Finntroll - Nattfodd
Released April 2004
The Band:
Wilska - vocals
Skrymer - guitar
Routa - guitar
Tundra - bass
Trollhorn - keyboards
Beast Dominator - drums
The Tracks:
1. Vinfard/Manniskopesten - 5:36 - ( "Windjourney/The Human Plague" ) The first minute or so is just sounds of the wind blowing with, what sounds like battlecries in the background. Once Manniskopesten starts, though, the song is a whole different beast. It starts out sounding not unlike many symphonic black metal bands, that is untill Trollhorn comes in with his folk melodies, which you begin to hear hints of at 3:15. The song really gets going at 3:36 when those melodies really come into the forefront and give the song an epic feel. The lyrics are about the "human plague" (ie: the Christians) invading their homeland. 4.5/5
2. Ellytres - 3:46 - ( "Ellytres" ) From what I gather, Ellytres is a sort of god to the troll people. The lyrics are pretty dark and mostly about hate and pain. Musically, it starts out with a short, folkish melody on a piano before launching into a brutal death/black metal song with some epic keyboards over it. Everything fits well, the music really matches the lyrics well. 4/5
3. Fiskarens Fiende - 3:47 - ( "Fisherman's Enemy" ) Fishermen's Enemy is about a vengful sea demons who enjoy attacking humans. How cool is that? As usual epic keyboards abound, but there are some really cool group vocals which really add a lot to the song. At 2:14, the music stops and there is what seems to be drunken singing over an accordian and some seagulls. The song sounds exactly like one would expect to hear in a tavern at about 2 am when it is full of rowdy, drunken fishermen singing songs and just having a ggod time. 4.5/5
4. Trollhammaren - 3:32 - ( "Trollhammer" ) This is the song that got me hooked on Finntroll. It is guarenteed to get stuck in your head like a barbed spear through the stomach of a christian. Everything just fits so perfectly here: the keyboards, the guitars, the bass, the drums, and the vocals all work together so well. 5/5
5. Nattfodd - 4:51 - ( "Nightborn" ) The mellow keyboards in the opening continue through most of the song over top of some brutal riffs. At 2:00, the song starts to get very mellow and goes into a little acoustic midsection with some awsome folk synth. 4.5/5
6. Urswamp - 2:02 - ( "Ancient Mushroom" ) Yay for accordians!!! This song just screams "good times" and is definitely a party song. Shorter than most of the other songs, there is very little in the way of variation here. But who cares? This is just so short and fun. 4/5
7. Marknadvisan - 1:59 - ( "The Market Song" ) My least favorite song here. It doesn't even start untill 2:21 everything before that is just a short skit about 2 peists that wnet to the market to buy new robes and got killed by a group of trolls. Cool story but the music is just mediocore traditional black metal. 2.5/5
8. Det Iskalla Trollblodet - 3:54 - ( "The Ice Cold Trollblood" ) Ahhh, this is much better. More awsome riffs mixed with folk melodies. It is hard to believe that these guys can take the same basic premise for a song and use it over and over to make such unique and different songs. 4.5/5
9. Grottens Barn - 4:36 - (" Children Of The Cave" ) Starts out with a really...um...unique intro. It sort of sounds like a spring to me. Weird. Anyway, the song itself is slower that all the other songs and has an extremely epic feel to it. The keyboards at 2:46 always make me think of warriors charging into an epic battle. My favorite track. 5/5
10. Rok - 2:22 - ( "Smoke" ) The closing track is an instrumental completely unlike anything else on th album. Performed on acoustic guitars, it is stunning, especially after listening to the rest of Nattfodd. It really makes you appreciate the talent these guys have and the dedication they put toward their music. 5/5
Overall:
Finntroll are a very unique act that, unfortunately, many people will simply pass off as a novelty. They are sumpremely talented musicians and song writers that write well crafted and catchy songs that don't take themselves to seriously. My only complaint about this album is that it is too short. 36 and a half minutes is nowhere near the length of album that I would like. Other than that, this is a superp album that is definitely worth picking up. 4.5/5
This Message Edited On 01.31.06
