Tag Archives: Finland

Realms of Chaos – Janne Wirman of Children of Bodom

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“Unfortunately Roope and us, we went our separate ways” sighs Children of Bodom master of ceremonies, synths, spells and sonic illusions Janne Wirman as he contemplates the first change in the Finnish symphonic speed metal monsters line-up in over ten years and the departure of axeman Roope Latvala. “I think it matters to the fans too, to not have too many line-up changes” he states, clearly aware of the effect a change of personnel can have on a fan base and their loyalty to certain periods of a bands’ career. “There hasn’t been too many line-up changes ever, and we are a family and need to keep it that way. It was unfortunate what happened with Roope, and one of our strengths had always been that we keep a constant line up.”

Ninth album I Worship Chaos comes riding out of a blizzard on the back of 2013’s Halo Of Blood (both Nuclear Blast), a much vaunted firestorm of a return to form after the disappointments of their previous two releases Blooddrunk and Relentless Reckless Forever (Spinefarm). Darker in places, nonetheless …Chaos covers everything you’d want and expect from a Bodom release. “I think that sums it up. It’s a bit darker, but also catchier and more straightforward” Wirman agrees.

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Changing the dynamic at this stage of the game, with a decade long stability broken against the backdrop of a band back on an upward curve, could have been a setback, but the timing of the change wasn’t one that adversely affected the Scandinavians. “(Roope leaving) was right around the end of the writing process, and fortunately the album had been written with two guitars as per normal.” It’s not unknown for one guitarist to record the majority of the part in other bands – indeed, James Hetfield and Scott Ian are known to record everything bar the solos in their not-insignificant bands – and Bodom had a ready-made replacement in mainman Alexi Laiho.

“It was not a problem – it meant Alexi played all the guitars in the studio, which was really not a problem for him because he can play both parts. It sounds crazy, but it wasn’t that different,” confirms Wirman. Seeing as the remaining four Children have been together since 1997, it’s no surprise that the change of second guitarist hasn’t derailed them in the slightest. And in terms of maintaining that family feel, Roope’s replacement was someone well known to the band. Or, at the very least, to the keyboard player.

“My brother, Antti, stepped in to help us with the live shows, because right after studio, we went on tour straight away.” confirms Wirman. “Luckily he had free time to join us for the summer and he is a great guitar player. I always felt he was one of the best ones in Finland, but he never landed a proper band. I’m so glad we’ve found someone within the family we all knew really well and it’s been a lot of fun. He’ll tour with us until the end of the year and then we are going to announce a new member for the band early next year.”

When we spoke about having to respect that which makes Children of Bodom distinctive, one of those elements is Wirman’s own role in the band. From the outset, the band has utilized keys as a lead instrument, and not just for ambience or to pad out a sound. Keys were treated with suspicion by some of the Guardians of Kvlt in the mid-90’s, but they’ve always been at the forefront of the Bodom sound.

“The keyboards are very crucial part of our trademark sound, especially with the early stuff. Then, the keyboards were really in your face and that helped set us apart and gave us a unique sound. Over the years we’ve experimented with things, sometimes we’ve had complaints that there are not enough keyboards on certain albums. I’m happy where we are at now with the sound; the new album sounds how it should sound keyboard-wise”. Including a sparring match between Wirman and Laiho. “That whole song, ‘All Or Nothing’, is pretty non-CoB-ish! But we decided it’s our ninth album, we can do what the fuck we want, so we put some weird-ass jam in there!”

Yet, playing keys in 2015 is a different beast to Wirman’s early days with the band. “It was very different when we started. We are so fucking old that our first 3 albums were recorded on tape, on DAT, and that was a huge pain in the ass!” he laughs. “You couldn’t do any of the quick fixes. With hard drive recording you can just hit undo if you fuck up something. Back then, you really had to know how to play, you had to practice whole passages and really, really nail them. I’m glad we’re that old we had to use the tape machines, because I would definitely be lesser of a musician if I didn’t have to do it that way.”

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“I’m going to be producing a pop singers album”, Wirman continues, divulging that after recording the Bodom album at his own studio he is exploring his opportunities as a producer. “Then I’m recording an album for my brother’s new band. I love to do the studio and I’m hoping to do more work with that.

“But as much as love studio work, and I hope to do more of it when I have free time, for me the live, touring side of Children of Bodom is my main thing. We release albums to go back on tour. When the crowd is going mad, and you’re part of that, that’s the best thing!”

And as Wirman prepares for that rush of touring once again, what will the legacy of I Worship Chaos be? To those outside the band Halo Of Blood is hailed as the comeback album… What of its successor? “Maybe it’s an external feel, as it wasn’t quite like that for us. Though we keep hearing it; a lot of people are saying that Halo…was a comeback and this is a continuation. So, it must be true!” he laughs, with a modest tone in his voice.

“There is always pressure at this point in our career. You want to keep it fresh but not alienating all your fans, and have to keep all the key elements in there too. Judging by the feedback and the reviews, we have succeeded with this new album.”

