"The Time of the Hunt" is what this title means. Time of hunting, of killing, of blood....This is all what the members of Finntroll want to bring to our minds with this album. Is not a new one, but definitely the album itself is considered by many fans as their best, featuring a mix of folk and Viking metal aspects, such as traditional joik singing. I don't really know why, but it's quite addictive.
They combine elements of extreme metal with Finnish polka, called humppa. Finntroll's lyrics are in Swedish, one of Finland's two national languages, because "Swedish just sounds damn trollish", according to the band's first vocalist, Katla (whose native language is Swedish). Finntroll means "Troll from Finland" or "a spotty troll" since the word for spot (acne) and a finnish person are the same in Swedish.
Finntroll was founded in 1997, by Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta, guitarist of Impaled Nazarene, and Jan "Katla" Jämsen. Their first demo, Rivfader, was recorded about a year later, in 1998. After the demo recording, the other members of the band, Samu Ruotsalainen (from Barathrum, Shape of Despair and Rapture), Samuli Ponsimaa, Henri Sorvali (from Moonsorrow) and Sami Uusitalo joined the band.
The next step for Finntroll was this album,Jaktens Tid, which was released in 2001. This album managed to climb to rank 20 of the Finnish album charts, exceeding expectation of band and publisher alike. The following wave of popularity attracted the attention of Century Media, which began promoting Finntroll for the rest of the world. The following summer, the band had their first time playing on open air festivals in Finland and other countries.
The year after the release of the album Jaktens Tid proved to be a misfortune for Finntroll: some tours had to be cancelled, and in the aftermath of his problems, vocalist Jämsen had to retire from the band due to a viral-based tumor in his vocal cords which could not be removed surgically; he retired after the release of the album Visor om Slutet (English: Songs about the End).
Shortly before the release of Visor om Slutet, Raimoranta died by falling off a bridge in Helsinki after having consumed too much alcohol, according to the official story.
Finntroll didn't dissolve after losing one of their founding members, but decided to go on, touring for two weeks in Europe, supported by the group Katatonia. The guitarist Mikael Karlbom was hired as a replacement for Raimoranta.
In 2004, the band released an EP, Trollhammaren (English: The Troll Hammer), and an album called Nattfödd (English: Nightborn). Trollhammaren is one of the most asked songs by fans in concerts, hence one of the most populars.
On January 29th, 2006, Tapio Wilska, vocalist of the band since 2003, was fired from the band.
A new album, titled Ur Jordens Djup (English: From the Depths of the Earth), was released March, 2007. This fifth album put more emphasis on epic keyboard riffs with very loud but melodic guitar. The album is the first to feature vocalist Mathias Lillmåns. This and other factors appear to contribute to a darker, more trollish black metal feel.
You're welcome to talk about your favourite Finntroll album's, or some other kids of music if you prefer!
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Jaktens Tid
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Back to reality
Even if not 100%, I'm already back from Tuska. It's been one of the best holidays in my life, and maybe also the shortest :P After 5 days of travelling to and back from Finland and around Helsinki in those 3 days, when we had time to see lots of people, costumes, and great music. Ouch, I'm still trying to land back in reality. We didn't have the chance to see all the concerts we wanted to (really sad to have missed most of Mercenary , Naildown , or Fintroll's concerts, but also extremely happy for having enjoyed the ones I could see. This year's artist list has been superb and they all were awesome with the public. I feel like I have to mention and thank (even if they're not likely to red this)the Dragonforce members for being so kind with us and for taking pictures with all of us... and also to Hansi Kürsch, Blind Guardian singer, for being always so nice!!! See you in Tuska 2008!!(Pictures to come). Keep tuned!!!
More...Friday, 15 June 2007
Countdown has started!!!
The Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in of Helsinki, Finland, has been celebrated since 1998 and it has grown larger and better organized every year. In 2006, the festival was almost sold out.....For this year, the amount of artist and the level are also interesting, his year's edition will be extremely interesting, featuring bands like Blind Guardian, Children of Bodom, D'espairsRay, DragonForce, Emperor, Finntroll, Katatonia, Mercenary, Moonsorrow, or W.A.S.P.
The concerts schedule has already been announced and it promises us 3 days of great music and non stopping concerts....Keep tuned!
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Can't get you out of my head...
Grrrrr....I know, its not a good way of starting a post, but I started being pissed off at the idea of being singing the same sonn for the last 24 hours. It usually doen's stay that long
, but this time it really seems sticked to my brains. The song is Mika's "Grace Kelly".
Pretty popular isn't it?Well, I first heard it on radio last thursday, while waiting for the dentist to let me in the room and finish my agony the soonest possible....it kinda got sticked in my head but I forgot it when I entered the "torture chamber" (apologies for you dentists, but I'm scared of you!)...afterwards, when I arrived home, I listened to it online and decided to get the song. Thet's it, now I'm doomed to sing it from now to eternity!!
the song is actually really nice, I like it, but I don't like the fact that, being totally addicted as I am, i don't listen to anything else!! Please recommend me some other song to sing!!All suggestions are welcome! And keep tuned ;)
