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HEAVY METAL PERSE - Eripura |
1. Eripura 2. Kauan eläköön kuningas! 3. Kohti kolossien maata 4. Pahaksi parkittu Lalli 5. Saunaherran kunniaksi 6. Aamunkoiton huilumies 7. Lohikäärmeen laulu 8. Talonpoikaisralli 9. Tapio 10. Seitsemän meren luopio 11. Heavy Metal Perse
Dethrone Music 2008
Reviewed by Lauri “Eskimo” Lukas.
Paraphrasing a well-known Russian poet: If I’d been there when they picked the name for the band, I would have said “Don’t!” True — the title Heavy Metal Perse (literally “Heavy Metal Ass”) may only appear funny to Finns and Estonians, but still! Considering the fact that the Finns themselves trust Perse to be one of the breakthrough acts of 2008, the guys could have bothered to think things through before sticking to this moniker.
What we’re dealing with here is Power Metal sung in Finnish, with some barely noticeable traces of folk melodies thrown in for good measure. This might sound somewhat intimidating, as, when pressed for a comparison, one might find the somewhat similar-minded Teräsbetoni to be reeking of stale sweat and staler jokes, to the accompaniment of hollow clonks of plastic swords, but mind you — Heavy Metal Perse do their stuff in a remarkably merrier manner. Nothing on this record is sweated out compulsorily; instead, one might find it brimming over with the joy of creativity, infectious mirth and unwavering belief in what is done, not to mention the deeply tongue-in-cheek humour.
Musically speaking, the band’s idols all come from Germany. The Helloweens, the Gamma Rays, the Runnings Wild, or, possibly, the German Power Metal scene as a whole has, in the midst of the pristine lakes and ancient woods of Finland, unsuspectingly spawned an outwardly rather disgusting-looking bastard son who on closer inspection appears to be a surprisingly well-mannered and decent youngster with a sense of humour far outreaching that of its fathers. The blood, as they say, calls to its own, though; if in doubt, one can watch the band’s video for “Talonpoikaisralli” (“Peasant Rally”), wherein linen-clad Finnish hicks drink vodka and fight amongst themselves. Did I mention that Perse’s vein of humour is far from clogged?
Of course, the disc has its share of tracks hailing various dragons and kings, but Perse still manage to veer light-years away from the status of a DIY-backwoods-Manowar — a statement that can not be said to be true of, again, Teräsbetoni, who, at times, are more Manowar than Manowar itself.
Matias Palm, the singing guitar-player, has an original timbre to his voice that may occasionally — but really not that often — fall short of the target, especially in passages aiming for relatively high pitches. Considering the fact that this is a debut full-length, it barely deserves a mention. What must truly be applauded, though, is the dedication of these guys to not desert the currently sinking ship of the over-saturated and mostly boring Power Metal sub-genre, but to take things to their own hands and come up with such a great maiden album instead. We’ll be sure to hear more of this band in the years to come!
MySpace: www.myspace.com/heavymetalperse
Band’s homepage: www.heavymetalperse.com
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Added on: January 24-th 2008, at 13:40
Added by: Dark Patrick |
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NIHILISTIKRYPT - Required Sacrifices |
Review written by Ando. It first appeared in the newspaper SL Õhtuleht. Translated from Estonian by Dark Patrick.
s/r 2005
1. The Summoning (intro) 2. Brainbow 3. Expired 4. Virus: Human 5. Enjoy The Violence 6. I Hate Everything 7. Thoughts Of A Misanthrope 8. Rebellion Against Thee 9. Execution Of The Last Priest (outro)
Nihilistikrypt is the new Estonian all stars death metal band combining figures well-known in the local metal scene from bands such as Ignorabimus, Spellbinder, Ecthalion, Irdhing and Catafalc.
Thus what we're dealing here is not an incidental combo, but a well-chosen group of people with a firm goal to reach outside of the borders of their homeland and an affection for metal music as well as top grade musicianship.
The first step is taken – the band's debut EP "Required Sacrifices" recently saw the light of day. Before getting down to critisizing the soundscapes emanating from the disc one has to acknowledge the sleeve design, drawn by Luix – and artist soon probably better known as the local equivalent of H. R. Giger (also responsible for the sleeve designs of the latest Surrogoat and Must Missa releases).
Musically we're talking of melodic-technical mid-tempo misanthropic death metal. The composition of songs is somewhat unpredictable; a melody with a varying measure develops into morbid-sounding riffing, yet still remains seamless, which all in all makes this nine-track disk an especially pithy and enjoyable earful. The acoustic instrumental interlude "Enjoy the Violence" has a melancholy effect, as well as the creepy outro, which babes-in-arms should listen to while under parental supervision and which I wouldn't even recommend to the jumpier listener. A lot of hard work has gone into the vocal parts – no monotonous growling here, but moderate doses of backing vocals.
Unfortunately there aren't any bad songs on the record, which makes the overall picture a bit low on contrasts. Soundwise, the bass drum harrows the ear a bit, but only in the beginning; when absorbed in music, you cease to notice it soon. There's also a lack of overall massiveness, which means the best sound setup for listening to this one should be high on bass and volume.
