Overkill - Feel the Fire (1985)

A lot of people would probably start a review of this album off by telling a story of how they heard 'Feel the Fire' in their teen years and how it changed their opinions of music and solidified themselves as hardcore thrash metal fans and all that, but Overkill was one of many classic thrash metal bands that I simply missed in my early teen metal years and didn't even hear or really know much about until I was about eighteen years old. I remember in those days randomly coming across their albums, 'Taking Over' & 'Horrorscope' and although liking what I heard musically, for some reason Bobby Ellsworth's vocals somehow put me off. During the past decade I've heard most of the newer recordings from Overkill and generally found them to be enjoyable, yet I'd completely forgotten that the band had a history dating back to the formulative years of thrash metal. However as luck would have it I recently stumbled upon a copy of this debut album of theirs and was honestly blown away with it.

Rotten to the core in '85

Overkill's roots date back to roughly 1980 when a punk band by the name of The Lubricunts folded. This new band who eventually became Overkill began playing punk covers initially, but would in time cover metal classics of the early 80's and finally became a serious unit and started writing their own material and eventually debuted with the 'Power in Black' demo in '83. Another demo and EP would follow in '84, when finally in '85, their debut, 'Feel the Fire' was unleashed through Megaforce Records.

Seven of the songs on this debut were re-recordings from their earlier demos and as such these songs show more of a speed/thrash metal sound rather than the more heavy aggressiveness that would soon enough be associated with the band on, 'Taking Over.' So, in a way a lot of songs are more mid-paced, such is the case with songs like the title track or 'Overkill, perhaps displaying Iron Maiden influences within these songs by the pace and the melodic riffing rather than just full on thrashin' madness like many others were doing at the time. You've also just got to love the fist pumping catchiness of a song like, 'Rotten to the Core' or 'There's no Tomorrow.' Nevertheless, songs like, 'Hammerhead' or 'Blood and Iron,' which were the new songs at the time, are quite fast and hostile with tons of energy and wildness to go around.

There's no denying the massive guitar work of this album and Bobby Gustafson's exceptional skills. Every song has a riff to rouse attention and some of the solos absolutely force the listener to air guitar with mad ferocity. Rat Skates drum work is fair enough, but seems somewhat buried and hollowed due to the lousy production, and the same is the case with the D.D.'s bass guitar, though he does have his moments of brilliance, such as on the beginning of the title track. Of course Bobby's vocals are immense, which is weird that I feel this way when they originally turned me off years and years ago. Surely the man has one of the most powerful voices in metal with his distinctive wails and high pitched screams, and although he'd sound a bit different and more focused on future albums I love his absolutely raw and insane delivery here.

In the end this is quite a massive debut and why Overkill didn't infect and possess me when I was a stupid kid is beyond me, but maybe that's the problem, I was just a stupid kid. In any case, 'Feel the Fire' is an exceptional album that kicked off one of the most enduring and successful thrash metal careers out there.

Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood (2007)

Named after a verse in the bible, Gnaw Their Tongues is the solo endeavor of one Maurice de Jong from Drachten, Netherlands. Formed as far back as 2005, Maurice has been highly prolific over the years releasing no less than seven full-length albums and many, many EPs and split releases as well as a few compilations and singles. Musically existing somewhere between funeral doom, drone, ambient, harsh industrial and a smidgen of black metal, 'An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood' is absolutely one of the darkest, unique and perverse albums I've ever heard.

Gnaw Their Tongues

Through seven songs and forty six minutes of music Maurice takes the listener through an audial gallery of grotesquery, a haunting collection of horror themed synths, trembling ultra heavy guitars, rumbling percussion, harshly screamed vocals, abrasive noise and a shit ton of samples. The overall feeling of the whole record is one of both a very oppressive and insidious atmospheres, but also one that is absolutely haunting and macabre in its delivery.

'Teeth That Leer Like Open Graves' perfectly blends together the projects maniacal nature with portions of the videotaped confession of Dennis Rader, aka 'The BTK killer' as he explains the details of his first murder, the entire Otero family. 'The Sewer Rats of Calcutta' is similarly impressive as it just sounds like a downward spiral straight to hell with a sampled choir and a bawling female voice its just pure horror.

Perhaps a negative quality is that there isn't much in terms of melody, though at times the synths do take on a more melodic character, such is the case with the ending of, 'The Urge To Participate In Butchery.' Generally though the album sticks to a similar formula and whether or not it works is entirely up to the listener and their appreciation towards twisted funeral doom, drone, ambient and industrial related music all coalescing at once.

To date this is the only record I own from Gnaw Their Tongues and although I'm curious to hear more I sort of wonder if the structure has changed over the years. Therefore, I've just stuck to this one and enjoyed it greatly for the past five years. Truly though if you seek something a bit different, challenging and utterly creepy sounding then give this one a shot.

Belial - Never Again (1993/2010)

As much as I love Finnish metal and the many diverse and interesting acts that have arisen during the past 20+ years, I've really come to realize in recent times that their early death metal scene has sort of always got the shaft, in favor of their more melodic or black metal acts. Despite some recent re-releases of Abhorrence and Funebre material a lot of these old greats are still but lost gems, fortunately Belial's classic and debut full-length, 'Never Again' was finally made available again back in 2010.

Originally released through Lethal Records in '93, nearly two decades later the album was finally re-released though Galgenstrang/Funeral Industries, limited to 1000 copies and with totally new cover art, though I tend to prefer the original - a large breasted naked woman holding an inverted cross over spread open legs. Let Jesus fuck you indeed.

Belial

This Oulu based band has a history that dates back to '91 when the original 'The Gods of the Pit' demo was unleashed and sold out its 500 copies quickly and solidifying their cult status in the underground. The 'Wisdom of Darkness' EP followed in '92, however the departure of guitarist Jukka Valppu around the same time triggered a change in direction for Belial.

'Never Again' opens with a bizarre and melodic synth piece called 'Firestorm,' with underlining beats it seems as if this can't be death metal, but soon enough the first bulldozing riff, rapid drums and snarly barking vocals hit the listener. 'The Red One' continues in a bit of different direction with a more rockin' vibe and enough groove to make it utterly catchy, whereas, 'Dragons Kiss/Swan Song' is another calm synth piece with a heavenly melody for the next three minutes. 'As Above So Below' has a more straightforward death metal approach, but still has this strange backing synth melody, while 'The Sun' is more mid-paced, memorable and again highly groove orientated. The album continues oddly, often times shifting between these more mid-paced groovy and melodic sections with backing keyboards to the bands original death/black metal fusion. An interesting observation within both the middle and ending of 'Pain-Flood' also reveals a guitar/synth combo similarity to the keys used in the Burzum song, 'Dunkelheit,' and while I wont speculate on whether or not Varg ripped this off, but the fact is that this album was out at least two and half years before 'Filosofem.'

Jarno Koskinen's vocals are also a topic of interest since to my ears they sound very, very similar to that snarly waspish voice that Mikaakim used on the first Impaled Nazarene album, 'Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz.' Curiously the Imp Naz connection runs further than that as guitarist Jarno Anttila, bassist Jani Lehtosaari and drummer Reima Kellokoski would all serve time within their camp, the later of which is still with them.

