Fferyllt - Dance Of The Druids

Fferyllt are another band from Russia that plays Folk meets Viking meets Doom Metal, I have heard so many of these bands this year and to be honest I really don't want to hear anymore. The problem with this genre is the bands most of time all copy the same formula, same lyrical approach and most of the time the singers are inter-changeable. Fferyllt are no different, not that they are bad because most of it is actually pretty good but it is predictable to the extreme. Take the semi-opera-like female vocals in a track like "Night Of The Wood-God" for a good example. She can sing but the delivery is so over the top you don't if you should laugh or take it seriously, for me it really doesn't belong in a Metal band. Musically its very melodic Metal, jam packed with Folk based touches and cliches. Its heavy for this style of music but the production doesn't help matters because for the most part it sounds dull and lifeless. The band can be described like this, take Folkearth and Irminsul, add the folk aspect of Yggdrasil and heavy metal-flirtations of Korpiklaani and you have Fferyllt. That has properly turn you off already but its really not all that bad, it just is a band with a average sound and life-less arrangements. For its style its catchy and they try real hard to be energetic but the use of such instruments like bagpipes, mouth harps, whistles and various other folk music instruments is too overdone and I found it more annoying than anything else. "Jule", "Gjallarhorn" and "Warriors of Ireland" are the best tracks on here because they do leave a lasting memory but the rest I found instantly forgettable. On these tracks the melodic folk metal gets a make-over when the harshness of the vocals brings it up a notch. But overall there is not enough of these vocals, and mixing the clean female vocals with the harsh male screams would benefit this band and its songs a lot.The Metal side of the band is just there without doing anything to get excited about, the playing is pretty generic.Lyrically they deal with some Norse mythology, some Scandinavian history as well as some fantasy stuff and it fits in well with the overall concept of the music. There is not much more to say about this album, one look at the artwork which is stunning I must admit will tell you what to expect. 6/10

www.myspace.com/fferylltgroup