KronosMortus.com (in Hungarian and English)

Rating: 4,5/5

Another review that I've done recently was for Kentin Jivek's album released less than a year ago - Third Eye. Here's the introductory part of the review. The link to the rest, published at KronosMortus.com is provided under the text.

     To set this album into only one genre is not an easy thing. The phrases “ambient folk” or “neofolk”, most commonly used, describe Kentin Jivek’s music only partially. There are so many elements blended together into the music, showing enough diversity and surprise with not just every new album, but with every song that Jivek creates. Although his work does not diverge much from the atmospheric style that he has set over the years, the songs do not follow one repeated formula. The lyrics and background instrumentation seem to have been built around the main guitar melody, but every other added element presents a new experiment.

Read the whole review here, at KronosMortus.com 

(there's also a Hungarian translation, so scroll down if you prefer it in English).

       Tracklist:

1. Third Eye Opened
2. As The Frog Speaks Upon The Hill
3. Oswald
4. Mais Qui Etes Vous Madame Blavatsky?
5. White Letters On Black Sheets
6. Doppelgänger, L´ombre Ka
7. Djinn Moloch Speaking
8. Thou, Raven Song
9. Shiva Is Landing
10. A Bunch Of Mimosa For You Sleepyhead
11. Third Eye Closed

Kentin Jivek - Doppelgänger, L'ombre Ka (audio)

Review: Celtachor's Nine Waves from the Shore (2012)

Artist: Celtachor

Album: Nine Waves from the Shore

Release Date: November 25, 2012 (self-released)

Rating: 4/5

 

To be completely honest, I've never actively listened to Celtachor before. I've come across a song or two before they had their first album out, but since it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, they've never entered my 'favourites list'. Now that I've got an opportunity to write a review for their newest, first full-length album - Nine Waves from the Shore, I've come to think that, even though the genre still doesn't suit me much, it is definitely an album that should not be ignored by any (folk) metal fan.

As I started listening to the album, I thought this would be yet another variation of the pagan/black mixture, and I was right. However, what puts this album at the top is the fresh use of Cetic elements and mythology as the album's main themes. Most of this kind of metal we hear nowadays comes from Scandinavia, putting it on the quite shaky verge of entering monotony what with all the Viking themes. This album, on the other hand, provides just enough folk elements (if I'm not mistaken, they use the bodhran - which is a type of traditional Irish drum, and the tin whistle), engulfed in fiery riffs. This is all so well done that it's never overwhelming the listener. There's even an interesting introduction of a guitar solo in the song Sorrow of the Dagda, which complements the song just perfectly.

The opening and closing parts of the album are quite strong in riffs and screams, as contrasted to an increase in the folk and acoustic elements throughout the middle. Namely, the song called Tar Éis An Sidhe, an acoustic piece, balances perfectly between all the riffs and drumming. However, this is where the band might have made a crucial mistake while making the album. Although the song is quite nice, it lacks in magnificence that we've become used to when it comes to acoustic parts of black metal albums. I always think of Satyricon's first album and the track named Min Hyllest Til Vinterland, which absolutely blew my mind the first time I listened to it, and still does. Compared to pieces as that one, and many other, Tar Éis An Sidhe is not quite a memorable track, and at parts yearns for softer vocals or whispers, even perhaps female guest vocals.

Celtachor

Folk lover as I am, I have to say that my favourite parts of the album definitely include the tribal elements, the soothing whistle, and definitely the themes of the songs. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Irish mythology, but works like this will definitely bring this part of their history a step closer to us. According to the band, "the concept for the album deals with the Landing of the Gael and the main heroes and characters as part of that saga. The artwork was painted by the band's drummer Anais Chareyre. It depicts the Battle of Tailtin, the armies of the Men of Dea against the Men of the Gael being over watched by the goddess Danu rising from the hills and mountains of Eire".

To conclude my views on Celtachor, I present you my album favourite, The Kingship of Bodb Dearg, which beautifully incorporates an acoustic intro with a tin whistle tune, later on showing off with quite nice drumming following the lines "The war drums echo to the chants of the druids". The song tells the story of Bodb Dearg being choosen as the king of Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of people in Irish Mythology.

Celtachor - The Kingship of Bodb Dearg (audio)

Neofolk Tide II: Of the Wand and the Moon + Die Weisse Rose in Zagreb

Kim Larsen

Artists: :Of the Wand and the Moon:, Die Weisse Rose, Allerseelen

Venue:  Vip Club, Trg bana Josipa Jelačića 9, Zagreb

Time: January 26, 2013 - 10.00 pm

Entrance fee:  90 kn/110 kn

Let me shortly present the second part of the neofolk tide sweeping over Zagreb in the last few months. As a reminder, here's a link to my post about the first neofolk event, the concert of Death in June that I attended last November.

Now, as we've set the atmosphere, let's move onto this Saturday's show. As far as I know, Vip Club is not known for organizing events such as this one. Nevertheless, they truly did a great job; everything was quite satisfactory, making the fans feel at home. Die Weisse Rose, with John Murphy (worked with Death In June and Kim Larsen as well) as their special guest, opened the night at around 10 pm. The (female) fans especially loved the white roses that they had on the stage and later on threw in the audience. The guys prepared yet another surprise for the fans: Allerseelen, which was in fact an improvised performance with the help from John Murphy and Thomas Bøjden. They played songs such as Kastanienlied and Wir rufen Deine Wölfe. Later on, Kim Larsen joined for a few songs before proceeding onto his own part of the evening as the main act: Of the Wand and the Moon.

Die Weisse Rose

This was not my first time seeing Kim Larsen perform. I've been to his concert in 2011 in Budapest (didn't have a proper camera back then) as well, when we also did an interview. My opinion is that the two shows differed greatly, not only because the band was more numerous in Zagreb, but also because Croatian audience is nothing like the Hungarian ones. I feel that Hungarians are a much calmer, respectfull type of audience, but also not as outgoing as the people I've come across on concerts in Zagreb.

All of that, however, is quite irrelevant now, because Kim Larsen can turn an evening into magic anytime and anyplace he performs. Even though the set was much shorter than I'd expected, it was a good one. We got to hear the most popular songs, as well as older work and songs released on the latest album, The Lone Descent.

Setlist: Lucifer, Lost in Emptiness, Wonderful Wonderful Sun, A Pyre of Black Sunflowers, Hold My Hand, Nighttime in Sonnenheim, Immer Vorwärts, Summer Solstice, We Are Dust (No Yule This Year, My Love), Shine Black Algiz, Watch the Skyline Catch Fire, Raven Chant // I Crave For You.

Of the Wand and the Moon

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Of the Wand and the Moon - Watch the Skyline Catch Fire (live)