Sunday 15 January 2012

FOLK METAL NEWS 15/01/12


The folk metal bands of the world have been busy lately, with a whole host of announcements to report on.

Firstly, British Viking metal band Oakenshield have released a steady flow of new information about their upcoming release, Legacy, slated for release on the 17th February. The band have released the album artwork (left), as well as announcing the tracklist, revealing the traditional British and Scandinavian songs that have inspired their music:

Northreyjar (traditional arr. Corkhill)
Earl Thorfinn (Corkhill, trad. Norwegian)
Jorvik (Corkhill)
Mannin Veen (H. Wood, trad. Manx, H. Jones, arr. Corkhill)
Wen Heath (Corkhill, trad. Scots)
Clontarf (Corkhill, trad. Irish)
Eternal as the Earth (Corkhill, trad. English)
The Raven Banner (Corkhill, trad. Scandinavian)

As if that wasn't enough, the band has also released a couple of tantalising teasers for the album, first releasing an album preview featuring samples of each of the eight songs on the album....

Legacy - Album Preview by OakenshieldUK

...And then releasing the album's second track, 'Earl Thorfinn' in its entirety on YouTube.




Another band releasing swathes of album news is Swedish band Grimner. The band are currently preparing for the release of their second EP Färd, the follow-up to 2010's A Call for Battle. Like Oakesnhield, they have released the new artwork (right), as well as the tracklist and an album teaser video, featuring sample of five of the six tracks that will make up the new EP.





Eluveitie continue to prepare for the release of upcoming album Helvetios, due next month, by revealing another new track. The band this week unveiled the radio-friendly 'A Rose for Epona', having previously revealed new track 'Meet the Enemy'.



The song, featuring the band's usual hurdy gurdy player Anna Murphy on lead vocals, describes the 'shattered hopes' of the album's main protagonist. The 'Epona' of the title is the Gallic goddess of horsemen and cavalry – not the horse from Zelda!
 
While these bands prepare for the imminent release of the new works, others are just beginning to get started on their new releases. Italian power metallers Elvenking have announced that they plan to begin the recording of their seventh album at Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki on February 24th. The album will sound “heavier, still very melodic and a bit back to the roots with a lot of good old folklore in it”, according to a statement from the band.
 
Meanwhile, Drakum – hailing from Barcelona, Catalonia – have announced that they are to begin recording their debut album following the success of last year's demo, Around the Oak. However, in order to fund the recording of the album, the band requires donations from fans. This can be done by visiting Drakum's website and clicking the 'Donate' button.
 
Our final piece of news is that Yiddish industrial folk metal band Gevolt have released a new video for the song 'Tshiribim Tshiribom'. The song originally featured on last year's album AlefBase and is the band's first official music video.



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