Imagine boarding the Stockholm party boat for Helsinki, weaving your way through Lapin Kultas and green islands and upscale resort homes with motorboats, through the Gulf of Bothnia, till finally at midnight you arrive at Mariehamn in the autonomous Finnish area of Aland, and cant see any of it because its dark. Formally an incredibly popular home port for clipper ships, people do indeed speak Swedish there. Aland is where Barkka Vall and "Skogsflot" is from and according to them "The style is etno-folkrock, a kind of metal mixed with medieval songs and instruments." Perhaps a bit threatening of a statement for Americans, BV is most closely pooled with Garmarna and Gjallarhorn, perhaps hearing a touch or two of the Great Vada. Three of the members are in a progmetal band called Condition Red, which "... mixes progressive metal with hard rock, neoclassical and fusion," and I suppose that describes the rock component of the album.

On this album there is no explanation at all of the Swedish lyrics, but I've clipped this from another review: "The lyrics tells [sic] stories about dungeons, witches, dark forests, blood sacrifices and other heathen rituals." Most of the songs are not traditional, but are rather written in Swedish traditional style, usually by vocalist Ella Grussner, who has a beautiful voice.

There's nothing really startling on the album as far as a mix, but Barkka Val really is good. There are frequent digeridoo licks, rarely bombarde, bagpipes, flute, hurdy gurdy; I have yet to hear the promised dragspel. Generally, the electric and traditional instruments cooperate in the more stunning passages to form a regal, forceful sound, then fade into quieter intervals. At times the electric guitar screams out Svensk-oriental exotica or blues rock, drums pound or cymbals crash, and at times there is a metal-convention fuzz/bass-line going, rarely there is a treble blues keyboard. On the other end there is Ella's fiddle, usually a traditional underpin, but sometimes improvisational. Ella's vocals, sometimes with Isabella Sarling, as on the orientalism woven "Dansa Dig Vild" ("Dance you wild"...the one with the bombarde), dominate. There are hearty male vocals on the traditional sounding Blottargille , with an unusual amount of "old" instruments; this track has a melody from the 13^th century. Track 12 is a bonus and is more along the lines of light rock with a little etno-prog flavor.

Photo of Ian from Mariehamn, 2000

gennett at gorge dot net

The Columbia Gypsy