'Never Again is an oddity of an album and its not one that will click into place immediately either. The strange tempo shifts and just general diversity is something to accept and really sink in before it all makes sense. Fortunately give the album 3-4 spins or even listen to the songs on an individual basis and it becomes clear soon enough as to how original this one is. Simply put few albums have such a mixture of black/death elements with such groove, catchiness and even death 'n' roll characteristics as 'Never Again' does.

Belial would go on to release one more album in '95, simply titled '3,' which has radically different material in a gothic/punk rock vein, or so I've read. Apparently three of the members also had a grunge rock band called Autumnfire around the same time too.

Algaion - Oimai Algeiou (1995)

Correct spelling. Re-release?

I've liked Algaion since I first heard them, a single track somewhere in 1995, probably either on the Finnish radio show "Metalliliitto" or as a filler track on one of the tapes from my trading comrades. I don't remember what the track was either but I'm quite sure it was from this debut full length of theirs. The thing that put them apart from the other Swedish black metal bands of the time and drew my attention on the first listen was the heavy influences they took from the Greek school of black metal, particularly Rotting Christ, Varathron and Thou Art Lord, evident in not only their sound and music but whole concept.

[Note: Full Moon Productions managed to mistitle the cover, 'Oimai Algaion' while it was supposed to be, 'Oimai Algeiou.' I'm not sure which versions have the mistake and which ones have the title corrected, I'd presume the later ones were fixed.]

The CD starts with an atmospheric, martial intro courtesy of Fredrik Söderlund of Octinomos/Puissance who is also a session member on the album credited for keyboards and drums... which are, true to the early 90's Greek BM-influences, programmed a.k.a. drum machine. This is one of the factors that divided the opinions on this album back in the day as some of the reviewers absolutely loathed programmed drums (except if it was Mysticum where they had to like them). I admit, having live drums on the later releases is an improvement but personally I have no problem with the machine here, the programming is good enough and as I associate the album with both the early Greek releases and the Infortunium circle of Swedish bands I think it fits here. The drum sound could be slightly less prominent though.

The metal tracks are all generally quite fast paced, melodic and as mentioned to a fault, Greek influences abound. However, the (early) Abyss Studio sound, some of the riffing and the extreme screaming vocals give the music a more varied character. The vocals deserve further attention as they were another point to divide opinions, Mårten's main vocals are heavily echoed hateful, at times demented, screams and howls. Not as extreme as for example early Sorhin vocals were but certainly notable in their ferocity and recognizable at least for me. The heavy echo got criticism back in the day and it was mostly dropped on the follow up but I like it. There are some sparingly used backing vocals done by Mikael Österberg (on "In Aede Dolorium") and Elisabet Magnusson whose contribution to the epic length "The Last Delusion" is almost essential. Another satisfying facet of the sound is the audible bass parts, I really enjoy its sound too.

Incorrect spelling. I've got this version.

Besides hateful aggression the music channels feelings of melancholy, pessimism and misanthropy. Good times. Standout tracks for me would be, if I pick three, 'Kratos,' 'In Aede Dolorium' and 'The Last Delusion' - which also happen to be the longest tracks with their durations of 8:21, 7:19 and 12:18. I admit, 'The Last Delusion' could perhaps be a little more compact but I think the length and repetition are necessary. None of the seven tracks really feel indifferent or filler to me. So whatever others might say this is one of my favorite albums from the time and I recommend you to give it a chance if you can imagine yourself listening to an album that sounds like a mix between Octinomos' debut and circa 1993 Rotting Christ/Thou Art Lord.

The later Algaion material is also worth checking out, including the latest album, 'ΕΧΘΡΟΣ' - even if you don't get this one.

Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (1986)

After the relentless, brutal and insane, but somewhat immature and not entirely satisfying debut, 'Endless Pain,' the three young German thrashers known as Kreator tightened up their craft and returned with 'Pleasure to Kill' in '86. Generally viewed as one of the bands finest outputs as well as a thrash classic and a early and highly influential entry in the developing death metal genre, 'Pleasure to Kill' is an immense album and one of my favorites of the genre.

The album opens with the sounds of wind and a distant guitar slowly making its appearance in 'Choir of the Damned,' and as the soft acoustics and keyboards rear outward it seems at first that this is going to be a fun and inviting experience, but then 'Ripping Corpse' attacks and the real killing begins. With a simple tremolo riff that has an underlining since of dread within it, this song alone shows a serious increase in speed and skill in comparison to the debut, but the debauchery only continues with, 'Death is your Savior' before arriving on the title track. 'Pleasure to Kill' has stood the test of time as one of the most badass songs ever wrote with a shit ton of pummeling riffs and a mid-point solo that absolutely kills, as well one of the best chorus' ever and that low grumbled voice near the end could very well be one of the earliest examples of nowadays typical death metal vocals.

Tasting the blood from your lips as you die!

'Riot of Violence' is a much more mid-paced thrasher that is utterly catchy and just perfectly placed after such a pulverizing song. 'The Pestilence' follows and although sounding harmless enough at first the band unleashes the hellstorm for this lengthy (nearly seven minute) song, that has an absolutely crushing instrumental part as well I find Mille's raspy voice to really stand out here since it just feels like he's screaming directly at me. 'Carrion' is decent enough though it was never a big hit with me, while 'Command Of The Blade' and 'Under The Guillotine' end the album perfectly with the sort of lacerating terror that only Kreator could possibly deliver.

'Pleasure to Kill' is a mighty affair that shows drastic improvement over the debut and although this record is nearing thirty years of age it really doesn't show it at all, save for perhaps the quiet overall volume, but that was typical for the era. Despite that the production is fairly decent, organic in a way, with the bass standing out well amongst the guitars while the drums plow along nicely making the whole entire recording sound as if its unfolding right before you. Its also worth mentioning that not a single member of the band was over twenty years old when it was released either, which just shows how hungry and passionate these guys were to be a part of the thriving 80's thrash metal scene.

I'd have to imagine that the autumn of 1986 was a fun year for thrashers with records like 'Reign in Blood,' 'Darkness Descends' 'Morbid Visions' and 'Pleasure to Kill' all being released during that season. A shame I was only five years old at the time. Nevertheless thrash metal never dies and Kreator will forever rule!

Funebre - Children of the Scorn (1991/2004)

Funebre was a short lived band from Turku, Finland who among Abhorrence, Xysma and Belial were more than likely the very first death metal band to rise out of Finland having formed as early as 1988. From '89 through '90 they released two demos and an EP before releasing their debut, 'Children of the Scorn' through Spinefarm Records, which happened to be just the second album on the label too. Personally I own this 2004 re-release, which has an alternate cover as well as the aforementioned two demos included.

