With the news that Finntroll is going to be embarking on a special tour and playing their excellent album Nattfödd in full every night to celebrate ten years since its release, we thought it was the perfect excuse for us to take a look back at one of their most-known releases with a track-by-track breakdown.
Vindfärd/Människopesten
Nattfödd gets off to a strong start with a song that serves as both an introduction and a full track. Opening with atmospheric noise that sets the mood, complete with background yells and ambience, when the full track gets going it hits you like a tonne of bricks in comparison and the keys in this track in particular are stunning; a line you’ll find yourself humming along to as the track progresses. All in all, a perfect beginning to the album.
Eliytres
Eliytres keeps things moving and has quite a fun party-feel to it almost; a track that feels destined to go down fantastically in a live environment and I can already see crowds dancing and moving about to it, despite the rather grim direction that the lyrics take! There’s just a great energy to this track and you can’t ask for more.
Fiskarens Fiende
One of the highlights of the album, especially when the kazoos kick in near the end. A kazoo is an instrument that perhaps doesn’t take a starring role in metal music, but nevertheless is an instrument that Finntroll utilises on a semi-regular basis to a very high standard. Fiskarens Fiende is already a fun song, especially with the tremendously bouncy synth lines and driving guitar lines and rhythms, but it truly feels like the song is brought up a notch with the unique instrumentation at the end!
Trollhammaren
Everyone knows Trollhammaren; it is one of the band’s most well-known songs after all! It’s clear why, as it’s one of those songs that you can’t help but dance and move about to, as well as a memorable chorus that’s easy to sing back to the band in a live environment, no matter what language you speak. With a strong vocal performance from singer Wilska and plenty of riffs and dance-worthy keyboard lines, it’s no wonder why this song has done so well for the band – despite the fact they’ve got to be sick and tired of playing this live by now!
Nattfödd
Every album seems to have a weak link, and unfortunately it’s the title track of Nattfödd that doesn’t quite deliver. More of a slower song, it doesn’t grip you straight away and the main ideas feel somewhat weak in comparison to the other songs on the album, so it’s a shame that the band chose this track as the one to ‘represent’ the album as its title.
Ursvamp
Things get right back on track with following song Ursvamp, a great fast-paced number that barely leaves you time to think after the somewhat sluggish pace of Nattfödd at times. Complete with banjo and drums hammering away at a rate of knots (Beast Dominator is an absolute machine!) it’s a song you’ll keep wanting to come back to long after the track draws to a close.
Marknadsvisan
This song is one that serves more as a dividing track than anything else, with outside noises and birds tweeting along with voices in the background, it winds up taking you completely by surprise as it swiftly builds up into a noisy and furious speedy aural assault on your ears right when you’re expecting the track to come to an end.
Det Iskalla Trollblodet
Marknadsvisan leads almost seamlessly into Det Iskalla Trollblodet, which is another slightly slower-paced song in comparison to some of the other tracks but this track has so much life and substance that it’s impossible to listen to this and not enjoy it, especially with the happy-sounding keyboard line accompanying the vocals in the chorus and injecting the perfect amount of melody into the song. Great stuff!
Grottans Barn
You can almost tell that Nattfödd is coming to a close when Grottans Barn begins, as it’s another slower one that seems to sum up the album rather well as a whole. Beginning with a sparse introduction complete with mouth harps, when the full band joins in, it sounds fantastically crushing in comparison and it really does highlight everything great about Finntroll, making it an exceedingly rewarding listen.
Rök
Nattfödd ends with an acoustic instrumental piece that’s quietly beautiful. It’s not all that complex, but it brings the album to this wonderfully relaxing close that almost sends the band full-circle, finishing in largely the same way that it began – so what better excuse than to hit the repeat button and listen to it all over again?
All in all, it has to be said that Nattfödd is a work of art, and I for one can’t wait to finally witness it in all its glory live.
9/10
To find out more about the tour, and to see if it’s coming near you, click here.
