Page "Folk metal" Paragraph 26

The folk metal genre has dramatically expanded with the turn of the new millennium.

At the forefront of this explosion, with a " revolutionary clash of tradition and amplification that set them apart ", is a group from Finland known as Finntroll.

The band was formed in 1997 with a demo recorded the following year and a debut album Midnattens Widunder released in 1999.

They have since developed a reputation for being " obsessed with all things trollish.

" Their lyrics are sung exclusively in Swedish instead of the Finnish language " apparently because this language was better to evoke the trollish spirit ", even though the real reason for this lies in the band's original vocalist belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority.

The music of Finntroll features a " real innovation " in the marriage of black metal music with a style of Finnish polka called humppa.

Specifically, the band took from humppa " the alternate picking bass lines accompanied with the drumbeat, and the use of accordion.

" This unlikely mix of polka and extreme metal has received a mixed reception from critics.

Andy Hinds of Allmusic laments the polka influence as undermining " the intended threat of a death metal band " while his colleague Alex Henderson praises the band for their " solid, consistently likable effort ," declaring that Finntroll has set themselves apart from their peers " because of their emphasis on Finnish humppa " and " the humor and irony they bring to the table.