DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY LOVE KORPIKLAANI?

There are certain things that you just never hear anyone say; I’ve never met someone who’s stoked on the new Nickelback, never heard anyone say they want to use Papyrus as their default font (Lamb of God not withstanding), never heard anyone say they miss dial-up modems… and I’ve never met anyone cop to being a fan of Korpiklaani. Nothing against the band; just an observation!

Korpiklaani aren’t bad by any means — I guess they’re pretty good at what they do? — but they were one of many bands who were hyped up to be way bigger than they ever should’ve been during The Great Pagan/Folk Metal Explosion of 2008 (“TGPFME2008,” for short). They’re perpetually one of those bands who are kind of just “there” on a tour lineup; like, you don’t mind seeing them if they’re on a bill, but you’d never go out of your way just to catch a Korpiklaani show. And while I’ve met people who are legitimately stoked on new Eluveitie (for example: me), new Turisas or new Ensiferum music, I have never in my life encountered an honest-to-goodness die-hard Korpiklaani fan. Although I have a feeling I’m about to encounter a few in the comments section.

Anyway, there’s a new Korpiklaani song called “Metsälle” that was originally recorded for the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest and will be appearing on the band’s forthcoming album… so get psyched! Or don’t.

-VN