Kev Rowland ‘Pimeän Tuoja’ (which can be translated to ‘The Bringer of the Dark’) is the debut album from Finnish Stoner/Pagan/Folk act Lovijatar. Formed by Jussi Rautio (Battlelore, guitar) and Tommi Vaittinen (Elephant Bell, vocals) they were inspired lyrically by Finnish epic folklore Kalevala and old Finnish poetry while their musical ideas come partially from traditional Karelian keens of requiems (itkuvirsi). The music is often very heavy, but definitely touches on all of the styles mentioned above, which means that they have quite a unique sound. While some of the folk metal bands almost treat the style as a huge joke, and something to drink plenty of beer to, this is altogether more serious. In addition, they perform totally in Finnish, which again gives the music a different feel to many. Rauso states that they do this because “We have lost lots of old Finnish culture and it is best preserved in folk poetry. That’s the only place where we can really go and find something ancient from our heritage.”

The line-up is completed by Mikko Neuvonen (Elephant Bell, drums), Petrus Rapo (Boner, guitar) and Riku Hakala (Tytär, bass.) and the quintet have created something that is melodic, emotive, dark, heavy and intriguing all at the same time. There is a definite edge here that lifts this album out of the ordinary. www.lovijatar.com