Kev Rowland I have had mixed feelings about Korpiklaani over the years, as while they have long been favourites of the mass media and are certainly the closest a lot of denim and leather wearing longhairs will ever get to folk, to me they can sometimes lose their core purpose. I felt their last album, 2018’s ‘Kulkija’ was the finest of theirs I had come across, while 2015’s ‘Noita’ had too much pirate metal contained within it. The idea of having a single figure on the album cover takes us back even further, to 2012’s ‘Manala’ and the five albums which precede it, yet here we have a band who have had their first real line-up change in some time with the departure of drummer Matson, who had been with the band since their formation in 2003. He has been replaced by Samuli Mikkonen who apparently had a major impact on the demos when they were first presented by Jonne Järvelä who along with guitarist Cane are now the only original members left.

The result for their eleventh studio release is an album which to my ears is incredibly inconsistent, in that when they are good and everything comes together then they are truly great and one can fully understand why they are such heroes of the folk metal movement. But there are other times when it feels somewhat as if they are going through the motions, and we get some of that pirate folk styling thrown back in which has nothing to do with their normal influences. In a way it is incredibly frustrating as I really want to enjoy this album, and the further I get into it the better it gets, but when I start again at the beginning, I remember why I was so annoyed the last time I played it. The arrangements are massively complex and complicated, with heavy guitars and dynamic drums (Samuli is a real standout on this album) being played against accordion and violin, with wonderfully strong and emotive vocals (of course I cannot understand a word), and there are times when it is sheer brilliance, and others when they are just treading water waiting for the next section.

I am sure there are many fans who will stand with Jonne Järvelä and say it is the best thing they have ever done, but while there are some definite highlights, for me this is a move in the wrong direction.

Kev Rowland 2015’s ‘Noita’ is quite a confused release from the Finnish folk metallers in many ways, as they often seem to have far more in common with the Viking Metal or Pirate Metal movement than for the one for which they are more well-known (in many ways I guess these are sub genres of the sub-genre of folk metal, so sub-sub-genres). They even include a cover, here called “Jouni Jouni”, which is actually “Mony Mony” (originally by Tommy James and the Shondells, I still like the version by Billy Idol). Like the rest of the album, it’s not bad, but it also isn’t what I really expect from the band. This is their ninth studio album so would have expected something a little better than this.

The most positive thing that can be said about this album is that it is decidedly average, with a distinct lack of consistency and an impression of a band both going through the motions and losing their way. Once can only hope that the next one would be better.

Kev Rowland Three years on from their last, Finnsih Folk Metallers Korpiklanni are back with their tenth album ‘Kulkija’, which means ‘Wanderer’. The band state that this album is the closest to their on stage sound, as for tracking they used their tour set up, so will be able to easily perform all of this live. As well as being their longest album to date, in many ways it is also a concept as the wanderer of the album title appears in every song, with each track representing one of his life experiences. For example, opening song “Neito” (which translates to “Maiden”) is about his woman. The road is a wanderer’s bride, a maiden who he misses and who he travels with. However, the real maiden is waiting for his return home. After a journey you may bury your carriage, but the wistful traveller’s songs and music will be carried where it lies. A traveller was born to wander.

It must be said that I am not always a great fan of the folk metal genre, as it often feels that both sides suffer, but this album is definitely one of those where it all works together incredibly well. Far more folk than “just” folk metal, the album has a musical continuity which allows it all to hang together, and although there are times when they allow themselves some metallic guitar, for the most part this feels far more about a logical progression of a musical form as opposed to two opposing styles being brought crashing together. There is a great deal here that pure folkies will find to enjoy, especially with the lyrical violin and the delicate accordion, and one has to wonder what metalheads will think of it. I can imagine this album getting far more play at Cropredy than Wacken, although for some reason I am sure there is more chance of them playing at the latter than the former. Of all their albums I own, this is the one to which I will most often be returning.

Warthur Looking at the cover to Manala, I think to myself "this album prominently features a man playing a tambourine for a volcano swan. Can the album possibly live up to this?" My answer is a pleasantly surprised "yeah, kind of!" Finnish folk metal crew Korpiklaani do a great job of incorporating jaunty folk music (particularly polka) into their sound on the album without dimming the raw power and aggression of the metal basis of their sound. Combinations of folk music and metal which don't either ride roughshod over the folk music or castrate the metal are difficult to pull off, and the band succeed well enough. It's not a po-faced, serious artistic statement by any stretch of the imagination - it's a playful polka-metal party, and by that metric it is fun enough. 2CD editions of the album offer the tracks in English language versions or the original Finnish.

Time Signature Polka...

Genre: troll folk polka metal

Whether or not this release works relly depends on the intentions behind it. If it is meant to be taken seriously, then it fails miserably. But if it is meant to give people a good time and be generally uplifting, then they've succeeded brilliantly. Korpiklaani are both corny and silly, I think, but in this case, it has a positive effect.

The combination of traditional folk musik instruments, like pipes, fiddles, flutes, accordeons and the jouhikko fit the power metal-ish rock music quite well, and the D-beat drums suit the polka-drive of Korpiplaani very well. The ban also draw on old fashioned 80s metal - and there's even a cover version of "Iron Fist".

I don't understand a word of Finnish, but I think that their lyrics are mostly humorous, which supports the lightheartedness hypothesis. Certainly, the combination of sheeps braying and shotguns firing in the beginning of "Päät Pois Tai Hirteen" seem to indicate a generally humorous approach.

I can imagine that this album is great music to listen to if you and your friends are having a drinking party, and if your winter depression hasn't retreated yet, I am sure that this album with inject a dose of good mood into your veins.