Tag Archives: Trold

Best Album 2023: Firkin

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1. Firkin – ‘Spice It Up’
Firkin released 22 out of 40 points. This is the first time ever we have a Celtic-Punk album as the Best Album of the year. Again one of the voting members was of the opinion it should be our Album of the Year.
Mark wrote: ““Stir It Up” is the name of the album, and it’s good. While demonstrative of their work, it’s not like the two absolute gems of the album: “For a Life” (which they also released as a single– and the bassline punches hard) and “Boys Are on the Loose”. These are the anthems, the kickass rock songs that stand by themselves. Firkin knew this, too, because the latter is the last song on the album.
Lastly, there are the oddities, and I say this in a loving sense. “Santiana” is a modern sea
shanty. It starts with some nautical sounds, of course, and borrows some melody from “Whup Jamboree” (another traditional song that Firkin previously covered). There are a host of famous pirate metal bands that could comfortably cover this, and it’d sound right at home. “Haiku” is the album’s only instrumental song, and it’s fantastic. It has eight-bar stretches that could, themselves, be a standalone Irish reel.”

Congratulations Firkin, you did a hell of a job here!

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Best Debut Album 2023 made by Idaslet

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1. Idaslet – ‘Nu Skrider Dagen Under’
And the Winner is… The Best Debut Album of 2023 is in our opinion made by Idaslet.
For none of our voting teammembers this was the best Debut of the year, but three of the four voters thought this was the second best. This resulted in a total of 31 points.
Mark wrote: “I’m never going to get tired of hearing different takes on the Norse and their mythos, and it’s great hearing this sung in Danish. It just feels really fitting. The album nails the required variety in tracks. There are three or four tracks that start with a bouncy accordion or acoustic guitar, sing-song style before going off into the metal realms. The album begins with a wintery and short folk-song intro track but gets into the meat and potatoes with “Ære Oder Dodt”. I couldn’t find a suitable translation, but it’s a banger. Melo-death tones in the beginning and middle, brings out our first taste of the chorus, and introduces us to the vibe and variety of the album. “Spirets Tone” (Spirit’s Tone) does more with the chorus and is the quintessence of their sound. It’s easily my favorite track.

It sets off the pattern for the next few tracks: rhythm-led openings, choruses, throw-the-horns style metal near the end. “I Gården sagte” (“In the farm softly”) slows the pattern down and adds a lovely, memorable chorus. “Kæmpens Ni Spørgsmål” (The Giant’s Nine Questions) is another fun track that starts off like an old folk song and turns into a banger. “Balders død” (Baldur’s Death) and “Ragnarok” are both heart-wrenchingly sad. It shows off Idaslet’s versatility and wraps up the album nicely.

I had a lot of fun listening to this album. It’s bouncy and lively, folky, fun, and heartfelt. 2023’s been a great year for albums, and Idaslet’s debut doesn’t disappoint.”

Congratulations Idaslet with this marvelous prestation!

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