Folk metal veterans KORPIKLAANI have announced three album release party shows for their native Finland in support of their new album, Ukon Wacka. Dates are as follows:

February

9 - Turku, Finland - Klubi
10 - Tampere, Finland - Klubi
26 - Lahti, Finland - Sibelius-talo

Nuclear Blast Records will release Ukon Wacka in Europe on February 4th, 2011. The album will be available in North America on February 25th.

The album (artwork at left) will feature the following tracklisting:

'Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika'

'Päät Pois Tai Hirteen'

'Tuoppi Oltta'

'Lonkkaluut'

'Tequila'

'Ukon Wacka'

'Korvesta Liha'

'Koivu Ja Tähti'

'Vaarinpolkka'

According to the band, Ukon Wacka, or Ukon Vakat, is a pagan sacrificial feast from ancient times, on which a special made beer richly flowed. As can be expected from the title, this album has an ancient and very folky feel and is totally in Finnish. To make the lyrics understandable for non-Finnish people, we will add an English description/translation in the booklet as usual. The album consists of 10 songs, among which you will find a song name 'Tequila', which is especially written for (and inspired by) our South American fans, with whom we celebrated such hard times, and who welcomed us so warmly, when we were touring in South America. Another surprise is the title song, 'Ukon Wacka', in which a special guest features: the famous Finnish singer Tuomari Nurmio! Last but not least features a tribute song ('Päät Pois Tai Hirteen') to the Finnish rock band Peer Günt, a great and underestimated band. We hope and expect that this album will give you as much joy as we had making it; a big folky feast for all!

Below is a video clip featuring behind the scenes footage from the recording sessions for Ukon Wacka:

Following is Korpiklaani's Paganfest 2011 tour schedule, also featuring UNLEASHED, MOONSORROW, VARG, ARAFEL and KIVIMETSÄN DRUIDI:

March

4 - Wien, Austria - Arena
5 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
6 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
7 - Bad Arolsen, Germany - Outback
8 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
9 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
10 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
11 - Geiselwind, Germany - Music Hall **
12 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle **
13 - Tilburg, Netherlands - O13 **
14 - Paris, France - Trabendo
15 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Docks
16 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
17 - Innsbruck, Austria - Hafen
18 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
19 - Linz, Austria - Posthof
20 - Prague, Czech Republic - Abaton
21 - Katowice, Poland - Studio
22 - Budapest, Hungary - WigWam
23 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cvetlicarna Mediapark
24 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
25 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn **
26 - Antwerpen, Bellgium - Hof Ter Loo **
27 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg **

** extended show with special guests ELUVEITIE and HEIDEVOLK)