Finntroll – Nattfodd
If you've ever heard the term 'polka metal' before, you probably thought it was a joke. Well I am pleased to inform you that Nattfodd proves that it is very real indeed. The genre of folk metal combines black metal with traditional music of the band's country of origin (or at least that of a country they think is really cool) and in Finntroll's case this is traditional Finnish polka, which is not dissimilar to the kind of oompah music you might hear in a German beer hall.
Now you're forgiven if you think that this sounds like a totally retarded idea, but give it a chance because I assure you that it's actually pretty fucking awesome and there is more to Finntroll than just this goofy gimmick. The only reason that it works at all is because the band are skilled songwriters and they wring a lot of variety and musical ideas from the starting point of the two vastly dissimilar genres and also by including ambient and acoustic interludes.
Where most black metal is laden with a mood of doom and despair, Finntroll's take is more upbeat so that when the evil sounding tremolo strumming morphs into a happy polka lick and is joined by a perky accordian and horns it fits naturally, and in fact the whole album is loads of fun to listen to and is dare I say it even joyous, an adjective that is almost inconceivable to apply to black metal.
While black metal traditionally deals with themes of evil and the occult, Finntroll's lyrics are occupied with far more accessible subjects, such as being a troll, living in the forest and drinking lots of beer. In fact their innocent, cheerful celebration of nature and the simple life is a nice counterpoint to say Burzum's morbid evocation of the Scandinavian wilderness as the grim, frostbitten, 'whites only' abode of Satan.
Get past the ridiculous concept and you'll find that this album is great fun. It's definitely what I'd have playing in my beer hall!
Here's the unnecessarily slo-moed video for 'Trollhammaren':
Showing posts with label Traditional Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traditional Music. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Friday, October 26, 2007
1001 Albums - Number 13
Machito – Kenya
Given the title (and the explicitly ethnic cover art) I was expecting something very African from Kenya, perhaps even more so than Palo Congo, so I was surprised to find that (to my ears at least) this album sounded about as African as the queen in blackface. This is really just me speaking from my modern presumptions of course, while my immediate association of peppy upbeat jazz is with unfunky white guys, it is of course perfectly correct to say it is an African art form.
Kenya's sound is roughly in the same genre as Palo Congo, but not by much. Where Palo Congo overlays African rhythms with Latin American guitars, Kenya tramples over those same rhythms with super cheesy, upbeat jazz.
But don't think that I didn't like this album, it's actually pretty enjoyable. Yes, the jazz is cheesy, (putting me in mind of kitsch classics ranging from the themes of old James Bond films to that of The Love Boat), but it somehow did more for me than Miles Davis last week. I guess it is at least partly because Machito doesn't make playing relaxed and happy music sound like such serious hard work. The conga rhythms are shoved far further into the background here than on Sabu's album, but they sound just as good as those on Palo Congo when they are allowed their own space.
To my surprise I'm quite liking this genre. Next up, Little Richard.
Given the title (and the explicitly ethnic cover art) I was expecting something very African from Kenya, perhaps even more so than Palo Congo, so I was surprised to find that (to my ears at least) this album sounded about as African as the queen in blackface. This is really just me speaking from my modern presumptions of course, while my immediate association of peppy upbeat jazz is with unfunky white guys, it is of course perfectly correct to say it is an African art form.
Kenya's sound is roughly in the same genre as Palo Congo, but not by much. Where Palo Congo overlays African rhythms with Latin American guitars, Kenya tramples over those same rhythms with super cheesy, upbeat jazz.
But don't think that I didn't like this album, it's actually pretty enjoyable. Yes, the jazz is cheesy, (putting me in mind of kitsch classics ranging from the themes of old James Bond films to that of The Love Boat), but it somehow did more for me than Miles Davis last week. I guess it is at least partly because Machito doesn't make playing relaxed and happy music sound like such serious hard work. The conga rhythms are shoved far further into the background here than on Sabu's album, but they sound just as good as those on Palo Congo when they are allowed their own space.
