Korpiklaani

Finnish folk-metal outfit Korpiklaani fuses dense, compressed electric guitar riffs with propulsive accordion and fiddle, all driven forward by resonant basslines and thunderous double-time drumming that often accelerates into brisk marching cadences. The resulting sound projects a simultaneously regimented and inebriated spirit, unfailingly festive and regularly animated by traditional yoik singing. Although the group’s opening trilogy—launched by 2003’s Spirit of the Forest—featured English lyrics atop death-metal scaffolding, the fourth release, 2007’s Tervaskanto, marked a decisive turn toward exclusively Finnish lyrics as their folk-metal foundations moved into the foreground. From 2015’s Noita onward through Kulkija (2018), Jylhä (2021), and Rankarumpu (2024), folk-metal supplied both foundation and superstructure, turning concerts—even those staged in the United States and Asia—into exuberant tributes to Finnish custom, instrumental prowess, and folklore.

The ensemble coalesced in 2002 when the members of Shaman elected to refresh both their musical approach and their moniker. Drawing influence from the Scandinavian metal community and the rising progressive-folk wave, vocalist/guitarist Jonne Järvelä, violinist Jaakko Lemmetty, drummer Matti “Matson” Johansson, bassist Arto Tissari, guitarist Toni Honkanen, and percussionist Ali Määttä issued their debut, Spirit of the Forest, via Napalm Records in 2003. Accordionist Juho Kauppinen joined in 2004, yet Määttä, Honkanen, and Tissari departed after 2005’s Voice of Wilderness. Guitarist Kalle “Cane” Savijärvi and bassist Jarkko Aaltonen entered the lineup for 2006’s Tales Along This Road, another vigorous set of whiplash folk and folk-derived revelry that delivered greater heft than many standard metal releases. The thematically kindred Tervaskanto followed in 2007.

The band subsequently signed with Nuclear Blast, issuing Korven Kuningas in 2008 and Karkelo in 2009. Violinist Jaakko Lemmetty disclosed his departure for health reasons in 2011, contributing to the seventh album, Ukon Wacka, before Tuomas Rounakari assumed the role. Manala appeared in 2012; the following year accordionist Juho Kauppinen exited and was succeeded by Sami Perttula. The ninth album, Noita, surfaced in May 2015 and included a rendition of Tommy James’s classic “Mony Mony.” In September 2017 the group unveiled its inaugural live album and concert film, Live at Masters of Rock, captured the previous year at the Vizovice, Czech Republic festival. That November the musicians returned to Sound Supreme Studio in Hämeenlinna, Finland, working once more with producer and mixing engineer Janne Saksa. After three singles rolled out across late spring and early summer—including the European success “Henkselipoika”—the full-length Kulkija (“Wanderer”) arrived in September. The buoyant opening single “Leväluhta” from the eleventh album Jylhä emerged in 2020, with the record itself following the next year. Seeking renewed velocity, the collective accelerated the pace on 2024’s Rankarumpu, unleashing torrents of incandescent folk melodies, high-octane rhythms, and folk-metal craftsmanship that recalled the breakneck momentum of their earliest recordings.