Korpiklaani - Ukon Wacka

Since 2003, Korpiklaani has been making their own brand of folk metal to dance by.  Judging by that sentence, it can be either a good thing or bad thing when it comes to your opinion on the band.  Now, for something you probably didn’t know: their new album Ukon Wacka is the band’s first album in a year and a half.  Since 2005’s Voice of Wilderness, the band had released an album per year until last year, which makes the new album a bit of an anomaly in a sense.  However, the band’s formula remains the same, so take that for what you will.

Like most of their previous albums, Korpiklaani starts Ukon Wacka strong with the opening track “Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika.”  However, that’s where the good news had ended for the band on recent efforts because it seemed that the band kept repeating itself throughout the album, which has an effect on how many times one can listen to it in a specific time period.  On Ukon Wacka, the lengthy time between albums (by their standards) seems to have at least, brought back some life into the songs, as evidenced by “Päät Pois Tai Hirteen” and “Tequila.”  There are even some rock elements, which were first explored on Karkelo and are further explored on songs such as “Korvesta Liha” and “Koivu Ja Tähti.”  One surprising thing about Ukon Wacka is that the album managed to keep my attention for much of the album, as opposed to only half of the album before attention faded, which says something about the band’s commitment to at least tweak the sound a little.  Of course, those who say the band is “selling out” also have some ammunition based on those little changes to their sound, so where one stands on the album depends on the point of view.

Korpiklaani is a band that the listener will either love or hate and Ukon Wacka isn’t likely to change anyone’s opinion one way or another. The band remains largely status quo in their basic sound, but with a slightly more evident rock sound, there is a sign that the band is at least trying something new.  Whether or not the listener will be persuaded by such a small sample is debatable, given the band’s track record for releasing albums within a specific time period.

Release Date: February 4, 2011
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika
2.  Päät Pois Tai Hirteen
3.  Tuoppi Oltta
4.  Lonkkaluut
5.  Tequila
6.  Ukon Wacka
7.  Korvesta Liha
8.  Koivu Ja Tähti
9.  Vaarinpolkka
10.  Surma

Total playing time:  41:08

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Peter

February 8, 2011