Tag Archives: Svart

Speedtrap – Straight Shooter

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It’s easy to be dismissive of today’s heavy metal revivalist bands. Aside from the fact they’re ten a penny at a time when even the most obscure bands from the scenes heyday are reforming and enjoying renewed popularity, most just sound and look like cheesy tribute acts.  Finnish quintet Speedtrap might be one of the few that are worth your time, however. Their sophomore album, Straight Shooter (Svart), is brimming and energy and authenticity that most of their peers are lacking.

From the first “slide into a solo” of opener ‘No Glory Found’ Speedtrap don’t let up. It’s pure, old school speed metal of the most satisfying variety. Fast riffs, faster solos, and fist pumping vocals. Whether it’s a the rock and roll of ‘Running Rampant’ or the thunderous fury of ‘Serve Your Masters’, Straight Shooter is straight up heavy metal as it should be. Guitarists Ville Valavuo and Jaakko Hietakangas trade solos like Dave Mustaine and Chris Poland, while Jori Sara-aho endlessly wails his way through the 35-odd minutes. His voice might grate on some but it adds to the DIY, slightly rough-around-the-edges appeal.

They occasionally gallop (‘Heavy Armour’), occasionally thrash (‘Savage the Prey’) but mostly just rock. Most of the tracks (‘Eyes for Conquest’ or the title track) occupy that rare sweet spot that’s faster than the boring mid-paced plodder, but slower than your standard thrasher that’s perfect for banging your head along too.

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What sets Speedtrap apart is that they manage to sound genuinely authentic – I could tell you these were a bunch of guys from Yorkshire who appeared on a Metal for Muthas compilation and you’d believe it – but manage to avoid sounds like they’re rehashing their favourite Iron Maiden riffs. The artwork – an oil painting of a leather-clad guy on a car bonnet with a guitar-shaped minigun – deserves a special mention too.

If you like proper horn-raising heavy metal, you’ll like Speedtrap. It’s uncomplicated, unfussy, but more importantly, it’s fast, it’s loud, it’s fun. Go listen to it.

 

8.0/10

 

DAN SWINHOE


Morbid Evils – In Hate With the Burning World

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Keijo Niinimaa, the vocalist behind Finland’s grindcore group Rotten Sound, has taken his talents to a new sludge/doom metal project. Morbid Evils have released their debut album In Hate With the Burning World and it is an absolute juggernaut. This is a pure heavyweight that demands your attention.

From beginning to end the album drags the listener through pure destruction and never lets up. With the opening track ‘Cruel’ you’re treated to a steady build-up that leads into a crushing riff that could be paired with the stomping of elephants marching. About halfway through the track, the drone aspect picks up a bit of a groove making it very difficult to keep your head from moving in pace.

The next track ‘Crippled’ has more of a haunting groove to it, yet the brutality remains. This groove showcases the freshness of this album, keeping it from becoming just another boring and uninteresting doom album laden with just a simple chugging riff. My favorite track, and unfortunately the shortest of the album, would be ‘South of Hell’. Named rightly so this album will drag you down to the bowels and even further than where the sinners dwell.

In Hate With the Burning World is one hell of a debut release. Dare I say even better than all material Niinimaa created with Rotten Sound? I feel unfortunate that they ended up with the name Morbid Evils, as their sound to me really represents a creature such as a Mastodon or Behemoth. Recently it feels that doom metal has been gaining more of a following, and this album will just strengthen that interest and lust for the sound of dismemberment.

8.0/10

DEREK RIX

 


Pombagira – Flesh Throne Press

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London-based stoner/doom duo Pombagira are a productive pairing. New album Flesh Throne Press [Svart] is their sixth album in just eight years, but have managed to create a two-disc, 90 minute engrossing monster. Themes covered range from “the dead and the necromantic discourse for conversing with ancestors,” while the title itself apparently “refers to the visceral experience of the grave dirt which presses in on the flesh,” which fits the mood of the record well.

The vocals from Peter Hamilton-Giles (Vocals, guitar) swing from haunting melancholic wail to almost Gregorian chant, his riffs swamped in layers of reverb and distortion until it’s a fuzzy drone. Carolyn Hamilton-Giles drums provide an equally languid backing track, but it’s a great pairing.

It’s densely heavy in the kind of Electric Wizard way yet provides of light and shade. The album shifts between quiet introspection and thick fuzzed-up walls of noise; 10 minute epics are interspersed with more serene and stripped back instrumental interludes to break up the journey and provide respite. There’s tinges of early Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd-esque psychadelica and even early prog rock thrown in to the mix.

