Hello Temple, here I am with another review for you. This one is "Rotkäppchen" from the Folk Metal band VARG of Germany. 3 years after their last full-length album they are finally bringing us some new material and they are doing it in amazing fashion. On my first run through this EP, I was taken away. Those guys really know how to throw a killer party.

After a few runs through the album, I was getting ready to write this review with comparisons to some other Folk Metal bands like TROLLFEST, ALESTORM and ELUVEITIE. Well, good thing I did some research prior to writing this, because the singers of each of those bands are actually guest stars in this EP with the added bonus of EQUILIBRIUM's guitarist.

The main song of this album is; you guessed it, "Rotkäppchen". From the word of Managarm himself, it has been their go to party song since 2011. They decided to do a proper recording of it and release it has an EP. I'm glad they did since it gave us this beautiful piece. The song has a beat on which you can't resist tapping your foot, and they are serving it to us with a few different sauces.

The following two songs on the album are the only two on this album that aren't versions of "Rotkäppchen"; "Ein Tag Wie Heute" is a typical VARG song that will catch the ears of any long-time fan. It sure did catch mine with an amazing performance on guitar of guest star Dom Cray from EQUILIBRIUM. It is followed by "Abendrot" which is an exclusive song that will only be found on this EP. This is clearly the slowest song on the album even though it still feels like a party song and it is definitely the most melodic song of the lot.

Next up: "Red Riding Hood". This song has the exact same music has the main song, but with the vocals of Christopher Bowes from ALESTORM. He sings the lyric in English, so for those of you who aren't sure what the songs is about; you know which one to listen too. The interpretation of Chris is flawless; he also gives the song his Scottish pirate accent of his that we all love. This is probably my favourite version of the EP.

Right after we get another interpretation of the song called "Rodhette", but this time it is done by Jostein from TROLLFEST. In his popular "trollsprak" language, he gives us his take on the story. I also loved this version; Jostein has a way of gifting us those songs with an energy that is contagious. Managarm was pleased with this version, but couldn't say if the lyrics made any sense due to Jostein's troll language, I have to agree with him on this. Another version you don't want to miss.

Anna Murphy makes an apparition in the version called "Rotkäppchen 2011", where she played her legendary hurdy-gurdy. This was the version played on the Wolfskult tour in 2011. Anna's hurdy-gurdy really blends well with the atmosphere of the song. I particularly enjoyed this version, but it does show that the recording was done a few years ago. It doesn't remove anything from the performance though.

The last two versions of the song on the album are the least interesting. The karaoke version is a gift from the band to anyone out there that wants to record themselves singing "Rotkäppchen". Obviously the band wants to see the result, you can post it on YouTube and they will check it out. The last one I could have done without; it is a 17 minutes long very repetitive acoustic version of the song. You can easily skip this one.

I think this was the most fun album I've reviewed so far. Clearly, these guys are party animals; I almost didn't want to end it since I got to listen to the album about 6-7 times while doing my research. Do yourself a favor and try the new EP from VARG. Whether you like ALESTORM, TROLLFEST, ELUVEITIE, EQUILIBRIUM or simply VARG, you will find your fill with those versions of an amazing song: "Rotkäppchen".