KORPIKLAANI — Jylhä (review)

KORPIKLAANI — Jylhä album cover Album · 2021 · Folk Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Kev Rowland
I have had mixed feelings about Korpiklaani over the years, as while they have long been favourites of the mass media and are certainly the closest a lot of denim and leather wearing longhairs will ever get to folk, to me they can sometimes lose their core purpose. I felt their last album, 2018’s ‘Kulkija’ was the finest of theirs I had come across, while 2015’s ‘Noita’ had too much pirate metal contained within it. The idea of having a single figure on the album cover takes us back even further, to 2012’s ‘Manala’ and the five albums which precede it, yet here we have a band who have had their first real line-up change in some time with the departure of drummer Matson, who had been with the band since their formation in 2003. He has been replaced by Samuli Mikkonen who apparently had a major impact on the demos when they were first presented by Jonne Järvelä who along with guitarist Cane are now the only original members left.

The result for their eleventh studio release is an album which to my ears is incredibly inconsistent, in that when they are good and everything comes together then they are truly great and one can fully understand why they are such heroes of the folk metal movement. But there are other times when it feels somewhat as if they are going through the motions, and we get some of that pirate folk styling thrown back in which has nothing to do with their normal influences. In a way it is incredibly frustrating as I really want to enjoy this album, and the further I get into it the better it gets, but when I start again at the beginning, I remember why I was so annoyed the last time I played it. The arrangements are massively complex and complicated, with heavy guitars and dynamic drums (Samuli is a real standout on this album) being played against accordion and violin, with wonderfully strong and emotive vocals (of course I cannot understand a word), and there are times when it is sheer brilliance, and others when they are just treading water waiting for the next section.

I am sure there are many fans who will stand with Jonne Järvelä and say it is the best thing they have ever done, but while there are some definite highlights, for me this is a move in the wrong direction.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

I, the Destroyer Black Metal
SVARTFJELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
A Sonication Technical Death Metal
OBSCURA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 8 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 8 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 8 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 8 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 8 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed