Review by Daniel for Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet (2005)

I must admit that I've never been a fan of folk metal but I gave Moonsorrow's 2011 album "Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa" a few runs a couple of years ago & was pretty impressed. The musicianship & production were top notch & the music was Bathory-worshipping viking metal for the most part with just the occasional folk section which I was able to overlook in such small quantities. Shortly afterwards I ventured further back to the previous album "V: Hävitetty" which I also liked. It featured a few more of the folky sections during the second half of the album so I didn't like it quite as much but it was definitely worth a listen. Which brings me to 2005's "Verisäkeet" which has been generally regarded as one the band's essential releases. Again the production & musicianship is top notch but the song-writing on this album features both folk metal & viking metal in equal parts & I just can't get into the folk melodies. They're just not my thing. Plus the viking stuff does tend to be a little cheesy at times. I can see how this album will certainly appeal to fans of the folk metal genre though as it's a very professional package. Unfortunately not something that appeals to me.