Noiduin, “Lovi”
Rooted in ancient Finnish lore, Noiduin emerges with their first full-length album Lovi, an homage to an otherworldly state or space, a rift between worlds, and a place of crossing where the veil between the living and the dead thins. With a sound palette dominated by tagelharpa, percussion, kantele, and raw ethereal voices, Lovi brings songs both new and revisited to their already impressive repertoire.
Dedicated listeners of the Nordic Sound will know that I have a soft spot for Finland. Be it the Karelian embroidery, the folklore, the lakeside fishing cabins, the unparalleled quality of folk metal, or the endless dark forests of Sibelius’s tone poems shrouded in mystery, I’ve always had a special place in my heart dedicated to the woodsy Finnish aesthetic. So, when I first stumbled upon the demo Korven Kolkon Kainalossa back in 2022, it satisfied a pine-dressed, moss-covered Finnish atmosphere sorely missing from dark folk. Bewitched from the start, I’ve been a dedicated fan ever since.
Now, what I listen for going into a debut album like Lovi, already precipitated by EPs, is development. How does Noiduin take what they’ve shown us of their short form ideas in Korven Kolkon Kainalossa and Alinen and put it to the test of a larger scale production of a full-length album. This might be an old school idea, but I do believe the EP and LP/Album are different artistic mediums: EPs are allowed to be rougher around the edges (hence, “demo”), while albums have greater expectations to be more cohesive, professional, and complete. An artist’s first album can be seen as a rite of passage from “garage band” status into something more serious. So, what I’m most curious about is how Noiduin shows development from their earlier projects into this first full-length endeavor.
With this framing in mind, there are three tracks in particular I want to highlight from the record: Nouse Maa, Käärmeen Synty, and Nostatus. With Nouse Maa, the album begins with an austere throat singing drone which eventually gives way to a raunchy, but cleanly played tagelharpa theme. Striking a good balance between the droning style of dark folk and the more melodic style of traditional jouhikko playing, the listener is put in both familiar and new territory.
The beat transitions into the verse in which Jemina Kärvi makes a strong and steady entrance, demonstrating a new level of confidence as a leading vocalist. The vocal solo towards the end of the track is one of the standout moments of the record for me, with a spectral presence reminiscent Maria Franz. As the very first track, Nouse Maa sets a confident, steady tone of songwriting and performance which will come to define the rest of the record.
Whereas Nouse Maa was a new original tune, Käärmeen Synty is a revisited track from the Alinen EP (2023). The song itself, much like the preceding Päästa Minun showcases the more primal (feral?) side of Noiduin’s sound with an increased presence of harsh, snarling vocals from Henri Virolainen. I know I’m bringing up this comparison more than I probably should, but it’s hard not to compare Henri’s vocals to the harsh growling of Kai Uwe Faust in some of Heilung’s tracks such as Tenet. I actually love this approach, as the juxtaposition of harsh growling to the otherwise serene melancholic sound palette of dark folk creates a really captivating dissonance in the songs. Considering it wouldn’t be controversial to say Heilung doesn’t put out a lot of new music, I love that Noiduin is giving more of this dark folk flavor that I can’t find anywhere else. Beyond the song itself, the improvements over the 2023 recording are plenty, with more depth to the production and a sharpness to the overall arrangement.
Nostatus closes the record on a stylistic cliffhanger, putting the versatility of Noiduin on full display. The track opens first with a snarling hypnotic chanting before transitioning into a more melodic and soaring vocal section – a contrast that immediately evokes Nytt Land. But this doesn’t stay for long, as the track gives way to a kantele solo which introduces a stunning verse led by Jemina’s most impressive performance to date. The overall feel of the verse and chorus immediately brings to mind equal parts Wardruna and Rúnahild, but with an expression that is uniquely their own. This track rounds off the record with highlighting something I’ve really come to appreciate about Noiduin’s compositional style, in that their tracks dance between more intimate, organic numbers, and more studio-heavy atmospheric productions. By the end of Lovi, I feel as though I’ve found a good balance of both.
I began this review discussing the importance of development, but not in the sense of a simplistic linear progression, rather looking for the ways in which Noiduin build and expand upon their artistry and skills found in earlier releases. Between just Lovi and Alinen (2023), Noiduin have indeed shown an immense growth and maturity in just a couple of years, but what really stands out to me by the album’s conclusion is how dynamic, versatile, and alive this record is. Lovi shows us that Noiduin is not a one-trick pony like so many dark folk bands can risk being. It feels and sounds like these artists have put the time and effort into figuring out what they’re trying to say with their music, and with it, comes a genuine work of art and atmosphere that could only be their own, of course inspired by the pioneers of the genre which have come before them.
While throughout the tracks, I find comparisons to these titans of the dark folk genre weaving throughout this record, manifesting in different ways both subtle and overt, it always comes organically in a way that’s never imitation, but genuine inspiration, or even iteration. Further, Noiduin uses their Finnish heritage to their strength, shaping a style and voice that is rooted in native traditions without being completely defined or restricted by them. It is albums such as Lovi that assure me dark folk is in good hands, so long as more artists continue show this level of dedication to their craft, rather than relying on pastiche or gimmick.
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