First things first; the cover art. There’s just something about it that irks me. I don’t know, it just looks like it belongs in a fantasy game in the part where your character is posing for you to choose its armour, weapons and eye colour before you begin to play. But never mind. This is the second full length from these Finnish folkies, and basically it picks up where the last one finished off. There are no surprises to be found as such, and if you enjoyed the last album then there is no reason not to like this one too.
‘Lament for the Fallen’ is basically what you would expect; a piano led introduction that sets an instant tone of melancholy. It does slowly pick up pace and guitars are added to the mix until all really kicks off on ‘Aesis Lilim.’ Here you start to get the feeling that we’re about to embark on some epic journey, as the storming drums and relentless guitars merge with symphonic keyboards create a powerful, crunchy sound that really gives the vibe of sailing across the sea towards enemy lines. ‘Seawitch and the Sorcerer’ comes thrashing in with some solid, razor-sharp guitars at a frantic pace before settling down into a swishy melody that together with Leeni-Maria’s sing-song vocal style has me thinking of Nightwish. She has a rather pretty voice which verges on the operatic, although it does tend to stay on one level as though she is narrating the epic tale of battle and wanting us to understand every word. I really like her sirenic “ooah, ooah” which chirps out above the ferocious rasped vocals of Joni Koskinen, as we lead into blackened Ensiferum-esque territory for a brief while.
This is an album all about contrasts; between beautiful female vocals and harsh black/death style rasps and growls, between the vehement thrashy rhythms and the floaty melodies, and between the epic bombast of the music which is balanced with the constant calm of Leeni-Maria’s raconteuring vocal style. ‘Manalan vartija’ has a certain aura of mystery about it which I like, as it breaks into a sudden urgency with its pompous keyboards and violins. ‘Tuoppein nostelulaulu’ is one of the more memorable tracks; with a succession of claps and jovial violins we arrive at a sing-along of ‘hail to the king, hail to the queen…’ which conjures up images of warriors and lusty wenches dancing about in the tavern drinking and letting go of their worries.
‘Of Betrayal’ is much more slow-paced and atmospheric. The keyboards are particularly a nice touch on this one and I like the doomish tone it has. On the whole this is a pleasant album; it has a couple of really strong tracks although equally as many forgettable numbers too. It’s hardly groundbreaking but it’s a solid album and a recommended purchase to any fan of symphonic folk metal.
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