 

I Worship Chaos is released through Nuclear Blast on October 2nd and can be ordered here.

WORDS BY STEVE TOVEY


Dawn of a New Day (Part II) – Mikko von Hertzen of Von Hertzen Brothers

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It’s a pleasant spring evening in one of the up and coming, trendier areas of North London and Ghost Cult is enjoying a coffee and a chinwag with Mikko Von Hertzen of von Hertzen Brothers. Our discussion takes in musical choices, ditching b-sides, ambition, being on the road and, of course the new record, New Day Rising (Spinefarm)…

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New Day Rising also marked a change for the band in terms of recording and production duties. The new album was the first that the band had recorded outside of their native Finland, a decision that Markko explains was entirely purposeful:

Well, look, there’s no one who doesn’t know us in Finland. Everyone has an opinion on us. We felt that as a band we needed someone who was new, who would listen but who would challenge us. So we chose Garth (Richardson, producer of Rage Against the Machine, RHCP, Crue and literally 100s of others). He was cool. He looks at music from a very different perspective from us. We look at music as artists and composers. He is more of a consumer of music.

He knows what works and what doesn’t work from the perspective of the listener and that is very valuable for us. He was good in saying “Hey, that vocal isn’t right, that guitar part is too loud, or not loud enough, that section doesn’t work”. We needed that.

 

I wondered how that might work in practice with the brothers all being effective songwriters and all having strong opinions about how the record might work. Mikko explains:

Garth brought discipline for sure but he also was good at distilling the songs to what they really were. He stopped everyone pulling the songs apart! He also ensured everyone had time and space to do their parts without interference so he was an effective manager of that too.

 

New Day Rising is also striking in terms of its brevity-its ten songs come and go in what feels like a heartbeat. Mikko walks me through the editing process:

Doing the record in Vancouver we actually recorded 16 songs, ten of which ended up on the album. To be honest, we felt that some of the songs just were not as good as they could have been, so they got left out. There were times when something didn’t quite click in the recording, or we didn’t feel that the song worked 100% so we decided to have a session – the band, our producer, manager and engineer; 8 people. We and we sat down and decided “Ok, these 10 we will keep.”

We then worked on those songs that were left – I guess you would refer to these as our B-side s- with the record engineering students at the complex where we were laying the album down to give them some first-hand experience of what it’s like to work with a real band.

 

I suggest to Mikko that listening to the album is a bit like listening to a vinyl album where there are two sides with ‘Dreams’ being the “turn the record over” point. He pauses for a brief moment before agreeing

Exactly! That’s how we think! Whether this way of listening to music is so deeply ingrained in us I don’t know, but that’s what we wanted to do. We knew early in that the record was going to be versatile but the sequencing of the album is deliberate in that it takes you on a trip.

So, for example, the placing of ‘Dreams’ is absolutely purposeful. It’s like “Bang!” – onto the next part of the journey. Equally we ditched the idea that the record needed to sound a particular way. Basically if we think a song is good enough it goes in. We don’t care whether it is in keeping with any “theme”. What I mean is, we don’t consciously look to take a song and feel obliged to make it more metal by adding more heavy guitars or more prog by adding additional musical parts to it. the song just needs to be.

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This sense of artistic freedom coupled with a self-belief (but not arrogance) has seen the Von Hertzen Brothers grow their level of support in a very impressive manner but, as Mikko expands, the band remain resolutely ambitious:

Look, in this band there is a lot of talent! he laughs, although you know that there is more than a kernel of truth in this: We knew that if we want to take this band further we have to make a record that is as good as Coldplay or U2 or Foo Fighters. It doesn’t matter what band you choose but, you know, that league. We need to be in that league sonic wise, song-writing wise, the whole thing. All of this has to be as good as the very best.

I’m not sure we are there but we are trying to make that step up. We wanted to do something that would appeal as something fresh, even now at album number six. We have ambition. Not to have wealth or be famous, but musically. We really want to improve and take our listeners by surprise by what we are doing: we want people to say “Wow! This is their best record! each and every time we do something new.

 

It’s evident that for all their experience to date that this remains a band as hungry today as they were on day one; from arguing over the setlists (“choosing for the festivals is going to be a fucking nightmare” apparently), to worrying about whether anyone will turn up to see them on tour, you’re left with one abiding reflection – if there was one band that you would hope would make it into the big time, you could do a lot worse that hope for these guys.

At the heart of this band is a collective joy at making music, a confidence in what they do but a band who have roots and values and principles.

We are Prog says Mikko as we part our ways. Despite how straightforward this new record is, we are still a prog band. That’s never going away.

 

Who says nice guys can’t finish first?

