Fill-up the tankards and raise them to the rhythm of the `humppa-metal` of Finntroll. The Finnish metal act is taking folk-metal pretty much to the max on their second album Jaktens Tid . Folk-like melodies, flutes, Finnish chants (so-called Joik which is traditional Saami/Lapplandic chant) and even accordion; they have really pulled out all the stops! This results in a highly melodic and very bombastic mixture of power/thrash/black/folk metal that is unique. And if it should be labeled then I guess Troll-metal is a pretty accurate description (BTW how do Trolls sound anyway?!?).

To be very honest Finntroll`s music works on my nerves, it`s just too goddamn cheerful and this makes it pretty hard for me to write an objective review on Jaktens Tid.

It stands without a doubt that this Finnish band is attempting to do something different and trying to break barriers between seemingly incompatible styles. The result being that the songs are without exception very catchy. It works best when folk and metal elements form a well-balanced whole as in tracks like `Krigsmjöd`, `Den Hornkrönte Konunger` and `Kitteldags`. When the folk aspects predominate the songs the danger of overdoing it is becoming real and I guess it remains a case of either loving or hating it. The strength of this band is their variation in musical styles and therefore the possibility of appealing to fans of different genres.