Funebre

Barring the much more custom atmospheric intro track, Funebre brings on the punishment early as 'Waiting for Arrival' plows out of my speakers in that classic early 90's death metal style we (well, most of us) know so well before moving towards a doom-death metal sound and back again. If truth must be spoken Funebre had a darker sounding approach though they still crafted frantic remorseless death metal, which may very well have influenced both Incantation and Immolation as well as hordes of others. The occasional inclusion of sound effects are also present to add a chilling sense to their work, as well a few flashy solos, which shred pretty hard, but may very well been influenced by producer Timo Tolkki's presence and some thrashier parts are to be found on this record that up the intensity and make things all the more crazy. Keyboards are also included to enhance the darkened mood further and are used fully as an interlude on the song, 'Spirits Bewail.'

Both guitarists have a heavily distorted and nasty tone to their weapons that attack relentlessly throughout this ten song thirty eight minute album, while the drummer shows off his moves quite well and doesn't rely entirely on blastbeats to get the job done. Even with the old school production the bass guitar is still decently heard and even has a few moments of rumbling brilliance while the vocalist unleashes guttural roars that were definitely among the most brutal at the time.

The demo material, although slightly rough in production, shows a band trying to figure out their sound, but even through these eight songs we see a band with a lot of promise, which was obviously fulfilled by '91. Curiously Funebre seems far more chaotic during their demo days and the vocals are even more deep.

Although Funebre has their status as the first or one of the first Finnish death metal bands it seems like they've always been in the shadows and that could be because the album wasn't re-released until 2004 or simply because not a single member of this band went on to other projects. Nevertheless, 'Children of the Scorn' is an enjoyable dosage of early 90's death metal and since the album was re-released again last year it should be fairly easy to track down.

Satanic Warmaster - Strength and Honour (2001/2007)

For over a decade now Satanic Warmaster has been the black metal vessel of one Lauri "Satanic Tyrant Werwolf" Penttilä from Lappeenranta, Finland. Largely (although joined occasionally by others) SW has been the solo adventure of Lauri through tons of EPs, splits and four full-length albums, 'Strength and Honour' in particular being his first and also generally seen as his finest output.

Originally released in 2001 through Northern Heritage Records, 'Strength and Honour' has since been re-pressed three times, this 2007 version essentially being the ultimate version since it comes remastered as well contains the, 'Marsch Zu Neuen Zeitaltern' demo, which is Lauri's NS themed side project, Blutrache.

The Werwolf stalks his prey

Musically Satanic Warmaster delivers raw and honest old school black metal the way its meant to be played. From the get go the production is noticeably under produced and totally underground, though all the instruments (save for the bass) are easily heard. Lauri makes full usage of the buzz-saw guitar effect here and the riffs completely lacerate and maim too. There's a great deal of variance within his playing and while one might simply expect the repetitive tremolo riff technique that's simply not the case as the riffs have a sense of deep beauty buried within them as well as the more typical evil, melancholic and mysterious tones that black metal is known for. The drumming is mostly made of simple beats that keep the rhythm well enough though there's also plenty of blasting and some interesting parts during the breakdown-ish moments as well while keyboards also have a presence on a few songs though they simply linger in the background and build upon the hypnotic atmosphere.

The vocals are one of the stronger points on this album as Lauri howls, croaks and generally sounds as if he's in absolute pain as he rasps loudly away, especially take notice of his long winded shriek at the end of, 'Night Of Retribution.' The whole album (even the bonus material) plays out magnificently well with the right level of black metal malevolence to keep me bellowing for more and more. I generally find all of the songs to be quite outstanding too with 'Raging Winter,' 'Der Schwarze Orden' and the much more rockin' 'Legion Werewolf to be the albums absolute high points.

I don't suppose Satanic Warmaster is original in many ways, but it feels like Lauri channeled the finest moments of vintage Darkthrone, Graveland and Mutiilation through his own superior song writing and great musicianship and came up with quite a masterpiece, which obviously has been a favorite for many listeners for over a decade now. Your ears deserve 'Strength and Honour' and since I've shamefully neglected this band for entirely too long I think its about time I finally start filling my shelf with Satanic Warmaster releases.

Audrey Horne - No Hay Banda (2005)

When it comes to buying stuff off of eBay I really like to hunt for the bargains. My interest in Audrey Horne derived from the fact that some of the members here are involved in the bands Sahg and Enslaved, but also simply because I won this album for one single cent, still wrapped, brand spankin' new. Not bad.

Audrey Horne is a Norwegian band featuring both Tom Cato Visnes and Thomas Tofthagen from Sahg, Herbrand Larsen and Arve Isdal from Enslaved all filling their usual roles as well as the lesser known Kjetil Greve on drums and Toschie handling the vocals. The name Audrey Horne is taken from Sherilyn Fenn's character in the TV series, "Twin Peaks," which means they're enthusiasts of the overrated garbage that is David Lynch films, but I'll spare you that rant for now.

Audrey Horne: Norwegian Rockers

Musically these guys break away greatly from their metal roots and deliver some sort of heavy alternative rock with a bit of a 90's grunge vibe to it. Influences seem to range from stuff like Alice in Chains, Tool, A Perfect Circle and Stone Temple Pilots, and as much as I hate to say it it feels like some Staind or Foo Fighters characteristics can be found too, but that might just be me hearing this within their sound. All of the songs, even the hard rocking ones, carry a bit of a moody character to them with a good sense of melodicism and catchiness with lyrics centered around life, relationships and death, though I couldn't tell you if the lyrics have any special connection to Twin Peaks.

Arve and Thomas both hammer out some decent and often times memorable riffs as well Arve rips a classic solo here and there too, while Herbrand's keyboards float atmospherically in the background, Tom's bass lingers alongside and Kjetil's drum work is perfectly suited for this sort of music. Toschie (aka Torkjell Rød) is one of the stronger points on this record since he's able to convey a numbers of emotions through his vocal work and has a great range and depth to his voice.

'Confessions & Alcohol' really stands as the albums highpoint as an amazingly catchy, darkly themed song with superb vocals and a great solo too, while 'Blackhearted Visions' is just a straightforward hard hitting rock song. 'Airsupply' is also quite good with something of an old Stone Temple Pilots flow to it as well 'Deathhorse' is really good and for whatever reason reminds me of Katatonia around the 'Tonight's Decision' era. 'Bleed' is quite passable too with a great deal of emotion and heart poured into it. I generally find that the whole album plays out quite nicely and flows well with none of the songs really being bad, but not everyone stands out strongly. Perhaps its just because its not the sort of hard rock I usually go for, or its just a sign that I immerse myself in too much heavy metal. Who knows.

In the end, 'No Hay Banda' is a decent record, and perhaps a choice to consider if you need a break from the heavier stuff, though I'm sort of saying that based off the fact that I paid for the album with pocket change and the hope that whomever is reading this has some appreciation for 90's alternative rock.

Tyranny - Bleak Vistae (2004)

I tend to really enjoy this time of the year. Its when the ungodly warm summer heat finally begins to lessen, the days get shorter and the thought that autumn is nearing is always a plus too. This has always traditionally been the time of the year where I tend to slip into one of my moods of gloom and pretty much listen to just black and doom metal and other darker forms of music until the winter passes. Finnish funeral doom masters, Tyranny, are definitely a great band to start the season with.

