 Korpiklaani
Ukon Wacka


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Tracklist:
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01. Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika
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3:23
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02. Päät Pois Tai Hirteen
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3:14
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03. Tuoppi Oltta
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3:34
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04. Lonkkaluut
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5:39
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05. Tequila
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2:42
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06. Ukon Wacka
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5:08
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07. Korvesta Liha
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4:31
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08. Koivu Ja Tähti
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4:17
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09. Vaarinpolkka
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2:19
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10. Surma
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6:21
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Release: 04.02.2011
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Bonustrack Limited Edition + LP:
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Label: Nuclear Blast
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11. Iron Fist
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Formate:
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Jewelcase-CD
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Limited Edition
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Vinyl LP
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I'm always interested in new stuff from bands from Finland. I like the country, the finnish mentality and a lot of finnish bands / musicians, because they always add something special to their songs. Korpiklaani's style of music always referred to as Pagan-Metal. This shows how old I am, 'cause when I made my first steps into the 'harder' styles of music there were no 100 subgenres of Rock & Metal...
Ukon Wacka is Korpiklaani's seventh album and was published on February 4th, 2011 through Nuclear Blast. The cover shows the beloved old fogey again - and a party is due. One instrumental song and nine tracks with lyrics, this time written in Finnish only. The mix of Metal, Folk, Humppa, Rock and Jonne's wild slightly rough voice - that really rocks!!! I don't like anything that's called Pagan-Metal, everything has to fit together and here it fits. The guitars get the fires burning, drums and bass aren't slow either and all the other uncommon instruments like mandolin, accordion and Jouhikko (a traditional, two or three stringed bowed lyre) rock along. But they all deliver gentle moments, too. The sound has 'that special something' and the finnish lyrics add a mystic touch.
For the title track, Jonne got first-class support at the microphone. Tuomari Nurmio - a famous singer / songwriter in Finland - is part of the team and the result is really really audiolicious. On previous albums they wrote songs about beer and vodka. This time they wrote one about Tequila, dedicated to the Korpiklaani fans in South America and released as first single off of the album. The music kicks ass, is fresh and powerful - the six members of the clan of the wilderness leave nothing to be desired. The limited and the vinyl edition offer a nice pièce de résistance: a cover version of Motörhead's Iron Fist.
My favorite three songs:
Korvesta Liha – guitars explode, the fiddle rocks along, a straight tempo, the drummer has a lot of work. This song immediately caught my attention - what a catchy tune. My No.1 on the album!
Ukon Wacka – Tuomari Nurmio as guest - what a surprise! We hear an ingenious track, slower parts with memorable guitars and Tuomari's voice alternate with faster parts where Jonne sings. Almost five minutes of great pleasure - one of the best tracks in the bands discography, imho.
Surma – more than six minutes long and with a lot of surprises. A slow solemn beginning, instrumental, folk style at first, guitars and drums join, Jonne too and then it rocks! A constant and mad change of tempo - stunning!
My points of critique:
Korpiklaani annually publishes new songs, but nevertheless, ten songs on a normal CD version are not enough. The Finnish language has a high entertainment value but understanding, however, is my weak point. An end-to-end slow track would have been great too, perhaps as last track, as a "last dance"?
All things considered I'm very satisfied, thumbs up for Ukon Wacka!
Rating:
     5 out of 7 Ankhs
Marion Ney / Sarkophag Rocks 25.03.2011
Translation by Susanne Blum
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