To my surprise I'm quite liking this genre. Next up, Little Richard.
Friday, October 12, 2007
1001 Albums – Number 11
Sabu – Palo Congo
After a solid diet of early rock and roll and jazz, we take a little diversion here into latin music, or more properly, Afro-Cuban music. While about half the tracks are upbeat, fun latin numbers, the rest are based around traditional African drumming with strange (to my ears), wordless vocals.
I actually really like this album. It has a truly alien sort of quality about it which I attribute to it's roots in genuine traditional African music, rather than the commodified tripe they call world music nowadays. The percussion is really impressive. Even those of us conditioned by prog metal drummers pushing the envelope in any way they can can't help but be drawn in by the pulsating polyrhythms on display here.
My favourite track is 'Choferito', which is one of the fun latin songs and which I love for it's kookily slurred vocal line.
Next up, Miles Davis.
After a solid diet of early rock and roll and jazz, we take a little diversion here into latin music, or more properly, Afro-Cuban music. While about half the tracks are upbeat, fun latin numbers, the rest are based around traditional African drumming with strange (to my ears), wordless vocals.
I actually really like this album. It has a truly alien sort of quality about it which I attribute to it's roots in genuine traditional African music, rather than the commodified tripe they call world music nowadays. The percussion is really impressive. Even those of us conditioned by prog metal drummers pushing the envelope in any way they can can't help but be drawn in by the pulsating polyrhythms on display here.
My favourite track is 'Choferito', which is one of the fun latin songs and which I love for it's kookily slurred vocal line.
Next up, Miles Davis.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
We Walk Against The Wind
Tomahawk – Anonymous
I'm a big fan of most of Mike Patton's projects but Tomahawk stands above the rest for their incredible evocation of mood and inventive compositions. Their first album is comfortably one of my favourites of all time. The followup, Mit Gas, was a slight disappointment although it did contain three or four tracks of truly superb quality. I've waited patiently many years for a third album, as it developed slowly in the background while the band members attended to more pressing commitments. Patton's first priority is currently Peeping Tom, drummer John Stanier has found modest success with his other band Battles (more on them from me in the not too distant future), bassist Kevin Rutmanis was kicked out of the band at the same time as he was booted from The Melvins (rumour has it because of drug abuse; at least it wasn't to go and play for Coheed and Cambria) and guitarist/songwriter Duane Denison has other projects on the go as well.
Anonymous was composed by the band members by mail, without any of them actually meeting face to face and it shows, as the performances lack cohesion and polish (doing things this way is not always a bad thing mind you, c.f. Lateralus). It feels as if the band members (especially Denison) all did their best but were let down by a lack of time and energy to devote to this project while they were all so occupied with others. It's a pity because the composition and the concept are genuinely inspired. All the tracks on this album are arrangements (by Denison) of obscure traditional Native American songs. It's a great idea and it's a pity the band wasn't able to deliver it as effectively as they could.
The lack of attention shows in the album art too. Anonymous comes in a nice package with some decent art, but it's nowhere near as impressive as the mysterious, chilling depictions that decorate the debut or Mit Gas, which is as beautiful an artefact as I've ever seen a CD case fashioned into.
Despite these complaints this is still a very good album. It opens with a pentet of great tracks. 'War Song' opens the album with my favourite prelude gimmick, a deep, deep bass drone, complimented by Patton's ominous chanting. 'Mescal Rite I' and 'Red Fox' are typical tracks for the album, showing off the ingenuity of Denison's ability to take traditional music and, without altering the melodies, turn it into an alt metal song. 'Cradle Song' would appear from the title and Patton's lyrics to be a lullaby, although what baby would sleep to a song this dark and creepy I can't imagine. Nevertheless it is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, as is 'Ghost Song', which showcases Stanier's drumming, revealing his excellent sense of mood that is never shown in his manic performances for Battles.