It’s hard to nail down exactly what Pombagari’s sound like. There’s occasional psychadelica, drone, maybe even some shoe-gaze type territory. But whatever sub-genre you like, there’s plenty to enjoy about Flesh Throne Press (Svart) is spaced out, down tempo and very easy to immerse yourself in. Bottom line: It’s heavy, chilled and atmospheric. As long as you can cope with the 90 minute runtime, Flesh Throne Press is a great album for relaxing to and getting lost in.

 

7.5/10

Pombagira on Bandcamp

 

DAN SWINHOE


Terveet Kadet – Lapin Helvetti

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Celebrating their 35th anniversary this year, Finnish hardcore punk mob Terveet Kadet have release their 11th studio album, Lapin Helvetti [“The Hell of Lapland”] (Svart). In it, the band – founding member Veli-Matti “Läjä” Äijälä (vocals) plus Ilari (guitar), Jani (bass) and Aki (drums) deliver 18 short sharp shocks of raw aggression in a record just 20 minutes long. 

Though primarily a band known for aggression, Terveet Kadet show off all that is great about punk. The riffs are simple but effective, and Ilari isn’t afraid of a catchy hook occasionally without ever losing any of that raw energy they sound so good at harnessing. ‘Elämälle Vieraita piireteitä’ almost strays into black/death metal territory, ‘Ruumiiseen Sidouttu’ shows off some classic three chord stuff, while ‘Luonto Kutsuu’ is a super catchy up-tempo rocker.

It’s hard to pick favourite or even keep at up at times, the blink and you’ll miss approach to song writing adds a sense of urgency to proceedings. My Finnish being a little rusty, Läjä’s lyrics go over my head – apparently the songs are “filled with 18 tales about the fear of death, estrangement, human frailty and illnesses of the mind” – but judging from his delivery it’s not a stretch to say he sound angry and probably a little bit unhinged as he screams and barks his way through the album.

All this might not be particularly original – Punk is up there with Thrash when it comes to lacking of originality or innovation – but that fact that tracks rarely last longer than a minute ensure none of them outstay their welcome. If you like punk, you will like Lapin Helvetti, there’s no real two ways about it. For a band more than 30 years and 10 albums into their career, Terveet Kadet do a good job of showing groups half their age how punk should look and sound.

 

8.0/10

Terveet Kadet on Facebook

 

DAN SWINHOE


Callisto – Secret Youth

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If there is a phrase that tends to put my hackles on end, my blood boil and my temper enter a different stratosphere it’s when people talk about musical creativity as a “journey” but, in the case of Finland’s post metal outfit Callisto, I can’t think of a more apposite word to describe their moves from hardcore proficiency to the critically lauded outpost of post-metal.

Secret Youth is the band’s fourth full length album (their first on Svart Records) and the first new material since the progressive delights of Providence back in 2009. Six years is almost the equivalent of six lifetimes in the ever changing world of the music business so whilst there isn’t anything remotely approaching “pressure” on Callisto, a lengthy absence tends to lead to speculation about whether you’ve still “got it”.

Relax, kids. They have. And then some.

Secret Youth feels like the sum total of the band’s dozen or so years of accumulated musical knowledge and prowess blended into one record of power, precision and infectious abrasiveness. The first thing that strikes you about the album is just how accomplished it all is – there is a greater level of ambition in the songs that they have created, a readiness to explore different approaches, textures and melodies. Secret Youth also has moments of sublime anger and ferocity, so don’t think that just because they have found melodies and tunes that they have lost any of their inherent aggression; if anything, they have simply become more discerning with when and how they use it.

Opening track ‘Pale Pretender’ is dynamic and pulsating, building a sense of impending menace and doom. Vocalist Jani-Ani Hukkala sounds like he has taken lessons from Interpol’s Paul Banks which, as any fule kno, is a very good thing indeed. Lead-off single ‘Backbone’ consolidates the sense of unease and the arrival of the first guttural howls. This exceptional blend of haunting melodies, pained lyricism and outright ferocity is probably what you’re looking for with Callisto and, make no mistake, it is here in abundance. ‘Acts’ slows the pace a bit, all noir-ish melody and disjointed guitar parts before ‘The Dead Layer’ delivers gloomy atmospherics and poignant ambience.

The second half of the record is equally impressive with the band offering a balanced shift between intensive aggression and more introspection and reflective pieces. As I’m writing this I can immediately sense that this blending of style, in lesser hands, might not really work but as with some of modern heavy music’s best – think of Opeth, Cult of Luna, Katatonia – the effect here is never any less than impressive and, at times, it’s downright brilliant.

Many bands come straight out the traps with the essence of who they are almost immediately; for others, it’s more of a slow burn. With Callisto, we seem to have waited a long time to arrive at the purest distillation of what they are about but with Secret Youth, they have achieved it. If you want to give anyone a perfect example of what this weird thing called post-metal is all about, then you could do far, far worse than play them this. They will thank you and then, in turn, you can thank me. In a word: fabulous.

