Korpiklaani reveals details of new album

Official press release: Finnish traditional folk metal pioneer, Korpiklaani, has revealed initial details on its upcoming 8th studio record, Manala. The band's fourth Nuclear Blast Records release will hit stores on August 14th in North America. Main man, Jonne Järvelä, has issued a statement explaining the concept behind the album's title. "Manala is the realm of the dead - the underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously. This place is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic Kalevala, on which many of our new songs are based. In the 16th poem of Kalevala, Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero travels to Manala to seek for knowledge about the dead. On the journey he meets the ferrywoman (similar to Charon), a girl, Tuonen tytti, or Tuonen piika (Death's maid), who takes him across the river of Tuoni. However, on the isle of Tuoni he is not given the spells he was originally looking for and he barely manages to escape the place. After his return he curses anyone trying to enter the place alive." While these mystical Finnish lyrics may sound intimidating to some, don't worry; Manala will come with a bonus CD, including the whole album with English lyrics.