Hipsters are the new Vikings - A review of Finsterforst's #YØLØ

Finsterforst is usually a band playing epic folk metal with songs that often revolve around the ten-minute mark. The band's last album even had a track that is thirty-six and a half minutes long. #YØLØ doesn't have anything to do with the band's other releases. Half of it consists of eclectic cover songs while the other tunes are tongue-in-cheek party anthem recalling metalcore bands such as Callejon.

''Auf die Zwölf'' talks about soccer fans partying on a Saturday afternoon while title track ''#YØLØ'' makes fun of trendy hipsters. This idea is also represented on the cover artwork connecting this release to the band's usual style. The other new songs can be described as simplistic but entertaining party anthems with uplifting brass music passages, dynamic guitar riffs and emotional harsh vocals.

The cover songs are just as eclectic as the new songs. K.I.Z.'s ''Der durch die Scheibeboxxxer'' moves away from Viking tales and explores Berlin's gangster rap culture instead which makes for a vivid, unpredictable and intense nu metal experience. Michael Jackson's ''Beat It'' flirts with industrial metal territories as it includes exaggerated samples and sound experiments while keeping the catchy melodies and infectious flow of the original tune.

In the end, Finsterforst's #YØLØ attempts to provoke genre purists and proves that the band doesn't take itself too seriously. The album is surprising at first but won't leave a deeper impression in the long run. However, this release is a perfect party record and offers forty minutes of uplifting escapism that seems to be more important now than ever.

Final rating: 70%