 

8.5/10

Callisto on Facebook

 

MAT DAVIES

 


Sleep of Monsters – Produces Reason

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Babylon Whores are the single most underrated band of all time, and Cold Heaven (Misanthropy, though recently re-released on vinyl by Svart) is the greatest undiscovered gem of all albums, so it is with anticipation most foul that Sleep of Monsters’ debut Produces Reason (Svart) saunters into our musical consciousness, being as it is the new vehicle for the distinctive crushed velvet pipes of Ike Vil, former ‘Whores mainman.

It can often be unfair to compare a new venture to a participants old wares, but when the vocal cords are as instantly recognisable and perception shaping as Vil’s it’s hard not to. Accompanied by songwriter and guitarist Sami Hassinen (Blake) and former members of Waltari and HIM, Produces Reason kicks off with a pair of rockers, as if Ike’s former occult troupe had been polished by the HIM hit machine, ‘Nihil Nihil Nihil’ dark, catchy and understated, with a strong vocal chorus hook.

As the album unveils, the rock element is toned down and replaced by a more gothic, sedate feel, led by Vil’s characteristic delivery and melancholic lines, and flashes of Sisters of Mercy, Beastmilk and even Simple Minds decorate their Gothic rock. ‘Christsonday’ liberally dips its toe into Queensryche’s ‘Eyes Of A Stranger’ and emerges with the guitar motif intact, dropping the familiar lick over their death rock, while ‘Magick Without Tears’, the true closer for this album (additional track ‘I Am The Night, Colour Me Black’ is superfluous and dynamically doesn’t work) kneads in the vocal talents of the “Furies”, a trio of female vocalists whose harmonies proliferate the album at various points, over a Pink Floydian organ-led flick.

Managing to retain the core elements of its participants former endeavours, weaving and celebrating their individual talents and ideosyncracies, Sleep of Monsters have produced a credible dark pop debut, reflecting the pasts of its’ creators, and one that leaves the promise of something even more grandiose and fruitful in their future.

 

7.0/10

Sleep of Monsters on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY


Jess and the Ancient Ones – Castaneda

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The heady, seedy sound of Finnish psych occulters Jess and the Ancient Ones garnered much praise with their debut long-player, and that’s sure to be repeated with this sinister yet nice, speedy yet languid 10″.

Castaneda (Svart) marries a murky production and an occult organ feel with a spooky rhythm reminiscent of the 50s shock ‘n’ roll of The Munsters; an eerie lead twang finalised with backward masking and some serious drums booting the track up the arse, with Jess’s honeyed pipes flickering over the whole. Flipside ‘As To Be With Him’ has a similar feel but with an easier, more lazy rhythm, bubbling synths and that powerful voice graced with All About Eve-esque backing harmonies, the whole further sunken by that deliciously nebulous production. It’s so relaxed there’s something of a ‘lounge rock’ air until a strange amalgam of 90s indie and 70s ambience closes the track.

This is a taster for a new album and reminds us what a refreshing departure this lot are from the glut of female-fronted occult rock bands out there at present.

 

7.5/10

 

PAUL QUINN


Profetus – As All Seasons Die

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As All Seasons Die (Svart)…happy eh? This Finnish five piece, housing ex- and current members of Horna and Corpsessed, don’t come across as cheerful, and indeed theirs is the most funeral of doom.

Orchestral keys at a snail’s pace accompany the sparse yet crushing riff and drums of ‘A Reverie (Midsummer’s Dying Throes)’, the flattening qualities of the bridges when everything collides together, both awe-striking and ominous, Anssi Mäkinen‘s voice a crawling, seeping growl to terrify the hardiest soul. It is tolling and metronomic with an affecting organ solo a striking, mournful interlude which lingers and carries a titanic beat and riff, that builds the drama, the emotion and the oppression, yet never changing pace. It’s impossible to convey just how staggeringly effective this is, which is remarkable when you consider that there are periods when it seems as if nothing happens.

The reverberating chant of ‘Dead Are Our Leaves of Autumn’, delivered as if from God on high, is so gentle yet resonant as to caress the mind whilst cracking you in the face. Mäkinen’s doleful tones induce paradoxical feelings of misery and euphoria whilst initially understated lead work soon becomes the centrepiece escalating to stunningly emotive levels, imitating gulls on a barren shore à la Marillion’s Steve Rothery. It is an exercise in precision and control, yet feels as organic as the Yorkshire moors – harsh, desolate, yet staggeringly beautiful.

