Band:	Finntroll
Album:	Blodsvept
Style:	Extreme folk metal
Release date:	March 25, 2013
Guest review by:	R.Baldur

01. Blodsvept
02. Ett Folk Förbannat
03. När Jättar Marschera
04. Mordminnen
05. Rösets Kung
06. Skövlarens Död
07. Skogsdotter
08. Häxbrygd
09. Två Ormar
10. Fanskapsfylld
11. Midvinterdraken

When I first heard the name of the folk metal genre, I wondered how the traditional sounds of a country were combined with metal music, but when I first listened to Finnish folk metal music, I found all my answers. Undoubtedly, the main focus of folk metal is Finland, and Finntroll is one of the main pillars of the country in the metallic folk genre. A group with six beautifully crafted albums and new techniques in the folk-metallic style brings out the true nature of the Finns, which always gives me a sense of both satisfaction and excitement.

Blodsvept is the sixth Finntroll album and is a different sort of album from the previous one. This resulted in some different criticisms, because the fans have always come out on top with Finntroll's particular style, as the pressures of each year have yielded albums that have gone beyond expectations with this blackened folk theme and raised them again for the next album. In my opinion, the only thing happening with Blodsvept is a change from the usual blackened folk style of the band to a more industrial folk style. The guitar tones and melodies are such that they automatically drive the mind towards industrial, and the only reasons why we do not explicitly say that we are listening to a piece of industrial music are the folk instruments and the type of Vreth's screams.

Setting aside the debate over the kind of music, Blodsvept tells a story of a world full of giants and strange topics in the style and routine of previous albums that we have heard. Blodsvept begins with the sound of some extinct creature, its footsteps and roar bringing a stormy start to the album's title track. Vreth's decisive and ruthless delivery is really fascinating, and his words flow so well in Swedish. The album follows a good trend in terms of storyline and has strong coherence and integrity. The track "Ett Folk Förbannat" is full of interesting adventures from which the wars and strange events of the rest of the album follow.

The demon and mistress of this album (that is to say the folk instruments), along with Virta's magic keyboards, lead Blodsvept and deliver to the listener the pleasure of hearing traditional sounds. "Na Jättar Marschera" is a testament to the power and potency of Routa's guitar. So far, we can say that the first three selections represent the entire personality governing the album. Blodsvept may be a bit young still, but it could be the founder of a new style in metal music; it is both a bit more metallic and more palatable to a mainstream metal audience, but undoubtedly the old fans of Finntroll will be better accustomed to the accordion and violin lines and different melodies of this release.

Come be shrouded in blood with these Finn Trolls?