Finnish folk metal superstars Korpiklaani recently announced the arrival of their upcoming new studio album, “Rankarumpu”, due to be released on April 5th, 2024. Now they have shared the music video for ‘Aita’, the second single off the record.
‘Aita’ keeps up the full-speed-ahead approach from the previous single, ‘Saunaan’. The dizzying pace, a catchy chorus, and a masterful violin/accordion duel make ‘Aita’ an absolutely irresistible tune that bears all trademarks the Finns are universally known and loved for. Folk metal at its best!
Composer Olli Vänskä commented: “‘Aita’ was actually composed as an instrumental track, or that was at least the intention. I sent a demo version to Jonne and when I was asking about it a week later, he told me “hell no!” and gave me the lyrics he wrote. And good lyrics, too! I’m very satisfied with the violin riff and how the folk interlude turned out as well. Lots of interesting stuff happening there!”
Frontman Jonne Järvelä added: “I got a very cool demo song from Olli to which I riffed with a guitar. Then a theme started to form in my head that I transformed into a song that was easy to write words to. In the lyrics, the main person meets an old familiar village man who has been on the road as a journeyman for a long time and returns to his home village. The man asks his friend all sorts of questions about what he has seen around the world, but the journeyman only answers vaguely, but with wise lessons.”
“Rankarumpu”, is once again full of tasty folk metal and its different flavors, but it also offers new spices. Perhaps the ancient gods of joyful music have decided to bless their own sons with some new miraculous extracts?
“Whenever I start writing something new, the material always finds its own path without any forcing – that stuff just comes from somewhere deep inside me, completely naturally“, states Jonne Järvelä.
“Anyway, when I started to come up with the material for “Rankarumpu”, I set myself a goal. A couple of previous records, especially Kulkija (2018), were a bit slower as a whole, so this time I wanted to benefit from a bit faster tempos – a bit like the old Korpiklaani.”

This is exactly what “Rankarumpu” is all about. Of course, Korpiklaani sometimes slows down and gets seriously emotional, but for the most part “Rankarumpu” – as a whole, probably the band’s catchiest album to date – rushes forward at a faster pace.
One of the most wonderful features of “Rankarumpu” is related to the folk instruments. Although Korpiklaani has done one or maybe even a couple of unforgettable things in the realm of folk metal, this time new permanent member Olli Vänskä’s violin and Sami Perttula’s accordion may surprise even die-hard fans.
“Rankarumpu”, like the two previous records, was executed with recording/mixing engineer and producer Janne Saksa. It seems that the collaboration between the band and Saksa has reached a whole new level with “Rankarumpu”.
In addition, Korpiklaani have revealed their massive touring plans for 2024, starting with an extensive UK tour with Alestorm and Heidevolk in February and March, two album release shows in Mexico on April 5th and 6th, followed by a North American tour with Visions Of Atlantis & Illumishade (Featuring members of Eluveitie) in April and May, a good number of big European Summer festivals and a European tour towards the end of the year. Check HERE for all confirmed dates.
