TROLLFEST

Mainstays of the folk metal scene for the last 20 years, TROLLFEST are best known for being inordinately silly bastards. This, it hardly needs saying, is their chief selling point, and their appeal lies entirely on entertaining people with a similarly ridiculous sense of humor, which is not something that the Norwegian underground is particularly known for. In truth, a lot of musicians who spend their days scowling in photographs and lurking in moonlit forests are also very silly bastards too, and so it is not quite as jarring a contrast as you might think that TROLLFEST have two members of highly rated Oslo necro-fiends JORDSJUK in their ranks, not to mention drummer Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow, who is also a member of BORKNAGAR. It is possible to be ludicrous and deadly serious, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. On "Trollywood", however, seriousness is kept to an absolute minimum.

Last time out, TROLLFEST were showcasing a newfound and slightly alarming obsession with flamingos. Released in 2022, "Flamingo Overlord" was an irresistibly preposterous collection of unhinged drinking songs and paeans to the famously pink birds. Arguably the most musically inventive and wildly entertaining album in TROLLFEST history, it seemed to strike a chord with even more like-minded idiots than usual, providing to be a considerable success for the band. Four years on, "Trollywood" is another album full of very silly songs with surprisingly credible and convincing music to back up their deranged lyrical sentiments, but this time, the heaviness that seemed to take an occasional backseat on "Flamingo Overlord" is back with a toothy-grinned vengeance. Don't expect complex, jazz-influenced detours or grim, black metal atmospheres, but TROLLFEST are in the mood to kick ass again.

This slight change of focus is more than evident on the opening "Attention". Furious blastbeats, adrenalin-fueled polkas and vocals that are spat out with something approaching vitriol are the order of the day, and even though the lyrics are almost certainly stupid, the whole three-minute assault comes across as an honorable salute to the metal underground. Next, "Troll Brigade" is an archetypal TROLLFEST knees-up, with faint echoes of FINNTROLL's darker approach to the genre and a repeated refrain of "into the great unknown," which seems unconnected to either flamingos or this band's usual preoccupation with alcohol. The octet's undisputed metal credentials are on full display for "Claiming The Walk Of Fame", which would be easily converted into a serious song if anyone involved were remotely capable of such a thing. The sinister, pomp-powered stomp of "Bar Of Mud" brings a dash of symphonic grandeur to TROLLFEST's otherwise overtly cheerful approach.

Elsewhere, "Day Drinking" is a guaranteed live favorite in the making: absurdly catchy and dedicated to the lost art of getting absolutely hammered from dawn to dusk, it will have drunken metalheads barking "Sip it! Sip it! Sip it!" until the bar is drained dry. Good luck with the hangover, folks. In contrast, "Get On The Offbeat" is a mildly experimental sidestep into angular, funky tomfoolery, with a spectral layer of EDM glitching; and closing hoedown "The Troll Oscars" lets accordion player Fjernkontrollet lose his mind over knotty time signatures and a juddering, jerky riff-riot that makes absolutely no sense. Again, no flamingos, but the stench of beer and bonhomie is overwhelming. TROLLFEST are still the most fun you can have while subjecting your liver to a severe beating, and "Trollywood" is another excellent excuse for behaving like an idiot. Bravo, you crazy dickheads.