For all that folk metal has brought to the fold since its inception, few bands have been as prominent, far-reaching, and consistent as Korpiklaani. From the very beginning, the Finnish act has always shown us what folk metal can be when you fully embrace its tendencies, experiment with it a little, show us how to have a damn good time with it, and constantly showing us just what kind of masters you truly are at the craft. Time after time has the act shown us why they’ve long been at the top of the food chain with their particularly potent magic. Despite the odds, it’s with their twelfth studio album that Korpiklaani reinforces their position as one of the reigning acts of folk metal for the entire world.

You would think that after twelve albums over the course of twenty-one years after the second change of name for the band that something would at least start to give way with cracks showing in the works that continue to come out and for there to be some drop off in quality. Sure, not every work of Korpiklaani is what we would call perfect, but to say that they’re tenacious and true warriors of folk metal is to put it mildly with the arrival of “Rankarumpu” signaling a slight return to form that hearkens back to the earlier albums of the act. Faster in pace than some of the more recent albums from the act but seeming to double-down on the intense melodic factor that Korpiklaani has always been associated with alongside its trademark use of folk instrumentation that simply brings the band to another level of folk metal altogether, “Rankarumpu” is a surprise of a record even if it’s more than fitting for the standard that Korpiklaani has set for itself over the years. A massive collection of twelve tracks that are all infectious in their own right and carry on the fundamentals that have always made Korpiklaani such a treat to listen, it’s hard for me to look upon this album and not see it as another victory for Korpiklaani and folk metal as a whole. This year has already been quite fruitful for the sound, and this is just another sliver of magic from the ancient forests that we’re always in need of.

This is likely the best work from Korpiklaani that we’ve gotten in a long time, and it shouldn’t take much to realize why that might be the case just by looking a handful of any of these songs. There’s not one moment where the enchantment wanes throughout the record to ensure that the listener is given a true feast for the senses the likes of which only peak folk metal if capable of bringing forward, and “Rankarumpu” is almost certainly deserving of being called just that.

“Rankarumpu” releases on April 5th via Nuclear Blast Records!

LISTEN to singles from “Rankarumpu” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Korpiklaani on Facebook here.