Karkelo

KORPIKLAANI are nothing if not prolific and fun-loving little Finns. Just about anything and everything pertaining to the KLAANI lads should be taken at face value, with little to no well-meaning, deep-rooted messages to be found; no diatribes, proliferation, or intrisic messages. Just anthems of boozing it up in taverns, boozing it up in the forest, boozing it up...well, just about anywhere they can. That's not usually a bad thing; such a devil-may-care attitude makes for fun romps of the musical kind. And while the ride itself prompts one to dosedo with the best of 'em, could there be such a thing as partying too much? Not for these guys. One albums' night sleep clears up stylistic hangovers well enough, it seems.

Calling KORPIKLAANI a one-trick pony is both a positive and negative justification...their albums can be considered a big, continuous, trash-the-place party of the medieval tavern variety. However, each successive romp, while entertaining, ran the risk of seeming like the same party, the same theme, time and time again. They had things going for them with "Songs of Wilderness" and "Torviskanto", but by the time "Korvus Kuningas" came sidling to the bar the booze was starting to run a little dry. This new night of stomping good fun, "Karkelo", seems to come off the same party wagon as the previously mentioned "Korvus" stylistically, with plentiful tasty melodies, infectious hooks, and an epic atmosphere to boot, albeit a bit more sophisticated in approach. It's easily a more entertaining cascade of alcohol-fueled insanity that sticks to you like half-brewed mead. Songs like the subtlely titled "Vodka", the dirgey "Mettänpeiton Valtiaalle" the party-hearty "Juodaan Viinaa" and the bouncy "Kultanainen" showcase the now familier formula of upbeat folk melodies with chaotically thrashy metal of the Finnish echelon in spades, revealing a sense of energetic enjoyment, where guitar riffs, accordian and fiddle movements, and booming, drunken Viking choruses hold sway to sty-swinging good times. The over-all delivery of instrumentation comes off just as happily performed, the stage being set for an apparent sense of commerodary between the band mates. It's all sorts of fun, a rarity amongst the ever-so-serious throngs of metal bands hell-bent on usurping the ears of the unfortunately just as ever-so-serious metal fans. Sometimes it just has to be that way, boy-oes.

So in the end this is yet another satisfying release by the KORPI-klaan. In times such as these musical escapism of even the drunken variety can prove essential to the most ardently true metal folk. Fill it to the brim, take a big swig, and enjoy!