The album hits a bit of a low point with the subsequent tracks 'Antelope Ceremony' and 'Song of Victory', which don't find any interesting way to interpret their source material and the lifelessness that sometimes afflicts what should be a truly great album is prevalent here.
Fortunately they are succeeded by the beautiful 'Omaha Dance', a soaring, upbeat epic, and 'Sun Dance', which is the highlight of the album even just for the moment when the band drops from an eerie, subdued, wordless verse into full funk metal mode with Mike Patton gibbering an ecstatic, joyous tribute to dancing in the sun. If the whole album were this good it could blow even their past discography out of the water.
The rest of the album is perfectly satisfying, although nothing stands out againstthe great songs that precede, but they serve to offer further opportunities to marvel at the ingenuity of Denison's arrangements, which retain the authentic feel of their source material while fully integrating them into a rock context.
I hope this band still has a future and that on the next album they are able to lavish it with the attention it deserves, because they really are one of the best bands active today. Here's hoping that they get together once more and tour for this album too, because (a) they are the best live band I've ever seen and (b) it would be great to hear these songs performed with the energy they lack on the album.
I'm a big fan of most of Mike Patton's projects but Tomahawk stands above the rest for their incredible evocation of mood and inventive compositions. Their first album is comfortably one of my favourites of all time. The followup, Mit Gas, was a slight disappointment although it did contain three or four tracks of truly superb quality. I've waited patiently many years for a third album, as it developed slowly in the background while the band members attended to more pressing commitments. Patton's first priority is currently Peeping Tom, drummer John Stanier has found modest success with his other band Battles (more on them from me in the not too distant future), bassist Kevin Rutmanis was kicked out of the band at the same time as he was booted from The Melvins (rumour has it because of drug abuse; at least it wasn't to go and play for Coheed and Cambria) and guitarist/songwriter Duane Denison has other projects on the go as well.
Anonymous was composed by the band members by mail, without any of them actually meeting face to face and it shows, as the performances lack cohesion and polish (doing things this way is not always a bad thing mind you, c.f. Lateralus). It feels as if the band members (especially Denison) all did their best but were let down by a lack of time and energy to devote to this project while they were all so occupied with others. It's a pity because the composition and the concept are genuinely inspired. All the tracks on this album are arrangements (by Denison) of obscure traditional Native American songs. It's a great idea and it's a pity the band wasn't able to deliver it as effectively as they could.
The lack of attention shows in the album art too. Anonymous comes in a nice package with some decent art, but it's nowhere near as impressive as the mysterious, chilling depictions that decorate the debut or Mit Gas, which is as beautiful an artefact as I've ever seen a CD case fashioned into.
Despite these complaints this is still a very good album. It opens with a pentet of great tracks. 'War Song' opens the album with my favourite prelude gimmick, a deep, deep bass drone, complimented by Patton's ominous chanting. 'Mescal Rite I' and 'Red Fox' are typical tracks for the album, showing off the ingenuity of Denison's ability to take traditional music and, without altering the melodies, turn it into an alt metal song. 'Cradle Song' would appear from the title and Patton's lyrics to be a lullaby, although what baby would sleep to a song this dark and creepy I can't imagine. Nevertheless it is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, as is 'Ghost Song', which showcases Stanier's drumming, revealing his excellent sense of mood that is never shown in his manic performances for Battles.
The album hits a bit of a low point with the subsequent tracks 'Antelope Ceremony' and 'Song of Victory', which don't find any interesting way to interpret their source material and the lifelessness that sometimes afflicts what should be a truly great album is prevalent here.
Fortunately they are succeeded by the beautiful 'Omaha Dance', a soaring, upbeat epic, and 'Sun Dance', which is the highlight of the album even just for the moment when the band drops from an eerie, subdued, wordless verse into full funk metal mode with Mike Patton gibbering an ecstatic, joyous tribute to dancing in the sun. If the whole album were this good it could blow even their past discography out of the water.