Formed in Lahti, Finland by Matti Mäkelä & Lauri Lindqvist (both members of Wormphlegm) in 2001, 'Bleak Vistae' was the bands first release, via Firebox Records. Although just three songs in total this EP is almost forty five minutes in length and features some of the most soul crushingly heavy funeral doom I've personally ever heard.

Tyranny: Dirge of Agony

As the first riffs of 'Passing Through Ague' leave my stereo speakers its clear right from the start that these two are about to take me on a melancholic and overwhelmingly heavy journey. Tyranny uses a lead guitar over the rumbling pulverizing rhythm guitar, which creates a very agonizingly dark atmosphere, which I don't seem to recall many other funeral doom bands using. The riffs of course are utterly painful and creepy in their slow plodding form and the occasional usage of some backing synths only enhances the mood further. The vocals are performed in a utterly low guttural manner, though they are different than your average death metal vocals simply because they tend to lack a since of enthusiasm and just sound forlorn, almost as if the vocalist is slowly dying. The drummer mostly sticks to just striking the cymbals and toms throughout the entire recording and at no point is there any double bass or really anything fast or heavy about them.

I'm sure some people could argue and say this EP or this genre in general is very boring, because frankly there isn't much diversity throughout this recording, but it has such a richly grim and despondent mood that it becomes trance like after just one song and pulls you in and doesn't let go until its finished. 'Bleak Vistae' feels like an upcoming storm, slowly building to something grander, but as the EP comes to its close the last few minutes are nothing more than dark ambiance, perhaps the final sign of life before death...

In Slaughter Natives - Enter Now the World (1992)

When I first heard In Slaughter Natives, eight or nine years ago, this band and album served as my introduction to the martial industrial genre, which at the time would become quite a fascination of mine. Formed by sole member Jouni Havukainen in the late 80's, ISN would go on to release four albums by '96, but then disappear until '04 when, 'Resurrection' was released and has since then mostly been quiet other than the occasional re-release of old material or live performance. I'm generally a huge fan of everything he's released, but '92's, 'Enter Now the World' has always been the most outstanding to me.

To describe ISN with words alone will by no means do them justice, especially if you've never heard the sub-genre or if you think industrial music is EBM or some crap like Nine Inch Nails. Generally most albums followed a formula of blending heavy electronics, martial percussion, religious chants, orchestral samples and distorted vocals. On this particular release the whole entire album carries a very apocalyptic and bombastic sort of feeling to it with a strong desolate post-war sort of ambiance underneath it all.

In Slaughter Natives in the early 90's

The songs on this release are quite diverse as some are fast and aggressive while others lean more towards the dark ambient side of things. Songs like 'Sacred Worms' or 'To Mega Therion' have a more active approach mixed with heavy percussion, samples of guns, bombs, various voices, freakish synths and a choir of some sort in the background, whereas a song like, 'Beauty and Bleed' has somewhat of a more straightforward ambient sound to it, while 'Temple Of Flesh And Metal' is ritualistic ambient perfection. I also adore the oppressive and creepy nature of the song, 'Saducismus Triumphatus' or the calamitous feeling running through, 'Total Decay' and the absolutely haunted vibes in 'Human Ashes' are really something too. All ten songs on the album are quite good, but the song 'Skin Sore Eyes' is stunning with its chilling, orchestral and military sound, plus there’s also the usage of both male and female vocals on this one.

The album flows adequately throughout its forty plus minute duration and in a short while can really start to affect your senses and transport your mind to some dark world stricken with war and disease. When the dust clears and bodies remain silent, 'Enter Now the World' proves to be a very influential album, with its characteristics showing not just in other ambient and industrial related bands, but also within various heavy metal sub-genres. Truly recommended for anyone into dark music of any genre.

Impaled Nazarene - Suomi Finland Perkele (1994)

I've pretty much always been of the opinion that Impaled Nazarene didn't really find their true sound until their sophomore release, 'Ugra-Karma.' The bands debut, 'Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz' certainly had its moments, but was generally just a little too varied and really weird at times to make it a thoroughly enjoyable experience, but then again its been years since I sold it or even heard the album for that matter. By the time they released their third album, 'Suomi Finland Perkele' '94 it felt like Mika, Kimmo, Taneli and Jarno had really found their path and matured greatly.

Imp Naz in '94: Ready for war

The albums opens with the group shouting, "Suomi Finland Perkele" and proceeding through a militant and dramatic intro piece before landing on the hard hitting, 'Vitutuksen Multihuipennus,' but things quickly slow down for the twisted tale of love that is, 'Blood Is Thicker Than Water.' With a catchy bass riff and melodic lead guitar and a sense of underlining melancholy, its easily one of Imp Naz's most memorable songs, while the first half of 'Total War - Winter War' is a cover of industrial terrorists, NON, but the second half blasts onwards with lyrics detailing Finland's trashing of the Russian's during World War II. 'Quab/The Burning' again tones the speed down in favor of a slight doomier approach and 'Kuolema Kaikille (Paitsi Meille)' is fifty second romp through grindier pastures, whereas, 'Let's Fucking Die' is a much more punk influenced and really fun song about doing drugs and overdosing with a killer bass solo to boot. 'Genocide' & 'Ghettoblaster' are just full on, speedy numbers while the eleventh and last song, 'The Oath Of The Goat' is more mid-paced and fairly epic in character and ends with a repeated loop of the words, "Suomi Finland Perkele" once again.

The most common version of this album nowadays is the 2001 re-release, which comes with the 'Motörpenis' EP as bonus tracks. Consisting of just five songs in eight minutes, this EP is Impaled Nazarene at their most punkiest with songs like the title track and 'Whore' being amusing little numbers, while the three remaining songs are all covers of punk bands, I especially dig, 'S/M Party' & 'Transvestite.' That's right mother fucker!

'Suomi Finland Perkele' has stood the test of time as one of Impaled Nazarene's strongest and most diverse recordings with audible and catchy bass lines, plenty of melodic riffs, varying speeds and tempos, a rounded out and more engaging vocal performance and just in general a great bunch of songs.

Destruction - Sentence of Death (1984)

Man, those big poofy 80's thrash metal afro's that bands like Slayer, Sepultura and Destruction all seemed to have in their early years sure do kick ass. As well with the spandex, gauntlets, upside down crosses and enough armory to make their knees buckle with the weight it was clear these Teutonic thrashers were out to make a difference and to be heard. I'm sure it not only raised an eyebrow or two, but also brought a grin to certain folks faces, nevertheless nearly thirty years later and there's still bands new and old with a similar or dead on look.

Destruction's history dates back to roughly '82 when the band was formed in Weil am Rhein, Baden-Württemberg, Germany by guitarist Mike Sifringer, drummer Tommy Sandmann and bassist/vocalist Schmier. In the summer of '84 the 'Bestial Invasion of Hell' demo tape was released followed quickly by the bands debut EP, 'Sentence of Death.'

