You'd better be wearing some warm clothes cause we're going to the north of Finland, in the forrest where finntrolls live. Far from the peaceful creatures we usually imagine them to be, they are fierce warriors, and when they are not crushing their enemies, they dance around the fire all night in a pagan ritual merging black metal and traditional finnish music.

Finntroll is an unusual band. First, they are from Finland but they sing in Swedish (ok, that's explainable some people in Finland speak Swedish). And then their music is the most unusual mix: epic black metal, traditional folk melodies and polka (it's called "humppa" but that's still a kind of polka) can share the same song. A black metal riff can be complemented by an accordion. And to my own surprise the result of that mix is not only enjoyable but even excellent! As for the lyrics, I won't comment them since my swedish is a bit rusty.

Some open-mindedness might be required to enjoy Finntroll's music and the same people who objected that Rhapsody sounded too much like trolls dancing around the fire will say the same since that's exactly what this album is all about. On the other hand, if you like Skyclad or other folk-metal bands you're gonna love these trolls.

This album comes very close to being an "album of the month" only a few details prevent that (like some keyboard sounds that are a bit too synthetic) but I'm sure this band hasn't reached its peak performance yet and that they'll get it on their next album. A buy or be eaten by the trolls album!