The rest of the album is perfectly satisfying, although nothing stands out againstthe great songs that precede, but they serve to offer further opportunities to marvel at the ingenuity of Denison's arrangements, which retain the authentic feel of their source material while fully integrating them into a rock context.
I hope this band still has a future and that on the next album they are able to lavish it with the attention it deserves, because they really are one of the best bands active today. Here's hoping that they get together once more and tour for this album too, because (a) they are the best live band I've ever seen and (b) it would be great to hear these songs performed with the energy they lack on the album.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
All Ah Do Is EAT!
I've eaten out every other night it seems for the last month, so I'm going to try my hand at something new for the Wildebeest Asylum, restaurant reviews.
Longrain
This place is a trendy Thai (Sydney-siders love their Thai) restaurant in Surry Hills. The first time I ate here (almost a year ago) they were reeling from the drama of being dropped from three hats (the highest possible rating) to two by the Sydney Morning Herald. I'm not inclined to dispute that decision; both times I've eaten here the food was very good, but not the best of the best. On the other hand I do really like this place for a few reasons. It has a nice, trendy but relaxed atmosphere, and they also do great cocktails. I quite like the communal way the dining tables have been arranged too, even if the first time I came here we were seated across from an gay couple and the (much) older guy kept leering at my date.
Eleven
A nice Italian place in Newtown. Not as upmarket as some of the other places I've been to recently but the food was still very good, and even if it was not as good as Longrain, it was a whole lot cheaper. Also, it's in Newtown. That's always great because there are lots of bookshops, CD stores open late and lots of restaurants but not many bars, so there's always tons of people and not too many drunks, which makes for a nice atmosphere on a Saturday night.
Kobe Jones
A very trendy Japanese / Western fusion place on King Street Wharf. Even on a wet, stormy night the view was still impressive and the place had good ambience. Perhaps a little too good because it was almost too dark to read the menu. Again the food was nice but in this case way too overpriced, and the service was terrible too. I've found that most fabulously trendy places (restaurants, bars and clubs) in Sydney are pretty crap for what you pay.
Bentleys
Still my favourite restaurant in Sydney. I can't believe how good their meals taste. Expensive, but it's worth it.
Wacky Pizza Place
We went to some random pizza place in a small town in the Blue Mountains while on a little family holiday. I can't remember what it was called but it was very amusing to go from all the super trendy, expensive places to a much less bourgeois place, filled with screaming kids, drunken women on hen's nights and terrible house wine. The food was nice though.
Doyles
Super expensive but with the perfect location, looking out over the harbour and situated right between the bridge and the opera house. Despite my low expectations (I assumed that we would be paying mainly for the view) the food and service were really good, and the cold wind kept all the geriatric tourists inside so we were spared their company.
The Vanguard
This one is the ulterior motive for me writing about all those other restaurants. There was food and it was good, and there were some very nice cocktails, but those are ancillary reasons for coming here. This venue exists for the sadly uncommon practise of combining a meal and live music. The bands that play here are an eclectic sort, but usually tend towards blues and roots. When I went here we had:
Charlie and the Maddox Factory
A jazz two piece featuring a female singer and a bass player. The bass player I immediately recognised from another band, Glitch Jukebox, which I could waste a lot of space describing but will sum it up as 'Mr. Bungle style circus music medleys of covers ranging from Christina Aguilera to Tool'. This band is far more conventional, but still fairly light hearted and lots of fun. The bass player is a very skilful musician and the vocalist has a really strong voice.
Lolo Lovina
There were about seven of these guys on stage and they played straightforward traditional eastern European music. They were pretty good and featured some great soloists, but I didn't like them quite as much as the other bands.
Crooked Fiddle Band
This band's music was similar to the last one, but with more of a rock edge. They even described a few of their songs as metal, and their interpretation was quite original. The drums were certainly very metal, and the frenzied shredding of the violin sounded a lot like a thrash metal electric guitar. The violinist deserves special mention, as, not only was she a total virtuoso, but she pulled double duty as the violinist for the last band as well.