Destruction in '84: Graveyard sluts

Musically these three krauts unleash some highly impressive and energetic thrash metal that was just a bit beyond their peers, though not nearly as dark and aggressive as Sodom or Kreator. There's no denying the intricacy of Mike's riffs and his technical solos, especially those within, 'Satan's Vengeance' & 'Devil's Soldiers,' which pretty much results in mandatory head banging and air guitaring with each listen. Most of the riffs also have something of an epic character to them, perhaps drawing from the same pool of influence that Metallica used on, 'Kill 'em All,' but they feel sped up and and are for the most part far more deadlier. Perhaps a weaker point of the album is that the production and general lower volume of the whole recording does tend to hinder things a bit, but most of that can be cured by just turning the volume up higher so those massive riffs, sharp solos, bolting drums and raspy screams can be fully heard.

Although I've known the Destruction name for years I didn't hear anything from the band until 2001 when 'The Antichrist' was released and the whole thrash revival thing started to take shape. I remember buying, 'Cracked Brain' around that same time and hating it and pretty much not bothering with vintage Destruction from there on. Several more years would pass without me ever bothering to explore the bands past until a curious day when I found the bands third album, 'Release from Agony' on white vinyl for a mere $5, which I reckon carries a much higher price tag on eBay. It wasn't long afterwards that I snagged a copy of this EP, which also came with the 'Infernal Overkill' debut album.

Much like the early material from Sodom, Kreator, Bathory and Celtic Frost, 'Sentence of Death' is pretty much essential to those that are curious about extreme metals roots, specially the black metal genre. Destruction deserves a place on your CD shelf, as well as a patch on your metalvest!

Insomnium - Since the Day It All Came Down (2004)

If you go back to my Insomnium review from earlier this year than you may recall how I was a bit of a late comer to this Finnish melodic death metal bands discography and although I certainly could have bought all their albums by now I've taken it slow. Mostly because my own personal tastes have largely been more centered around older releases, but also because I've wanted to really absorb everything the band has to offer and its paid off listening to their music slowly and discovering new and interesting traits each time.

'Since the Day It All Came Down' is the bands second album and although similar, it seems like a great deal of growth and development exists over this and their debut, 'In the Halls of Awaiting.' Opening with a piano/synth pieced called, 'Nocturne,' the band immediately plows into 'The Day It All Came Down' with mid-paced heavily melodic guitars and a greater deal of progressiveness within their sound. While this song and the following do tend to offer a lot of the same core elements it feels like this album is slightly faster, has more acoustic parts and the atmosphere and overall performance are improved too.

Insomnium: Melo death saviors

An aspect that really sticks out on this release are the calmer acoustic progressive tinged parts, especially those in, 'The Moment Of Reckoning' or 'Death Walked The Earth,' which to me sound distinctively Opeth in character, though honestly far better and more engaging than anything those Swedes were coming up with at the same time. The leads are incredible in this record too, the beginning and basically all of 'Bereavement' is simply gorgeous, likewise 'Daughter Of The Moon' is breathtaking, as well various parts of, 'Disengagement' simply make the hairs on the back of my neck rise up. Some people have said that, 'Resonance' feels like a rip off of Opeth's, 'For Absent Friends, which is fine, but overlooks the simple fact that Insomnium does it better.

The aforementioned, 'Death Walked The Earth' is my personal favorite and a song I didn't even take notice of until 5 or 6 different spins into this record. Opening with a catchy and headbanging riff, the first couple of minutes of the song are just solid well wrote melo death, but at about the half way point an acoustic break with heavy progressive flavor chimes in and takes the song to territories of inescapable beauty and melancholy and eventually returns to heavier ground with one of the most memorable but sorrowful riffs I've ever heard in a melo death song. Generally though each song has something special, be it a certain riff or acoustic part the whole album is nearly perfect and flows entirely well throughout its eleven song fifty three minute duration.

Even as I am now only familiar with two Insomnium releases I tend to view these guys as melodic death saviors, simply because Insomnium's debut in 2002 marked the official end of the old kings in Sweden, especially In Flames who once reigned supreme before becoming predictable, lame and utterly boring music makers already two years earlier. Their divergence also seemed to mark the inclusion of awful metalcore, nu metal and other trend shit within a once great genre and spawned an act like, Sonic Syndicate, whom in case you didn't know sucks enormous amounts of male cock. Fortunately nowadays through five records, which I all hope to be excellent, Insomnium has kept real melodic death alive and expanded it even further.

I suppose its a bit odd sporadically checking out a band that's so far blown me away through two releases, but its allowed me to really get the most out of their music and lyrics, whereas sometimes I'll simply take a bands whole discography in within a month or two. 'Since the Day It All Came Down' is definitely worth checking out, likewise I look forward to seeing what the band comes up with on their third release, 'Above the Weeping World.'

Hexvessel - Dawnbearer (2011)

Hexvessel has turned out to be one of those weird bands that just sort of slithered its way into my life by accident. I guess in this case a friend simply posted a song to me and at the time I was having something of a flash of love for all things trippy and bizarre from the 60's and early 70's and perhaps it was just good timing, but I was instantly immersed in the strange world that is, 'Dawnbearer.' Hexvessel was formed in 2009 by Dødheimsgard and Code vocalist, Mat “Kvohst” McNerney after he moved to Finland and was joined by musicians from the bands Galacticka and Dark Buddha Rising. Musically a fusion of all things strange and weird from the 60's/70's with nature, pagan mysticism, folklore and the occult, Hexvessel's sound is a diverse selection of folky psychedelia unlike anything else I've heard before.

Hexvessel: David Tibet approved

'Invocation Summoning' has a distinctive 60's vibe to it with a ritualistic underscore, that's absolutely unique to my ears and coupled with incredible vocals it makes for quite an interesting start to this album. 'Heart Of The Mind World' is somewhat more lighthearted and straightforward, but retains that vivid psychedelia, whereas, 'Scarlet Cassocks' is just a simple instrumental with lightly plucked acoustics and violin. 'The Death Knell Tolls' has an almost playful vibe to it despite the grim lyrics, while 'I Am The Ritual' has some of the strongest ritualistic and creepy characteristics the album has to offer. Songs like, 'A Cabalist Under The Gallows' & 'Radiant Transcendent' seem to follow a very similar and calm nature based theme, though, 'Wayward Confessor' has these spooky traits that make it feel like the perfect campfire song. 'Solomon's Song' stands out with its odd sort of medieval balladry too. Throughout the albums fifteen songs it jumps all around though, but through strong and sometimes catchy song writing and generally fantastic vocals the whole album remains consistent and engaging.

'Dawnbearer' isn't going to hit home with everyone, but I think fans of both modern and vintage psychedelic folk and even neo folk will find something to love on this album. Its seems Mat has been busy recently too, having released the 'Vainolainen' EP back in the spring and more recently the second full length album, 'No Holier Temple.' I guess I've got some catching up to do.

Watain - Opus Diaboli (2012)

As their first foray into film making, 'Opus Diaboli,' specifically acts as both a live concert celebration of the bands 13th anniversary as well as an artistic insight into the world, background and the lives of Swedish black metal icons, Watain. Available in both a standard fold-out digipak DVD case with audio CDs of the entire performance in Stockholm on that unholy night of November 4th, 2011 its also available as a very limited vinyl box set, which would have been my ideal choice, but I didn't seem to act quick enough in obtaining one. Nevertheless the standard packaging is exceptional and additionally comes with a booklet that has many unseen photos, the story of the bands origins, old gig flyers and tour dates.

