Kivimetsän Druidi – Betrayal, Justice, Revenge

Releasedate: 26-04-2010; Label: Century Media
By: Elvira Visser

Kivimetsän Druidi was founded in the Finnish city Kouvala back in 2002. The band has been known as a part of the Finnish folk metal genere with bands like Korpiklaani, Finntroll and Turisas. Kivimetsän Druidi plays as they say: Finnish Fantasy Metal which you can better compare to metal bands with female opera vocals, as Leeni-Maria Hovila leaves a big mark on the tracks. After their debut “Shadowheart” (2008) they now present “Betrayal, Justice, Revenge” released under Century Media.

As the sound on their precedent sounded more pagan metal, their new album shows influences from various genres like symphonic, folk and even trash metal. Personally I am not a fan of bombastic and symphonic metal, I also pretty much dislike opera vocals in metal. It is not my cup of tea. No wonder that I favour the track “Of Betrayal” with only Joni growling on it. This track is a lot more dark and extreme. On this album all the members were more involved in the writing process. In the end the band has shown growth as their former album was more a collection of tracks they have written over the years of their existence. Their new albums shows the new side of the band, a side where they have gained a lot of experience touring and performing. The Brothers Koskinen are mainly responsible for the music and Leeni-Maria for the lyrics.

The album starts with a beautiful piano intro “Lament for the Fallen” which does get me into a fantasy, dream like mood. The lyrics are little fantasy stories. This track is the intro for “Aesis Lilim” which has a nice tempo in it. On tacks as “Seawitch and the Sorcerer” the high vocals from Leeni-Maria work in nice contrast with the dark, rough growls from Joni. As pagan bands are pretty much known for their hummpa, sing-along and drinking songs Kivimetsän Druidi included one of those: “Tuoppein’nostelulaulu”. The last track of the CD “Desolation: White Wolf” has a nice flow and includes a man choir, quite symphonic and bombastic. It must be said that they have delivered a versatile album.

Tracklist: 01. Lament for the Fallen 02. Aesis Lilim 03. Seawitch and the Sorcerer 04. The Visitor 05. Manalan Vartija 06. Tuoppein’nostelulaulu 07. Chant of the Winged One 08. Of Betrayal 09. Desolation: White Wolf 10. Veljet (BONUS) 11. Where Hope and Daylight Die (BONUS)

Links:
Kivimetsän Druidi MySpace
Kivimetsän Druidi Official