Anyway, it was a great show and a cool idea for a night out. I shall definitely go back.
Toko
Just Japanese with no fusion. The food was pretty good, probably better than any other restaurant I've listed here except for Bentleys or Longrain, but by the time I got here I was all restauranted out. I'm looking forward to some plain old spag bol this week.
Longrain
This place is a trendy Thai (Sydney-siders love their Thai) restaurant in Surry Hills. The first time I ate here (almost a year ago) they were reeling from the drama of being dropped from three hats (the highest possible rating) to two by the Sydney Morning Herald. I'm not inclined to dispute that decision; both times I've eaten here the food was very good, but not the best of the best. On the other hand I do really like this place for a few reasons. It has a nice, trendy but relaxed atmosphere, and they also do great cocktails. I quite like the communal way the dining tables have been arranged too, even if the first time I came here we were seated across from an gay couple and the (much) older guy kept leering at my date.
Eleven
A nice Italian place in Newtown. Not as upmarket as some of the other places I've been to recently but the food was still very good, and even if it was not as good as Longrain, it was a whole lot cheaper. Also, it's in Newtown. That's always great because there are lots of bookshops, CD stores open late and lots of restaurants but not many bars, so there's always tons of people and not too many drunks, which makes for a nice atmosphere on a Saturday night.
Kobe Jones
A very trendy Japanese / Western fusion place on King Street Wharf. Even on a wet, stormy night the view was still impressive and the place had good ambience. Perhaps a little too good because it was almost too dark to read the menu. Again the food was nice but in this case way too overpriced, and the service was terrible too. I've found that most fabulously trendy places (restaurants, bars and clubs) in Sydney are pretty crap for what you pay.
Bentleys
Still my favourite restaurant in Sydney. I can't believe how good their meals taste. Expensive, but it's worth it.
Wacky Pizza Place
We went to some random pizza place in a small town in the Blue Mountains while on a little family holiday. I can't remember what it was called but it was very amusing to go from all the super trendy, expensive places to a much less bourgeois place, filled with screaming kids, drunken women on hen's nights and terrible house wine. The food was nice though.
Doyles
Super expensive but with the perfect location, looking out over the harbour and situated right between the bridge and the opera house. Despite my low expectations (I assumed that we would be paying mainly for the view) the food and service were really good, and the cold wind kept all the geriatric tourists inside so we were spared their company.
The Vanguard
This one is the ulterior motive for me writing about all those other restaurants. There was food and it was good, and there were some very nice cocktails, but those are ancillary reasons for coming here. This venue exists for the sadly uncommon practise of combining a meal and live music. The bands that play here are an eclectic sort, but usually tend towards blues and roots. When I went here we had:
Charlie and the Maddox Factory
A jazz two piece featuring a female singer and a bass player. The bass player I immediately recognised from another band, Glitch Jukebox, which I could waste a lot of space describing but will sum it up as 'Mr. Bungle style circus music medleys of covers ranging from Christina Aguilera to Tool'. This band is far more conventional, but still fairly light hearted and lots of fun. The bass player is a very skilful musician and the vocalist has a really strong voice.
Lolo Lovina
There were about seven of these guys on stage and they played straightforward traditional eastern European music. They were pretty good and featured some great soloists, but I didn't like them quite as much as the other bands.
Crooked Fiddle Band
This band's music was similar to the last one, but with more of a rock edge. They even described a few of their songs as metal, and their interpretation was quite original. The drums were certainly very metal, and the frenzied shredding of the violin sounded a lot like a thrash metal electric guitar. The violinist deserves special mention, as, not only was she a total virtuoso, but she pulled double duty as the violinist for the last band as well.
Anyway, it was a great show and a cool idea for a night out. I shall definitely go back.
Toko
Just Japanese with no fusion. The food was pretty good, probably better than any other restaurant I've listed here except for Bentleys or Longrain, but by the time I got here I was all restauranted out. I'm looking forward to some plain old spag bol this week.
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