"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
I'm still alive!
It's strange to be back...it's been quite a long time without writing here and I've felt like if my "little child" was abandoned. Summer has passed without many incidents and I hope I'll be able to keep this blog alive for long :) just to give some clues, next post will be about WHY is this blog titled the way it is? so stay tuned ;)
More...Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Opening!!
The spanish translation of this blog has just been born...I'm proud to announce that from now on I'll try to keep both of you (english and spanish readers) happy and interested in the stuff I have to tell you. So keep tuned and remember to leave your mark (as a comment) in the Virtual Valley.
More...Sunday, 27 May 2007
Happy Birthday Mr. Lee!!!
This British actor was born in 1922 in London. After attending Wellington College from age 14 to 17, Lee worked as an office clerk in a couple of London shipping companies until 1941 when he enlisted in the RAF during World War II. Following his release from military service, Lee joined the Rank Organisation in 1947, training as an actor in their "Charm School" and playing a number of bit parts in such films as Corridor of Mirrors (1948).
Lee had numerous parts in film and television throughout the 1950s but didn't achieve stardom until his association with Hammer Film Productions, which started with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), The Mummy (1959), and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), all co-starring Peter Cushing. Lee continued his role as "Dracula" in a number of Hammer sequels throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s. During this time, he also made numerous appearances as Fu Manchu. With his own production company, Charlemagne Productions, Ltd., Lee made Nothing But the Night (1972) and To the Devil a Daughter (1976). By the mid-1970s, Lee was tiring of his horror image and tried to widen his appeal by participating in several mainstream films, such as The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), and the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
The success of these films prompted him in the late 1970s to move to Hollywood, where he remained a busy actor but made mostly unremarkable film and television appearances, and eventually moved back to England. Lee's career was revitalized in the early 2000s by his appearances in two blockbuster film franchises: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) (as Saruman the White) and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) (as Count Dooku). In 2001, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the film and television industries.
Well, let's thank the IMDB for this biography *blushes*. Mr Lee has always been one of my
favourite actors, I was a fan since I first saw one of his Dracula movies (black and white yeah!). It's amazing to see how such a brilliant actor has made so many different movies that I really like (Lord of the Rings or any Fu-Manchu movie), and he's even become better in acting with age!but thats only a personal oppinion I guess.Something that Mr.Lee and I have in common (that i know of!) is the birthday...so here I am, a year older, and trying to see if i got any wrinkle last night.
I'd like to thank all the people that has wished me a happy birthday, for doing so, and I would also like to repeat, as I did in the headline: Happy Birthday Mr. Christopher Lee!!
Friday, 25 May 2007
Me, myself and Nausicaä
This is the first post in this blog "Nausicaä of the Virtual Valley", and this is Nausicaä talking to you!!!First of all, let me welcome you to the Virtual Valley, a small place in this huge virtual world, in which ill share some of my thoughts with you. So please, come in, take a seat, and make yourself at home.
I hope you're comfortable enough as for to leave your comments and share it with the rest of us, inhabitants of the Virtual Valley, so this experience becomes the most interesting possible for both of us.
I guess I should start by telling you about myself. As you've probably noticed, English is not my mother tongue, so be patient and help me correct my mistakes ^^.
I was born (almost) 25 years ago, and since I was a kid I've always dreamt of exotic places, full of new cultures, new beaches, mountains and lakes...First books helped me develop those thoughts, but now it's Internet the one that gives me the chance to really explore those new and unknown cultures, not only by visiting the websites but also meeting lots of amazing people that I'd have never known if it wasn't for this great invention. It's been a while since I graduated from University (Mass media and communication). When I got my first job, I had to write a lot, mainly news and that kind of stuff, but I never did it for the pleasure of writting, although I had often thought about it. I decided it was about time to start doing it, and here I am!a Newbie in this Blog thing, but still full of excitement.
Some of you have already asked me what I am going to write about, and honestly, I have no clue! This is only my first post here, but it wont be the last! So keep tuned, and don't be shy, because the show is only starting!