The material is recorded and mixed at the Krypt Studio under the tattooed hand, stern gaze and sharp ear of one of the members, Sorts, and mastered at the US company Imperial Matsering. One must wonder how much, if any, this adds to the final result, but mastering abroad seems to have become a trend in Estonian metal.
Best song: "Virus: Human". You'll probably start to like the disc only after several listenings, which, according to your's truly, is the most important criterium of good music. The release has no place in the collection of a hardened fan of nu or brutal metal.
Band homepage: www.nihilistikrypt.net
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Added on: September 28-th 2005, at 14:27
Added by: Dark Patrick |
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KARL SANDERS - Saurian Meditation |
Review written by:
Götterdämmerung
1. Awaiting the Vultures 2. Of the Sleep of Ishtar 3. Luring the Doom Serpent 4. Contemplations of the Endless Abyss 5. The Elder God Shrine 6. Temple of Lunar Ascension 7. Dreaming through the Eyes of Serpents 8. Whence No Traveller Returns 9. The Forbidden Path across the Chasm of Self Realization 10. Beckon the Sick Winds of Pestilence
Relapse 2004
While listening to a band called Nile, have you ever carelessly let your thoughts be absorbed into the music and discovered yourself on the embalming table or already entombed under thousands of tons of rock in the Valley of the Kings? I can tell from personal experience that when this band does their stuff in one's speakers, one's imagination can easily path a course towards the distant Egypt.
But by simply trampling about the Africa with an army Egypt would never have grown into the high civilization we know; the same way the creative potential of Karl Sanders, Nile's mastermind, would never have evolved beyond death metal by harnessing only aggressive bombasticity. Fortunately everything worked out fine – six thousand years ago the Egyptians stacked together a civilization, thus giving the freelancer egyptologist Sanders enough material to write music inspired by his interests that is no longer just a sideshow to guitar inferno.
"Saurian Meditation" is the first album by Karl Sanders's solo project, much awaited by Nile fans but otherwise created and released without much ado. Personally I can say that the wait was worth it and that this album finished up my musical year of 2004 more than beautifully.
The gist of it is Egyptian folk music spiced up with ambient. Those only interested in metal can easily disregard it – throughout the whole album guitars can be heard only in the last piece. Yet there are other dissimilarities with Nile: this time the Egyptian-like music doesn't sound belligerent, but rather comes forth with restrained majesty, thus becoming all the more atmospheric. The wails of those being embalmed alive as well as the dismal damnations of the undead whispered within dark catacombs are out, the might of desert expanses and temples is in.
The new drifts in his production prove once again that Sanders is a valuable and unique metal musician; I can only find good words to describe both his work with Nile as well as this new release. One can only expect for the quick release of the forthcoming Nile album. |
Added on: January 12-th 2005, at 12:11
Added by: Dark Patrick |
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HORRICANE - The Lynch-Lawyers' Death Squad |
s/r promo-demo 2004
Official relase date July 19-th
1. Coup de Grâce 2. Fraction In Your Eyes 3. The Lynch-Lawyers' Death Squad 4. Demon-Strate 5. Nitro Boost Turmoil
Horricane is almost a one-of-a-kind occurrence in Estonian metal scene. Maybe only No Big Silence have attacked their target group with a more thoroughly thought-through strategic plan -- which might as well be devised by the faceless and probably soulless and honourless yuppie specialists depicted on the demo cover. The Horrde know what they want, and it seems they also know how to get it.
No wonder, if you know the members of the band (although Your's Truly was mildly surprised to discover that all of the music was composed by the guitarist Pchn). Who in our local scene doesn't know at least by face these slick and refined terrormongers who for this relase have hidden behind cyber-laconic pseudonyms (Pchn - seven strings, Erx - voice, Anz - seven strings, Vx - five strings, DzDz - keys and Mdx - drums). An even older Big Cheese is Grozmot, whose contribution as a sound engineer has borne a truly menacing world class sound for the first-born of this death squad of lynch-lawyers. The cherry to top it all off is the stylish black and silver envelope with embossed logo, designed by Jihad.
The music of Horricane is death metal with a very distinctive atmosphere, viscid like hot mazut, irrestrainable like a train, gorgeous and horrible like death by heroism in space. It is a pleasure to note that the rage and sincerity familiar from their live gigs has been successfully captured in such an immaculate form. Sober calculation and stern discipline are not enough to bring about such results; one has to have talent and heart as well. The Horricaners have an abundance of both, and after listening to this release it must be obvious even to the most metal-ignorant person around.
The lyrics accompanying such professional fusillades of death metal are witty and to the point, and the scarce grammar mishaps have the effect of a vinegar fly in a compote bowl: if you don’t search for it, you won’t notice or care. Your humble reviewer takes it upon himself to congratulate the whole Estonian alternative rock scene upon a magnificent fresh release and boldly takes an oath: if Horricane won’t be signed to a decent label soon, he will shave his beloved beard!
More info and samples available on Horricane's official homepage:
www.horricane.com |
Added on: July 02-nd 2004, at 10:33
Added by: Dark Patrick |
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