Album cover by the insanely talented Jonas Darnell!
Release date: 18th January 2019
Hurrah, TrollfesT are back with their eighth full-length album, Norwegian Fairytales, and it’s another magnificent piece of TNBM (True Norwegian Balkan Metal). They’re such a fun band, but the beauty of them is that although some may write them off as a ‘novelty’ band due to their style, if you actually pay attention then you can really appreciate the skill and complexity to everything.
One of the best things about TrollfesT is that they’re just so unique. Their sound is so distinctive that you can’t mistake them for anyone else, and yet each of their albums has its own style. It takes a special kind of talent to achieve this, and is something that the band definitely need to be commended on.
Norwegian Fairytales gets off to a very strong start with opener Fjøsnissens fjaseri, which injects a whole lot of energy into the piece right from the get-go, and following track Kjettaren mot strømmen is perhaps one of the strongest TrollfesT tracks to date. The synth lines are infectiously catchy, and will soon be stuck in your head, and the way the saxophone moves in sync with it is awesome as it gives the music an extra bit of bite.
Indeed, the album as a whole is jam-packed with excellent tracks, and another highlight is later track De tre Bukkene Berusa. At only a minute and a half in duration, it gets right to the point and the in-your-face vocals are magnificent. The bouncy saxophone line is also awesome, and the song just seems like one that will be awesome in a live environment, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed to hear it next month in Birmingham!
My only complaint is that there doesn’t seem to be a common thread flowing through the album; whilst the songs are all individually good, it feels like a collection of seperate tracks rather than a story spanning the album’s duration and that’s always been one of the charms of TrollfesT so it’s a shame it doesn’t quite follow that format on this occasion.
Still, Norwegian Fairytales kicks some serious ass. It’s always a pleasure to get new music from TrollfesT and the band has once again delivered. Make sure you give this one a listen!
8/10
