Finntroll is a band with a particularly strong identity, which makes them a leader rather than a follower in the folk metal genre. For the Finns, the most obvious expression of this difference is to sing in Swedish, in order to preserve a Swedish culture that tends to disappear in Finland.

The members of Finntroll are not particularly fond of folk, especially given the current scene, and describe themselves as fans of punk, extreme metal and traditional music above all else. This taste for punk is especially obvious in their new album, Blodsvept, whose more aggressive, rawer sound goes against “slicker” American productions.

For Finntroll, releasing two similar-sounding albums would be shameful, even insulting. Precisely for that reason, the band keep rethinking things over and over, to the point that, before they started writing this new record, they feared they wouldn’t be able to renew themselves. Did those who never doubted ever go far?

In the end, the clouds cleared for the band after they were done writing the album, says vocalist Mathias ‘Vreth’ Lillmans, relieved.

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