Korpiklaani-Ukon Wacka (2011)

I was beginning to lose hope in this band. With their last album 'Karkelo', I was afraid that these Finnish folksters were wearing the formula a little thin, but I'm happy to report that Korpiklaani have returned with an album worthy of their predecessors. Once again, they have churned out a fun, gruff, headbangingly hummable set of songs that incorporate traditional folk instrumentation with the metal riffs.

Not much as has changed; these guys are still hummpa happy, and there is the obligatory alcohol anthem, but the enthusiasm for the music is high, the tempos a little faster, and the riffs are bright and snappy. Accordion and violin get just as much space in the mix as the guitars, with bagpipes, Jouhikko, and flute popping up once in a while. And there are a few surprises. This album features two covers, one rollicking cover of Motorhead's Iron Fist, with English lyrics, and a catchy ditty by Finnish 70's hard rockers Peer Günt, The alcohol anthem 'Tequila', sung entirely in Finnish, features a nice bongo breakdown and is the highlight of the album.

As I said before, most of the lyrics besides Iron Fist (which is actually only available on the digi-pac), are in Finnish. They were nice enough to translate Tequila into English, though:

Tequila

The men were itching to travel the world
And got away to unfamiliar paths
Beyond the seas and roads
That's where they wandered

Those tramps of the world
Played possessed by spirits
And were heard by unknown nations

Drinking to the thirst of life

Once the craving for drink had gone
Once they'd played far and wide
Once they'd gone to the ends of the earth
Once they'd thrown a good party

There was no reason for concern
Neither did cares ever cross their mind
But once the joy dwindled away
Homesickness struck 'em all

Our path led to Mexico
Where your life's tequila
Argentina, Columbia, Chile, el viva!
Our road branched off to Brazil
Where your life's caipirinha
Argentina, Columbia, Chile, el viva!

For some, hearing music sung in a foreign language is too grating and strange. Myself, I think Finnish is a perfectly suitable language for metal, sounding quite guttural and primitive.

If you want to check out this band at their absolute best, 'Tales Along this Road' and 'Voice of the Wilderness' are my recommendations, but this album would not be a bad place to start at all.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10