FINNTROLL PLAY THE OPERA HOUSE (735 QUEEN E) AUG 28. $26.25 FROM
TICKETMASTER, ROTATE THIS, SONIC TEMPLE, THE ALTERED NATIVE. DOORS 7PM.
WHO ARE THEY?
Sometimes the craziest ideas blossom into something even their creators never expected. Take Finntroll, a Finnish sextet comprised of vocalist Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns, guitarists Samuli “Skrymer” Ponsimaa and Mikael “Routa” Karlbom, bassist Sami “Tundra” Uusitalo, drummer Samu “Beast Dominator” Ruotsalainen and keyboardist Henri “Trollhorn” Sorvali. Finntroll have become one of folk-metal’s most revered acts, releasing five full-length albums, touring the globe and establishing their unusual genus — amalgamating extreme metal and their country’s native polka-esque folk music, called humppa — as a bona fide heavy-metal subgenre that is surging in popularity.
Singing — or growling, as the case may be — in Swedish (Finland’s second national language) over downbeat-heavy, almost primal drumming and distorted but melodic electric guitars interspersed with keyboards, all creating upbeat harmonies and using acoustic instrumentation to impose a worldly, almost-Celtic atmosphere, “Troll from Finland” do have a unique sound.
HOW DOES EXTREME METAL GET MIXED WITH FINNISH POLKA IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Booze. Lots of it. Finntroll was formed unexpectedly during a particularly bacchanalian evening back in 1997. Impaled Nazarene guitarist Teemu “Somnium” Raimoranta and vocalist Jan “Katla” Jämsen thought the notion of embellishing their traditional Scandinavian black metal with some old-time polka would be particularly riotous. However, even they were unprepared for what would unfold.
“It was quite a drunk thing,” laughs Lillmåns. “[Raimoranta and Jämsen] had their black metal band going on and they were out drinking. At some point, they started playing their songs and the guitar player started fucking around on the keyboard with some old Finnish songs. They realized it was something [special] quickly. They recorded a demo for fun and it was going through friend circles. For whatever reason, it picked up a cult following. People were actually listening to it, even in North America. We were quite surprised about how far from Finland this has carried.”
WHAT KIND OF PERSON WOULD DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Uniting the darkness of metal with humppa’s happy, light-hearted revelry takes some true characters, not all of whom have persisted. In the band’s decade-long existence, members of Finntroll have sustained inoperable vocal cord damage, quit under dubious circumstances and even died. In fact, while Uusitalo only joined in 1998, he’s the closest thing to an original member in the current lineup. Still, they’ve persevered, proven by the band’s latest effort, From the Depths of the Earth (Spinefarm), which continues to fuse otherwise contradictory styles.
“We have some true maniacs in the band who can really mix things together,” Lillmåns says. “We get input from everywhere. We can be hearing pop music on the radio and come up with the best metal riff ever. You have to be a little bit crazy to mix that kind of stuff with metal. Well, to mix anything with metal.”
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF FOLK-METAL?
Folk-metal is burgeoning. As Lillmåns mentions, its union of seemingly opposed musical modes has proven infectious around the globe, irrespective of the particular indigenous style bands pull from. However, as the scene grows in popularity, Lillmåns feels that folk-metal is beginning to gentrify. Other than Finntroll, many bands just don’t get it.
“In my personal opinion, it’s getting to be too much,” he sighs. “In Europe, there are too many bands and it’s still booming. You get tired of hearing folk band after folk band at the festivals. It’s too much of a good thing. I hope we’re still different than all of them. Some have more Irish elements with flutes and violins on stage; we’re still a straight rock band with a weird Finnish twist.”