Watain: Ye Sons of Fire

The DVD opens in a rather artsy manner quickly taking the viewer on a pilgrimage to another world of sorts, showcasing ritualistic footage, fire, fans, nature, cityscapes and the band both offstage and on, while band leader and dark soul, Erik Danielsson, welcomes the brave soul to their world. This eventually leads to the concert where during the intro the band takes the stage brandishing flaming torches and prepares themselves and the audience for the live ritual that is Watain. Having seen the band onstage a few months ago I can confirm that it is a ritual in itself and its one that should be taken even if you're one of the underground weirdos that feel that the band has sold out, despite the simple fact that they create and perform black metal far better than most. After the intro the band breaks into, 'Malfeitor' with full force to an excited, although reserved, Stockholm crowd. The previously mentioned artsier footage and select cuts from the gig are intermingled with portions of an interview with Erik where he explains the concept, symbols, origins and future of Watain.

The live footage brings me back to my own Watain experience a few months ago with a stage decked out in both Anti-Christian and grim Satanic imagery as well as tons of fire to boot. Only nine songs are featured from the gig, although the actual show was thirteen songs strong, including favorites, such as; 'Devil's Blood,' 'Reaping Death,' 'Stellarvore,' 'On Horns Impaled' and a cover of the Bathory classic, 'A Fine Day to Die.' I wouldn't have mind seeing, 'Legions of the Black Light' or 'Puzzles ov Flesh,' but it wasn't meant to be. In any case the audio, visual and performance quality reaches an outstanding and powerful height that most bands, black metal or other would never be able to touch, thus in my honest opinion solidifying Watain's worth and magnetism within the genre.

There's quite a bit to experience through this live ritual/documentary and I'm not about to give it all away, but know well that 'Opus Diaboli' is more than just your average gig DVD, but rather an invitation to their world and perhaps beyond and into the unknown.

"Higher! Higher!Let's set the night on FIRE!"

Holy Terror - Terror and Submission (1987)

Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986 by Kurt Kilifelt after his departure from Agent Steel, Holy Terror's debut, 'Terror and Submission' is a greatly overlooked aggressive thrash/speed metal gem from '87, released through Combat Records.

Holy Terror was a bit different in style compared to say, Metallica, Slayer or Exodus, as they had a fair balance between fast, hostile and crushing thrash metal and a more melodic mid-paced guitar driven sound that at least to my ears sounded different by 1987 thrash standards. 'Black Plague' opens calmly enough, but after a demonic voice and light ambiance Kurt Kilfelt and Mike Alvord's pounding riffs hit hard rendering the listener nearly unconscious with killer, though somewhat strange leads, while Keith Deen's vocals are delivered in a harsh wailing sort of tone. 'Evil's Rising' is somewhat slower in overall speed, but makes up for it with a very catchy chorus as well as some breathtaking solos and grand melodicism throughout, whereas, 'Blood of the Saints' opens mid-paced, but unleashes all the fury around the minute mark with a cascade of brilliant riffs and once again boasts a memorable chorus and sharp solo.

Holy Terror: Cool and calm thrashers

'Mortal Fear' curiously kicks off with a stolen Iron Maiden riff, but charges onwards at a fast pace, while, 'Guardians of the Netherworld' is much more mid-paced with an old school heavy metal vibe to it. My favorite song however is, 'Distant Calling,' as it starts out destructive, but within a few seconds the listener is hit with a beautiful and mighty fetching melodic lead and some of Deen's best and more focused singing as well yet again this one is not really a thrash song, but nevertheless is incredibly catchy throughout its duration. The following three songs are all great too, especially the title track and the albums closer, 'Alpha Omega - The Bringer of Balance.' A total thrashers paradise!

'Terror and Submission' is definitely a classic, that's generally fast and hard hitting without sacrificing great song writing or talent, though its one that seems to have been somewhat forgotten in history, perhaps since the band was finished by 1989 when they relocated to Seattle and decided to play punk rock under the Shark Chum monicker instead. Nevertheless both their debut and sophomore album, 'Mind Wars' have seen re-released through three different labels, which means it should be easy enough to track them down. Do it!

Dismember - Like an Ever Flowing Stream (1991)

After Michael Amott accepted an offer to play in Carcass and thus disbanded, Carnage, Fred Estby, David Blomqvist and Matti Kärki reformed Dismember who had previously only lasted a year and during which they unleashed the 'Dismembered' and 'Last Blasphemies' demo tapes in the late 80's. Starting with the 'Reborn in Blasphemy' tape in August of 1990, Dismember was soon joined by Richard Cabeza and Robert Sennebäck and in March of 1991 in Sunlight Studios one of the most classic and best examples of Swedish Death Metal was recorded, namely, 'Like an Ever Flowing Stream.'

Continuing where Entombed began a year earlier, 'Like an Ever Flowing Stream' had far more aggression, speed, flow and just overall brutalism, which eclipsed, 'Left Hand Path,' though my love for both albums still remains equal. Opening with the sounds of rain and a distant but impending thunderous doom, 'Override Of The Overture' ceremoniously announces Dismembers inclusion to the death metal realm with this pummeling headbanging beast of an opener. The raw chainsaw guitar tone is fully in place here as well its quite simply a perfect example of the Sunlight Studios production from start to finish.

Dismember in '91: Death Metal Murderers

The album blasts onwards with songs like, 'Soon to be Dead' & 'Bleed for Me,' though in particular I'm quite fond of 'Dismembered' and 'Skin her Alive' with their over the top brutality and speed, which was unheard of within the Swedish Death Metal scene at the time. 'Sickening Art' and the 8th and final song, 'In Death's Sleep' are equally powerful, in fact I just love the ominous lead in the middle of the former, while the latter starts out slowly, almost doom-ish with a spoken part, but builds and builds with a beautiful solo to eventually a pulverizing death metal number. The re-release of the album also has four bonus tracks, which I guess were simply extra songs, but one of them happens to be, 'Torn Apart,' which is an old Carnage song. Personally I still enjoy the original Carnage version best, but there's no denying this cover-ish version of it either.

The flow and drive behind this album is really something. From Matti's guttural roars to Fred's relentless blasting energy on the drums and of course David, Richard and Robert's riff work is immaculate, skilled, barbarous, headbangable and even epic at times, 'Like an Ever Flowing Stream' is simply awesome!

The album and its lyrics are also a subject of offensive material, at least in '91 the British customs office thought so after opening a package from Nuclear Blast and being grossly offended by the band photos, song titles and lyrical content. Eventually in the summer of '92 the band appeared before a judge in England, charged with spreading obscene material, but the judge soon realized how absurd the whole case was and Dismember was released from all charges, but their video was banned from TV, because of the bloody content.

Over twenty years later and 'Like an Ever Flowing Stream' is still by far one of the finest gems to come out of the Swedish Death Metal scene as well as just simply a masterpiece of death metal. No second is wasted, no part of this record is boring. Dismember created death metal perfection with this one. A must own.

