Korpiklaani

Live at The House of Blues

Los Angeles, California

May 6th, 2015

Review and Photos by Travis Baumann

Korpiklaani are a Finnish Folk Metal band that infuses traditional folk songs and instruments with modern heavy metal to create a festive, moving sound that is at once aggressive and joyful.

The majority of their songs are sung in their native tongue and some are even in older dialects of the Finnish language. A lot of their songs also deal with alcohol consumption and partying.

The name of the band itself means "Forrest Tribe" or "those of the woods". While shamanistic interests are common in their lyrics, the old ways are also very present in the structure and sound of every song.

Tonight is the first night of their latest North American tour for which they are co-headlining with fellow Finns, Ensiferum. On this night, Korpiklaani would be up first but have an entire set including encore devoted to them.

The fans were excited as the band took the stage. Only two days prior to the show, their newest record, "Noita" was released here in the States and it is a great one at that.

Conjuring the more ancient side of the folk influence are a musician on fiddle and another on accordion. These instruments combined with the bass and lead guitars and a full drum kit pounding out a mixture of folk and metal rhythms give the band a powerful sound that at times makes you want to headbang and others dance a jig.

The new album title, "Noita" in the older traditional sense of the word means "one who knows much of the way of nature" and have abilities such as healing, much like a shamanistic medicine man. Common translation in current days returns "witch" but this was tainted by the church. In this context the band is definitely on the naturalistic shaman path.

Their set was varied, coming from all over their nine album back catalog. My favorite songs of the set included "Lempo" from the new album and the always fun "Vodka". A great party song that came near the end of their show. I also loved hearing all the other new songs from their fresh off the presses release.

Jonne Järvelä, their lead singer and band founder, is always moving; spinning, gesturing and grinning. His vocal style, while gritty and a bit harsh, is a far cry from the growled style of many Folk Metal bands and so they ride the line between extreme and melodic.

The new album features more violin solos by Tuomas Rounakari than any previous release and has brought the folk melodies to the forefront. Live he wears a white outfit with leather trappings as if he stepped out of the past.

Matson Johansson handles drumming duties at the rear of the stage and he is by far the most stoic of the band, seldom cracking a smile or a smirk while focusing on the percussion.

Jarkko Aaltonen has been handling bass guitar for many years and is a signature part of the band with his huge white beard and warm eyes.

Lead guitarist, Cane Savijärvi, also sings back up vocals which adds harmony and an extra emphasis on the chorus. He has worn his wide brim hat every time I have seen him for the last six years.

The latest release is also the first to feature their accordion player, Sami Perttula who has been playing live with them for some time. Overall, the new dynamic of "Noita" has produced to me, their best album yet.

It was a great show, Korpiklaani playing for an hour and half. Their festive drinking songs literally had people breaking out into full on jigs in between heavier songs that had the mosh pit circling.

The audience loved the show and the band loved performing it for them. I highly recommend getting out to see them on this tour for a full-on dose of Finnish Folk Metal.

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