Troll Bends Fir - "Oktoberfest" EP 2010

TROLL BENDS FIR - "Oktoberfest" (EP 2010)

Folk Metal - Russia
http://www.myspace.com/trollbendsfirofficial

     Troll Bends Fir is a Russian band that I would somehow compare with Finntroll, and in fact they also call their style "Beer Folk" or "Folk-Rock-Humppa-Metal", "Humppa" being the main influence on Fintroll's music as well, but the similarities stop to a point where I can clearly say I like TBF much more than Finntroll, for some reason I cannot fully "digest" the Finnish' music.
     TBF is not a new name on the Russian Folk / Pagan Metal scene, they actually have 4 full-lenght albums out so far. "Oktoberfest" (I would have named it "Okto-beer-fest") is a 5 tracks EP that keeps the same path as the previous one. I have only had thae chance to listen to their 2009 album, but I can only remember it was composed on the same range as this EP is: alert-rhythmed music with a good dose of irony and a funny / friendly atmosphere surrounding it, a perfect soundtrack for any beer fest. The violin (or fiddle as they name it) and Irish whistle are present everywhere and are as important in TBF's music as the other instruments are. And that's the best part in TBF, you cannot decide on a sole instrument and say that's the main element in their music, each instrument and voice has its own role and part inhere. I really like how the two vocalists, Troll (barbaric chants, clear vocals, hoarse vocals) and Jetra (female vocals - on the second track she reminds me an awful lot of Bellarussian band Znich from a decade ago), are completing each other and I can clearly say they both have talent and delicious vox.
     Now the bad part in TBF's music: I don't know why, but for the most part of their music, although displaying good instrumental skills, I feel like something's missing from their music and all their music is just the prelude to the real thing, it's like I'm always expecting something to happen. Anyway, this would be the only point in TBF that doesn't convince me entirely, but the rest is like a paint of cold beer, absolutely delicious.
     So far TBF have only used Russian language for their lyrics, I'm curious to see if they will use English too sometime in the near future.

Kaan