Nattfödd

This band is truly unique in the world of metal. Probably best described as folk, black metal, polka.

Recorded in its native Finland, the band's fourth full length is its most realized effort to date. Epic, majestic keyboards intermingle with black metal and traditional Finnish "humppa" music, creating an atmosphere of dancing around a fire drinking mead with actual trolls and elves high in the icy Scandinavian mountains.

Nattfodd (which means "Nightborn") is equal parts folk, polka and metal, and never goes too far toward any of them. The blend is odd at first but becomes extremely intriguing upon further listens.

The music is almost happy, with an upbeat style that is definitely fun and quite catchy. The disc features a vocal style like that of an ancient warrior troll singing entirely in the band's native language. One can't help but conjure up images of a Tolkein story, as the band is obviously inspired by the author and Nordic mythology, in general. There are even interludes that sound like trolls plotting war and sharpening their blades before battle.

Musically speaking, the band is dead on and tight. With a distinctive mix of accordion, horns, violins and an assortment of medieval instruments combined with precise, classically flavored metal music. On the metal side of the coin, the band's style is more akin to speed metal or progressive metal than death metal. Finntroll plays its music from mid to faster tempos that are melodic and heavy but with that undeniable ancient folk influence. There are also a couple of dark, slower tempo cuts that give the album even more diversity to an already diverse disc. It gives one the feeling of being in a movie, as it could've been the soundtrack to "The Lord of the Rings."

The band's previous albums only hinted at what it is capable of; combining music of two entirely different genres and making it work well. Finntroll should be commended for creating an extremely original album that takes the listener to a place he or she has never been.