Before I get to composing though, we need to talk about Lovijatar. The name comes from Finnish mythology, as might be guessed. Lovijatar is the blind daughter of Tuoni, the Finnish god of death. The band is made up of members of Battlelore, a band for whom I am familiar, and Elephant Bell, a band for whom I am not. Lovijatar is a true combination of those two bands' sounds apparently as Battlelore comprises the folk metal influence and Elephant Bell the stoner doom influence.
The riffs are thick and meaty with a lot of bass. The stoner doom influence is very evident in the guitar riffs. The folk metal influence permeates everything else, from the lyrics and vocals to the interludes to the extra instrumentation that is sometimes present. Some of the melodies are also clearly folk-influenced, at least those that are not driven by the heavy stoner doom riffs.
The songs on this album are shockingly catchy and infectious. I found myself tapping my foot along with it quite frequently. The musicianship is incredible and the vocals really drive the album, the dual vocals on "Uhrilehto" in particular. Some of the songs are much softer and far more folk-influenced, but then something like the High on Fire-esque riff in "Kulje Kuu Pala Paiva" happens, dragging it clearly back into the metallic.
I really enjoyed this album. Apparently stoner doom and folk metal mix quite well when done by musicians of this caliber.
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