As the life cycle ends with the tolling, effortless yet pounding closer ‘The Dire Womb of Winter’, creeping with the speed and stealth of a hunting cat, it really does echo the seasonal despair’; portentous, weighty, and shudderingly affecting despite the occasionally soporific pace. A spearing riff shoots forth at intervals to prevent sleep, and replace the weight in slow motion. Yet when the keys begin to build to the crescendo there’s the slightest quickening, a lifting of mood. A rebirth…?

The disaffected listener who craves more action, the quick hit, is already dead inside. The clue is in the description: life affirming whilst lamenting the sadness of it, this is another winner from Svart.

8.5/10.0

Profetus on Facebook

 

PAUL QUINN

 


Rippikoulu – Musta Seremonia

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Does the “underground” really exist anymore? Most Metal fans over thirty will remember some albums being difficult – in some cases nearly impossible – to track down, but these days the most obscure and veiled albums can be heard online without any real issues. Even the arcane releases of the past are being dragged out of the underground and hauled into the light – a case in point being this ’93 demo from a Finnish Black Metal band so fourth-tier that if you’ve heard of them before you were probably in the band.   Finnish Death Metal is often characterised by a crushing Doom-flavoured approach and a preference for suffocating atmospheres over catchy riffs. Rippikoulu (apparently the first DM band to sing in Finnish, which is interesting if not terribly useful for pub quizzes) certainly didn’t buck this trend, the six tracks of Musta Seremonia (Svart Records) consisting of crushing slow-motion riffing, drawn out song structures and an atmosphere of utter bleakness.

 

For a near-unknown demo one year off its twentieth birthday, Musta Seremonia holds together surprisingly well, with a thick sound and merciless song-structures that at times creates a genuinely stifling feel. This is ugly music, as far as one could get from the thrashy-riffing and audible growled choruses that often pass for “old school Death Metal”. Some of the songs are longer than they need to be, but that’s entirely consistent with the atmosphere of prolonged suffering they build up. The same could be said for the lack of variety and generally one-note nature of the composition.

 

No, the biggest issue is, of course, the question of what it has to offer for a new listener now. A lot of bands have played this style of crushing Doom/Death in the twenty years since Musta Seremonia was recorded, and some of them have developed and progressed it further. There’s nothing on here that will be new people who are already familiar with the style, and the overbearing bleakness may not make it the best introduction for the curious, but for what it is Musta Seremonia is pretty hard to find flaw with. Rippi Koulu, Motherfuckers! I’m sorry.   7.0/10.0 Rippikoulu on Facebook   RICHIE H-R


Vainaja – Kadotetut

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I do like it when band members have names referring to professions… Finnish trio Vainaja are comprised of The Gravedigger, The Cantor and The Preacherman, pseudonyms apparently derived from a notorious Finnish cult of the 19th century, though whether this is truth or myth is unclear. Delivering all lyrics in their native tongue, there are few decipherable clues from the content of Kadotetut(Svart), the outfit’s debut album.

A lovely, lilting acoustic intro, accompanied by choral and orchestral risings, really sets the opening scene for a bloody heavy blend of Death and Doom metal. The ensuing ‘Väärän Ristin Valtakunta’ possesses the funereal style of Ophis, a granite-crumbling growl and crunching, slithering riffs crawling through the murk, keys only occasionally lighting the way to a death canter. Gravedigger‘s drums pound and echo magnificently, aided by a swerving crunch of a riff on the staggering ‘Kahleiden Kantaja’, the swelling keys adding to the drama.

The eerie ‘Verinen Lähde’ is a mix of crashing, leaden noise interspersed with the hushed breaks of a lost, frightened soul searching for a way out of haunted catacombs, all brought home by the ever more impressive and dictatorial drums. There’s a similar template to the ensuing ‘Risti Kädessäni’, the lead howls almost plaintive, the scything roar scouring the soul and the ominous closing chant almost pure black and offset by hammering riffs. Displaying the invention there’s a quiet, almost nonexistent start to ‘Vimeinen Tuomio’ with delicate cymbals opening a path to b-horror movie chords and keys so effective that when the titanic riff hits in you’ll wet yourself. The ensuing terror is a curious, unsettling yet magnetic experience.

 

Much like the band themselves, this is arcane and mesmeric, if occasionally meandering. You’re sometimes on the point of wondering where it’s all headed until a blast of raw power or unbridled emotion grasps you by the lapels. Closer ‘Kadotettu’ is such an entity, a tolling bell occasionally woken, directed by a growing, growling riff, sparing drumbeats and harmonised choruses, intermittently flecked with a heart-breaking lead.

Occasionally bewildering but always strikingly impressive, Kadotetut will keep hauling you back for more without knowing exactly why…

8 / 10

Vainaja on Facebook

PAUL QUINN