Immortal Tradition

We’re only ever a step or two away from the mosh pit as Finnish five-piece Ritva Nero joyfully reveal in this glorious mash-up of folk music and metal. Although they’ve toured for a couple of years, this is their debut album and it deftly fuses the ominous drumming and heavy basslines familiar to lovers of hard rock and metal with the melodic and at times almost languorous beauty of traditional folk tunes.

Fans of ‘bagpipe rock’ may find commonality here, but even those with no interest in the kind of party atmosphere such groups tend to produce can hardly fail to be impressed by the multi-layered dynamism present in almost every track on the album. Finnish bagpipes gel remarkably well with the soprano sax and the sound is further enriched by the nyckelharpa. It’s vaguely reminiscent in places of some of Hanggai’s earlier period or even The Hu, but without throat singing or growly vocals and similarly no reliance on the guitar to drive the melody; focus instead is on the harmony of pipes and horn and a consistent return to more mainstream metal drumming techniques like the double kick. A welcome addition to the canon of Finnish fusion.