Hammer Open Air 2012

The third Hammer Open Air metal festival was held on the 20th and 21st of July 2012, around the same time as the previous year but at a new location. The first two took place at Ilmaristen Metsäpirtti, Lieto, some less than twenty kilometer distance from the city of Turku. This time the event took place a little further into Lieto at Mannin Navetta, or to be more accurate, outside of it.

Once again Kold Reso Kvlt, or KRK for short, had arranged a bus tranportation from Olbifrus for the festival goers from Turku to near the locale itself. Unfortunately, possibly due to the slightly increased distance this didn't seem to work as smoothly as on the previous years. Mind you, the practically non-existent schedules were somewhat erratic then too and our little party's self-inflicted hurry may be another defining factor but it seemed like there was more waiting for the bus to arrive this time. Still, it is a very good and reasonably priced service at 5e/direction or a bracelet-thingy you could buy beforehand for 18.90e valid for the whole weekend.

We arrived in Turku pretty early by car which we then tried to park for about an hour before the driver gave up and drove into the same garage we had used before. As if there'd be free parking in the centre of a town of Turku's size! After this waste of time we had to spend some time shopping certain supplies (=alcohol), eating and other mundane tasks before we finally got to wait for the bus which seemed to never arrive and once it did, it was coming from Helsinki and pretty much packed. We managed to squeeze ourselves in, journeyed to the festival, exchanged tickets for the wristbands, I bought a ticket for Black Flames III and then we went back outside to sit on the grass, drinking, chatting and in general not going in. This is expected of every self-respecting festival-goer. We missed the first two Finnish bands Devastracktor and Damngod completely and sat outside for most of Assaulter's set (sounded okay to where we were). I finally got moving towards the end of it and managed to actually see a bit of them, looked pretty standard Aussie metalheads.

Like mentioned earlier the venue was different this time, having a bit more space allowed to have all the merchandise stalls and such inside but unfortunately both of the stages were outdoor ones and standing right next to each other. This caused annoyance throughout the festival as the sound checks would disrupt the performances on the next stage. Also the ground was somewhat uneven, making it hard to see anything on the stage from further away and as we discovered after a little bit of rain it got very muddy, should the weather been as rainy as on the previous years the festival grounds would've become a mudpit, as I've heard Wacken this year. There wasn't much cover either so it was fortunate it wasn't rainy or any sunnier.

Cannibal Accident

But back to artists, next up and fourth performer for Friday were the local boys Cannibal Accident which I found to be surprisingly amusing, no small part thanks to the performance and look. I doubt I'd spend time at home listening to these tongue-in-cheek grindcore blasts, but in live environment they're good fun. Musicians themselves are certainly proficient, coming from bands like Hellbox and Axegressor.

Cryptborn performing with a guest

Starting their show on the main stage next were Cryptborn who play old school death metal the Swedish way. Since the band members are associates of mine I feel a bit biased to be commenting or reviewing them. I had already seen the guys live twice this spring and thanks to those performances had high expectations for them. Well, playing outside and relatively early diminished the effect somewhat but they managed a decent show. Did not deliver as well as the club gigs did but still enjoyable and I'd definitely recommend their stuff. Next up were Swallowed which I was supposed to watch but got somewhat distracted chatting, shopping and drinking beer. I should probably mention beer was quite cheap, once again, as they asked for 5e for a 0,5l can and it had a fifty cent deposit. Which I didn't realize at all on the Friday, someone kindly mentioned me that on Saturday! But anyways, what little I saw of Swallowed in the end was good though the sound wasn't optimal. I hope to catch up with them in a club gig sometime soon.

Jess And The Ancient Ones

So far the bands had been performing quite short sets as the slots had been either 30 or 35 minutes, but starting with the Kuopio occult rockers Jess and the Ancient Ones the performances would get longer. So far I had completely managed to avoid JatAO, unintentionally I should mention, even though they play live often and had an interesting EP (the B-side Coven cover being my reason for the interest) and an album out. I was a little sceptical about this band as the name is bluntly put stupid and it looks so much like a trendy side project on paper. To my surprise they sounded good live and convinced me to (eventually, still haven't done that) check out their album. The songs were quite lenghty so the forty minutes slot was filled by four or five tracks quickly. Despite being better than I expected they weren't capable of mesmerizing me to the same extent The Devil's Blood or Jex Thoth do so I wandered off before the end of their slot to pick up my bag and go outside for a few drinks. The plan was to hang out there just for a bit but this got, as usual, a bit out of hand and I ended up missing Bestial Mockery and Sólstafir completely as well as most of Gehennah's show. What I saw of that was fun enough if you're into old Venom worship. Not sure if they really needed a 60 minute slot.

Unholy

After the Swedes was one of the definite highlights for me, legendary Unholy live after all these years! These doom pioneers should not need an introduction, shame on you if you haven't heard them. This was the first live performance of the "reunion" and understandably the guys were a little rusty but that didn't matter as the material totally kills. Some peasants found it more important to comment on the hats the band had chosen to wear instead of taking the opportunity to enjoy a rare performance. Their loss. The band did something from all the albums but concentrated more on the older stuff which suited me perfectly. I was medicated well enough at that point of the evening to ignore any and all minor flaws and just surrender to the experience, so much that I actually had tears in my eyes during "Covetous Glance" and realized too late I hadn't taken pictures or video of the gig. Oh well, at least I enjoyed myself. I have to admit the sound wasn't very good in the beginning but it either improved or I just ignored it.

Urfaust. Fueled by Karhu, apparently.

After this bliss I wasn't able to enjoy the always great Urfaust as much as I usually do. Neither did I manage to convince my comrade of their excellence as according to him the vocals were "horrible wailing". So I missed the later half of their show as I allowed myself to be led back to alcohol. Deströyer 666 was the final performer of the evening and they were absolutely great, awesome if strangely blurry gig. "Trialed by Fire" was the highlight for me. It was a quite long day filled with metal and alcohol abuse so unlike planned we didn't go to anywhere after finally making it to the hotel. Or if we did, I can't remember it.

Charnel Winds

I got distracted.

Saturday started with a taste of shit mixed with poison in my mouth and the discovery I had not bothered to make a bed out of the collapsing chair thingies, having instead collapsed on them myself. After the showers, much whining, a few beers, little shopping and a lunch we made our way to the bus station and waited. And waited. Went to a bar nearby and waited. And so on. After getting to the festival area we once again had to picnic outside for a bit until I finally lost my patience and rushed inside to see the last two songs from Charnel Winds. Seeing them made me wish I'd gone inside sooner but the morale was a bit low due to hangover and bands missed with the necessary and unnecessary delays (being death metal bands Vorum, Krypts, Forgotten Horror and Gorephilia) so far. However, the last two tracks were great and I'll be sure to see them again at another opportunity. Next was Portrait which didn't interest me so I was chatting away for most of their set and took a quick walk to a parking lot a few kilometers away to hang around with some people I met at Nummirock, drinking their rum and beer while at that.

I don't remember who they were.

Don't ask, it seemed like a good idea then.

