''Jylhä'' (roughly translated as "majestic", or "wild and rugged in a beautiful way") is the eleventh studio album by Finnish

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

band

Korpiklaani Korpiklaani (Finnish language, Finnish for ) is a Finnish folk metal band from Lahti that was formerly known as Shamaani Duo and Shaman. History Shamaani Duo While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani st ...

, released on 5 February 2021. It is the band's first album with new drummer Samuli Mikkonen. Although the album is considered folk metal, it saw the band incorporating sounds like

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

and even

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

. Lyrically, the album features themes like folklore, nature, celebration and three murder stories, including the

Lake Bodom murders The Lake Bodom murders is an unsolved homicide case in which three teenage campers were killed and another seriously injured in Finland. The case is one of the most notorious crimes in modern Finnish history. Sometime between 4:00 a.m. a ...

. In an interview with Slovak webzine Metalmania-Magazín, guitarist Kalle Savijärvi stated: "Mood was pretty much to the heavier direction as one of the first songs written was Niemi you mentioned. Samuli Mikkonen, our new drummer, brought some heaviness with his spectacular drumming."

Reception

''Jylhä'' received positive reviews from critics, who praised its lyrics and the band's musicianship. Roshan Machayya from ''Metal Wani'' wrote "Korpiklaani’s newest offering ‘Jylhä’ is a fun, trippy, and artistically well-rounded album. The arrangements, composition, and performance of the music on the album is a balanced representation of metal and ethnic folk music in the band’s experiences without a semblance of conflict". While Owen Edmonds from ''All About the Rock'' argued "I was surprised how much I enjoyed listening to an entire albums worth of music. To me, Korpiklaani are the perfect festival band. If you’ve ever been to Donnington or Bloodstock then you know those lazy Saturday afternoons when you’re on your 10th warm cider and having downed a foot long hot dog or one of those manky massive yorkshire puddings and you want to kick back". Ralka Skjerseth of Metalriot.com wrote that "''Jylhä'' has a magnificent resonance packed in a form of thirteen tracks..." In a more positive to mixed review, José Cruz from ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

Portugal'' wrote "Jylhä is an album that has certainly improved over its predecessor, but has disappointed in many other ways. They earned points for trying something new, regardless of whether they work".

Track listing

Personnel

Jonne Järvelä Korpiklaani ( Finnish for ) is a Finnish folk metal band from Lahti that was formerly known as Shamaani Duo and Shaman. History Shamaani Duo While other folk metal bands began with metal before adding folk music, Korpiklaani started with folk m ...

– vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, percussion, violaphone * Kalle "Cane" Savijärvi – guitar, backing vocals * Jarkko Aaltonen – bass * Samuli Mikkonen – drums * Sami Perttula – accordion * Tuomas Rounakari – violin

Charts

References

{{Authority control Korpiklaani albums 2021 albums Nuclear Blast albums