Finntroll

Opener: Suotana
Special Guest: Metsatöll

Abendkasse 35,00 €

vor Ort: Vorverkauf 30,00 €

The trolls of Nordic folklore are believed to be dirty creatures of enormous strength

and appetite. Their grotesque physique grants them a comic element, although the

humour tends to be on the grim side as these nocturne beings hunger for human flesh.

Unsurprisingly, this has earned them a rather bad reputation. All things considered,

FINNTROLL are the perfect embodiment of all aforementioned sentiments –

although one might want to replace the hunger for human meat with an unquenchable

thirst for booze.

!

With their sixth full-length “Blodsvept”, FINNTROLL return to the fierce harshness

of their blackened origins without giving up the perfect balance between darkened

metal ferocity and melodic elements inspired by folk music from Finland and far

beyond. “We have taken a step backwards”, states main composer Trollhorn. “The

production is less polished and weird. To give you a rough idea, “Blodsvept” unites

the raving madness of “Niflvind” (2010) with the natural approach of

“Nattfödd” (2004).” According to its maker, “Blodsvept” may be described in three

words: rawness, power and melody. Add fun to this description and it sums it up just

nicely.

!

According to legend FINNTROLL were conceived one drunken night in March 1997.

With a heavy dose of beer and vodka mixing a folkish melody in the “Humppa” style

of Finnish polka with heavy guitars seemed a great idea to axeman Somnium (ex-Thy

Serpent, Impaled Nazarene) and vocalist Katla. When the duo sobered up, the

concept still kept its original appeal and thus the mighty FINNTROLL came into

being.

!

After much fine or rather rough tuning, FINNTROLL recorded their legendary

“Rivfader” demo (1998), which opened the door for a number of musicians to join in

order to complete a live line-up. Among these first new members were drummer

Beast Dominator (Barathrum, Rapture), Moonsorrow’s keyboarder Trollhorn, Tundra

on bass and guitarist Skrymer. A first record deal was signed with the band being able

to pick from several interesting offers and a year later their debut album “Midnattens

Widunder” (1999) took the world by storm. FINNTROLLs highly original brew

rooted in black metal and Humppa proved to be contagious. In the wake of their lead,

many musicians were to follow, changing the highly successful formula slightly to fit

their own needs. It is no secret that e.g. bands such as Ensiferum, Turisas,

Korpiklaani or Wintersun owe their folkish sound to some extend to our dear trolls.

Despite their often brutal, heavily anti-religious and coarse lyrics the Finns managed

to get away with it probably due to the exclusive and continuing use of the Swedish

language. With “Jaktens Tid” (2001) FINNTROLL celebrated their international

breakthrough. Supported by unanimously praise worldwide, it reached a top 20 chart

position in the band’s homeland. Outside of Finland, Century Media licensed this

masterpiece to infect the globe with trollish madness. Yet the success came at a steep

price as fate struck FINNTROLL hard. First, Katla had to be replaced due to

worsening throat problems. After some try-outs the band settled for Tapio Wilska

(Sethian, ex- Nattvindens Gråt and many others), who proved to be a great addition

as a singer and frontman for European Release Date: March 25th, 2013 the band.

Afterwards, the tragic accidental death of Teemu “Somnium” Raimoranta in 2003

threatened to end the band for good. His friends wisely decided to honour Teemu’s

legacy by continuing his dream. Routa, who had already served as stand-in guitarist

at several occasions now became a full time member. This line-up released

“Nattfödd” (2004), which took the band to a new level musically as well as on

festival billings.

!

Due to personal issues FINNTROLL and Wilska decided to part as friends and

Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns joined the fold in 2006. With “Ur Jordens Djup” (2007)

and “Nifelvind” (2010) – the latter charted on #8 in Finland and #31 in Germany –

the Finns bravely and even more successfully battled on and fortified their position as

genre leaders. Meanwhile the band performed headliner shows around the globe

nonstop and sold out venues in no time. Musically, their compositions had

significantly matured and what had begun with Humppa now included many sonic

twists and turns. Trollhorn, a truly inspired composer and mastermind behind

Moonsorrow, expanded the FINNTROLL sound with cleverness and ease touching up

such diverse traditions as Salsa or Klezmer without ever betraying or impairing the

band’s roots.

!

Now, FINNTROLL embark on a new musical conquest with “Blodsvept”. Under its

raw and aggressive surface many surprises await the listener, so better expect the

unexpected. Take a seat in the Cotton Club as some New Orleans Dixie grins broadly

from “Rösets Kung”. “Skogsdotter” offers duelling banjos taking on a swing band or

as Trollhorn states: “We should have used an upright bass on that one”. Anybody

wondering what a video-game would sound like with folk music will get an answer

from “Ett Folk Förbannat”. “Två Ormar” is unceremoniously slandered as

“Beetlejuice on crack” and Trollhorn tenderly calls the “Midvinterdraken” his very

own “Flying Spaghetti Monster”. Genius and sheer insanity often go hand in hand

and while FINNTROLL never lose the focus for captivating and compact songs, they

definitely mastered the art of ‘shock and awe-someness’! So, wanderer beware! If

you should ever fall in the hands of FINNTROLL, the undiluted, amazing lunacy of

“Blodsvept” awaits you. You have been warned. Now go, get it!

!!!!

LINE-UP

!

Vreth – Vocals

Routa – Guitars

Skrymer – Guitars

Trollhorn – Keyboards, Guitar

Virta – Keyboards

Tundra – Bass

Beast Dominator – Drums

!!

DISCOGRAPHY

!

2013 – Blodsvept

2010 - Nifelvind

2007 - Ur Jordens Djup

2004 - Nattfödd

2004 - Trollhammaren EP

2003 - Visor om Slutet EP

2001 - Jaktens Tid

1999 - Midnattens Windunder

1997 - Rivfader DEMO