I got back in time to see some of The 11th Hour's performance, their mixed bag of doom metal didn't really win me over and from comments I heard I hadn't missed much. I don't usually bother checking out bands before the festivals on Youtube or anything of the sort which is a mixed blessing, on the other hand the positive surprises are stronger but I tend to miss stuff I might enjoy. Necrophobic from Sweden were next and got a bit mixed response as others were very much into them and the rest either indifferent or just disliked them. In case you don't know, they're a long running melodic (blackened) death metal band and personally I've always thought of them as sort of poor man's Dissection. To be honest, this gig didn't change my opinion. They were okay but that was pretty much it. And I guess I have to say the same for the next act, Dutch death metal stalwarts Asphyx who were one of the more eagerly awaited bands on the festival. To some people, that is. I've never been a fan of theirs, it's certainly ok stuff but never my first pick for really anything nor am I a fan of the front man Van Drunen either. So after watching them play for a bit I decided to entertain myself and associates with a photoshoot near the Woodcut Records' stall. Involving men in their boxers.

Big Boss / Root

After the silliness was over I hurried to see the Czech legends Root perform on the smaller stage. I had little idea how this gig would turn out, but with the latest album being again slightly blacker I hoped to hear a set with some golden oldies included. As before, Root were great and Big Boss is a unique front man with his bald, face-painted head, grey beard and potbelly. Not to mention the man's voice. The gig was quite balanced, I don't recognize the new songs well, not to mention how drunk I was getting again at this point so I'm not attempting to guess a setlist but good times were had and old material was played, including Píseň pro Satana which is one of the first Root tracks I heard and got me into the band. I had great difficulty trying to get to listen to Eyehategod so I ended up pretty much ignoring the whole hour of their performance and actually quite a bit from Marduk's start. What I remember from Marduk was okay but the small stage was certainly a poor choice for them, which seemed to piss off Mortuus too.

I'm busy ignoring the bands.

Shape of Despair played officially as the last band and I don't remember anything about them to be honest. I suppose I was still there as I recall Rob Coffinshaker's surprise appearance after SoD but to be honest I might've as well just heard about it. Back in Turku I drank for a while with a comrade, spent an hour or two trying to find the hotel and then collapsed happily on the unmade extra bed chairs, pleased that once again Hammer Open Air had delivered what was expected. Overall I still have to say this was the least great of them so far, as the line-up wasn't as excellent as the previous ones were and the new venue had its issues. Yet it is clear that HOA is currently the most important Finnish extreme metal festival. I will be sure to attend again next year, no matter what!

New Blood

My buddy, Velkaarn, from the most awesome blog, Asmodian Coven has aligned himself with Lunar Hypnosis and joined in on my quest for heavy metal blog domination, in particular he'll be handling some reviews from time to time. His first review will be posted shortly! I also advise you to check his blog from time to time since he's posting various rips of old demos, albums, rehearsals and other rarities he's collected over the years.

Abhorrence - Completely Vulgar (2012)

Back in the day (I'm talking 12 years ago in this case) I used to spend a lot of time randomly downloading mp3s from file sharing hubs like Napster and Audio Galaxy, generally just searching by genre or band. It must have been a general search for death metal, but somehow I ended up with Abhorrence's 1990 demo tape, 'Vulgar Necrolatry' on my computer. A lot of these files eventually made there way onto various genre specific CDr's, which were then played either on my computer or my walkmen, which had abilities to play data CDrs. I don't suppose it was too long afterwards, but I have this memory of being at the gym lifting when the song 'Pleasures of Putrid Flesh' randomly exploded into my ears and not knowing what the hell it even was I listened with greater detail. That was my introduction to Finnish death metal legends, Abhorrence, but the legacy goes further back then that.

Formed in the suburbs of Vantaa in 1989, Abhorrence along with Funebre, Disgrace and Xysma were the very first death metal bands to emerge out of Finland. Abhorrence lasted exactly a year and in 1990 the band released both the 'Vulgar Necrolatry' demo tape and the 'Abhorrence' 7" EP before calling it quits and sort of transforming into Amorphis. These young Finns (just 16-17 years old each) set out to create something different from the much acclaimed though still young scenes in Sweden and Florida, USA, by unleashing a much darker, heavier and fierce sound that was really unheard of at the time.

'Completely Vulgar' gathers together everything Abhorrence released during their short lifespae. Personally I went with the double LP version of this release since these ancient relics just seemed more appropriate on vinyl than CD. The first thing to point out is that the packaging done by Svart Records is simply immaculate. It comes in a gatefold vinyl with slots on the sides for both LPs as well as a large booklet, which has various old photos, artwork,gig flyers as well as commentary from each member of the band. Its incredibly interesting hearing the members talk about the old days; about tape trading, gigs, recording, writing, the developing death metal scene, bands they knew and played with, the parties and more than one member made it a point to mention that both Dead and Euronymous (of Mayhem) were complete psychos at the gig the band had in Norway with Cadaver and Darkthrone.

But what about the music of Abhorrence? As the gloomy ambiance of 'The Cult' emits from your speakers and that first grinding heavy riff of 'Pestilential Mists' is plucked you know your in for something special. Alternating between slower doom-ish vibes with seriously creepy undertones to stomping grindy death metal with occasional melodic touches its obvious Abhorrence were one of a kind. The music is raw and under produced with a heavily distorted chainsaw guitar sound and an uncanny sort of atmosphere that makes the 7" material feel like its drenched in fog. Amazingly the demo material is even fiercer and more barbaric in production and feeling. The vocals throughout both recordings are low guttural maniacal growls of fetid zombie stench unlike really anything else at the time, while the drums gallop and pound away mercilessly and ominous bass lingers somewhere underneath the soil.

The second LP (side C) contains six live cuts from a gig in Turku in 1990 with some of them being from the demo and 7" while two of songs were unrecorded at the time. The material here is somewhat typically bootleg-ish in quality with voices being heard amongst the crowd members, but it would seem enough studio work was done to clean it up and make it enjoyable. The final LP (side D) contains the unreleased (though somehow leaked) 'Macabre Masquerade' rehearsal as well as additionally material from a jam session in '90. The songs here are somewhat more fierce in their delivery and just show how hungry these guys were to be apart of something special, but again were talking very under produced stuff, which may not appeal to just everyone. Also note that the additional rehearsal material is only available on the LP version of this release.

Curiously after Abhorrence's breakup only two of the members went onto bigger and better band related adventures. Jussi "Juice" Ahlroth is nowadays a culture journalist of the largest subscription newspaper of Finland, while Mika "Arkki" Arnkil is with Impaled Nazarene and of course Tomi Koivusaari has had an enormous career with Amorphis. Kalle Mattsson, Kimmo Heikkinen and Jukka Kolehmainen have been quiet, though Jukka did perform vocals on Stench of Decay's cover of 'Vulgar Necrolatry' in 2009.

Speculations of all sorts could be made on what might have happened if Abhorrence had stuck it out and recorded a full album, but in a way Amorphis' 'The Karelian Isthmus' & 'Privilege of Evil' partially give that answer, even if only one Abhorrence member was involved with them.

Abhorrence has been resting in peace for twenty two years now, but its great that these Finnish death metal antiquities have finally been unleashed again for younger audiences to enjoy as well for yours truly to finally have a physical medium of Abhorrence material. Rot in peace.