Year: 2022
Total Time: 42.07
Label: Napalm Records
This is the ninth full-length album for the Norwegian TROLLFEST entitled “Flamingo Overlord”. I would like to warn you that if you take metal “too seriously”, it would be better not to read this review. The band was founded almost 20 years ago and consists of 7 members, who don’t even know what kind of music they play! Imagine a mix of Balkan music with ferocious instruments, a dose of Pirate Metal, vocals from growls to rap, reggae and latin dynamic guitars, lots of drum changes from Thrash Metal to Hip Hop, many different instruments and lots of samples. And these are just a few of all those heterogeneous styles they combine!
The opening track is “Dance Like a Pink Flamingo” and it gives an up-tempo Glam/Pop Rock 80’s feeling. It is melodic, groovy and sticks in your head. Actually, they performed this song in the Norwegian “Melodi Grand Prix”, an annual music competition that determines the country’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest! This is followed by “All Drinks on Me”, a very interesting mix of Balkan music with some “pirate” passages featuring KORPIKLAANI’s Jonne Järvelä on guest vocals. “Flamongous” is easier to listen to, with a lot of energy in some parts and powerful guitars. The samples used here remind me of the melodies from the video game Super Mario! “Twenty Miles an Hour” delivers a Post Punk rhythm with Crossover Metal, rap and strange vocals, while “The Flamingorilla” is a short composition, with folk elements and a lot of Balkan music. “Flamingo Libre” is a completely different track. It is, compared to the other songs, more accessible to the masses, having a sense of Pop music. The samples used in this song remind me of parts of the music that electronic bands wrote 30 years ago on Commodore 64! This is followed by “Piña Colada”, which offers a nice up tempo metal latin vibe and a beautiful melodic verse. You’ll probably think you’re in Copacabana!! “Rule the Country” gives off a jazzy flavor combined with Balkan Metal and some very harsh vocals. I consider it one of the best tracks of the album. It also has a few samples of children’s animated movies! In “The Way You Earn Your Drinks”, apart from the very harsh vocals we also hear some choir vocals. But after all these happy tracks, there comes “Overlords Have Feelings”, a very fast and powerful song that I consider the highlight of the album. “Bob Benke”, the closing track, is a song without any clear structures and no flow.
Having listened to TROLLFEST’s older releases, I think that “Flamingo Overload” is their best album so far. I consider it a work of art. At some point, I would love to attend one of their concerts, to see how they deliver it live and how much fun they offer. Flamingos are here to stay! The decision is yours…..
Rating: 7,5/10
Editor: Dimitris Argyrakis
Related Link: TROLLFEST – Facebook Page
