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Lumsk are a young
band, that hails from Norway and have
already released a CD. But the good
are yet to come. "Troll",
which is their second full length
CD, has already entered the official
Norwegian Top 20 at the 18th position,
shortly after since it hit the Norwegian
stores (April). Furthermore, this
promising young band has won the By:Larm
scholarship 2005, which can be translated
in NOK 500.000 (approximately 62.500
Euros). Now, I think that these are
very flattering and encouraging facts
for the band and demonstrate to all
of us that the band deserves our attention.
The seven members of Lumsk constitute
a very good band that delivers to
us a very carefully prepared CD of
folk metal.
Among others in "Troll"
you will find a string quartet, male
vocals, some few trumpet and trombone
parts, which reminisce Beyond Dawn’s
sweet melancholy, and dialogues spoken
by professional actors. These dialogues
increase the theatricality of their
music, which is further expressed
by the Norwegian lyrics. Written by
author Birger Sivertsen and his wife
Kristin, the lyrics focus on Northern
mythological figures and Norwegian
folklore.
Now all these make
a very powerful combination, don’t
you think? However this variety and
multitude of sounds in all 40 minutes
that "Troll" lasts, turns
to be a disadvantage of their music.
I have the essence that the band must
try a little bit harder to finalize
their composition. There are many
elements that do not match perfectly.
The most important is that they try
to combine two different perspectives,
the one of folklore music, which through
its simplicity expresses the popular
wisdom of Norwegian tradition, and
the other of the elaborated and technical
metal (progressive in a broad sense),
which through its wholeness declares
the skills and talent of the band
members. I cannot refuse the innovative
and challenging spirit of their music,
but I think that the overall result
could be better and more "concrete".
I also cannot neglect the existence
of one of the most beautiful songs
I have ever listened. "Trolltind",
which is the first video for "Troll",
is a magnificent song, that reminds
the first era of The 3rd and the Mortal.
Other very good and notable songs
are "Åsgårdsreia"
and "Perpålsa".
As concluding remarks
I would like to add that I purposively
mentioned all these facts and figures
in the first part of the review, as
a teaser of your curiosity. I think
that worth the weight to listen to
"Troll" and my objections
may discourage some of you. But maybe
I am wrong, so it’s up to you
to make your decision, now that you
have a picture (hopefully clear) of
"Troll".
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