Werewolf songs from Sweden

Werewolf Songs (cover)Given the subtle, moody atmosphere created on the new CD by Swedish publisher Malört förlagWerewolf Songs, weaving in dark emotions and barely-suppressed savagery, it’s fair to say the Swedish werewolf’s bite is nastier than its bark.

The collection was released as a companion piece to by Malört förlag’s new reissue of ethnologist Ella Odstedt’s Varulven i svensk folktradition (The Werewolf in Swedish Folklore) which was first published in 1943. The songs on the CD, by musicians from Sweden, Finland, Belgium, England, and the United States, are based on the book.

Metal Monday: Opeth’s Damnation

Maybe there’s somthing in the Northern character that grasps the grandeur in metal (no longer “heavy,” thereby losing some of its sense of humour) — an example being Finland’s Apocalyptica surprising listeners with cello renditions of Metallica and Faith No More. Remarkably, Sweden’s Opeth have followed up last year’s fairly (sonically) dense Deliverance with an album that can be legitimately called “sublime.”