Trollfest – En Kvest For Den Hellige Gral

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So, an album about trolls killing crusaders to the background of folk-influenced metal from a Scandinavian band, with the word Troll in their name. Hmmm, hasn’t this one been done already? Obvious aesthetic comparisons to Finntroll aside, TrollfesT’s fourth album has turned out to be surprisingly decent. It’s a shame the band have chosen such a silly name, as the band’s fusion of extreme metal and Balkan folk music is fun, heavy, and strangely unique. How exactly a band from Norway has come to choose the music of south-eastern Europe as something to blend in with its style is certainly an interesting question, but there’s no doubt it works. Just as Finntroll made the adventures of priest-eating trolls fit perfectly with humppa music, TrollfesT have done the same here with a much more southern flavour. Sometimes it feels just ever so slightly Spanish (I’m sure screaming ‘ARRIBA!’ in the middle of Karve doesn’t help), but this doesn’t steal away from the feeling the band are going for. Far from it, where’s the majority of folk metal does tend to reflect Celtic or northern territories, TrollfesT’s focus on southern forms gives this album as much warmer, almost Mediterranean feel. Taken as just a metal band, admittedly TrollfesT aren’t actually all that special. The band’s riffs aren’t anything to shout about but at the same time are decent enough. All being said, they certainly have grown as a band, and noticeably improved on this record, sounding much less like a typical generic drinking band and developing into something new. In the end, En Kvest For Den Hellige Gral is an interesting curiosity at the very least, and is certainly worthy of at least a peak from those that would like something a bit different from the usual folk metal. It isn’t entirely fantastic, but it is at least fun and definitely different.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Folk Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Trollfest