 

Von Hertzen Brothers on Facebook

 

MAT DAVIES


Dawn of a New Day – Mikko von Hertzen of Von Hertzen Brothers

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It’s a pleasant spring evening in one of the up and coming, trendier areas of North London and Ghost Cult is enjoying a coffee and a chinwag with Mikko Von Hertzen of Von Hertzen Brothers. Our discussion takes in musical choices and, of course the new record, New Day Rising (Spinefarm)…

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“It’s YOU, isn’t it?” A 30-something woman looks somewhat star struck, gazing at the man stood next to me. “You’re the SINGER aren’t you?” My tall, elegant companion is polite enough to acknowledge that, indeed, he is the singer and it is, after all, him. The singer in question is Mikko Von Hertzen, lead vocalist with Finland’s finest rock band, the Von Hertzen Brothers and this, dear readers, is what being a rock star is all about; meeting and greeting fans and generally being far too cool for school.

Mikko poses for photos, takes hugs that go on ever so slightly too long and then it’s down to the business of meeting the media. Well, in this case, your humble Ghost Cult scribe. It’s a pleasant spring evening in one of the up and coming, trendier areas of North London and we are enjoying a coffee and a chinwag with Mikko, right at the start of the band’s UK tour in support of their latest and, perhaps, greatest record to date – the fresh and spiky New Day Rising (Spinefarm).

The seemingly inexorable rise of the Von Hertzen Brothers from hardworking studio grafters following in their father’s footsteps to feted cult progressives and now into internationally acclaimed rock band looks probably more swanlike to the outsider than the actually reality of matters for the band, but Mikko seems relaxed ahead of this leg of their European tour.

 

It’s 4 weeks to the day since New Day Rising came out. How have you felt about the reaction to it?

I feel good, man. Although it’s been out for only a month, we had the record ready since mid-November last year so, yeah, this is a case of living in your own shit for quite a while before you can get the record out! When you’re doing international releases like this one you need a long lead time for all the teams to be ready, to do the planning of the release – the marketing and so on.

As artists, of course there were moments when we we’re thinking “Is this too far to the mainstream?” or “Is this too rock or too pop?”, but this last month it’s been very encouraging. Our fans love this record and it’s been pleasing because, in addition to that, we have been able to gain a lot of new territories, new audiences. There are people who are looking at us for the first time, taking an interest in what we are doing, wanting to review the album, interview us for the first time so, yeah, it’s been a good few weeks.

Personally, I was hesitant about the album around Christmas time but now I feel very confident about the album being good, and it’s been fun to work the last month with better crowds than we had for the Nine Lives (also Spinefarm) tour.

If truth be known, everything feels like we are riding a bit of a wave…..

 

How do you deal with the pressure of having all these expectations on you – the production teams, marketing, management and so on demanding new songs? Does that affect you at all?

It doesn’t affect me that much to be honest. When I am writing songs, I am only thinking about the songs and I don’t really think about whether people are going to like it, but I do put a huge pressure on myself to want to pull something out that is good, to find new ways of doing things, to bring out new ideas for songs. Of course, we then have the discussions about what songs should be the arrowhead for the new record, are we going to go with a rock song, a pop song, a prog song…

Because we do all of that…

 

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Indeed they do. New Day Rising is striking for its diversity of styles yet, running through it all has also been a straightforward approach that has perhaps only been hinted at on previous releases. Our conversation moves on to the band’s musical diversity and its effect on their relationship with their dedicated and knowledgeable fan base. In particular, the UK prog scene has been a particular champion of the band’s work. I wondered whether there was a risk that they might alienate their following and, in effect, inadvertently end up biting the hand that fed them. Mikko is reflective:

I think that we might be going through a cycle, he explains. Let’s look back at where this band has come from. The first album was, if you will, a bud that we…. probably…. took too early: it wasn’t a flower in bloom. It was an idea. It wasn’t a fully formed idea but we just went with it, you know? The second and third records were the Prog records where we nailed it but, and I have said this before, I don’t just want to do an another Approach (Dynasty).

We want to find something new, do something different. The reality is we like different types of music. We’re not just prog heads who like just Dream Theater and Pink Floyd. We love Abba. We love Dire Straits.

This love of different things was ingrained in us from a very early age from the stuff that was played in the family home. In some ways, the new stuff is often a reaction to the older stuff so this album especially we have reached the point where we have become the most straightforward as we are likely to.

It’s all about simple structures, simple rock songs or pop songs. It might be that the reaction to that will be an out and out prog record!

His smile is genuine and genuinely mischievous as he says it.

 

von Hertzen Brothers on Facebook

 

 

MAT DAVIES


Von Hertzen Brothers – New Day Rising

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I suppose that fifteen years is quite a long time but, for your average music fan, the Von Hertzen Brothers represent something of a “new” thing. Certainly, the band’s recent success is testimony to the benefit of hard work; it’s also testimony to the fact that as they have honed their art so it has become increasingly accessible. New Day Rising (Spinefarm) is unquestionably their most accessible record to date and will, as sure as night follows day, ensure a wider audience and even greater success for this most agreeable of Finnish bands. It’s a record packed to the rafters with ideas; if truth be known, probably a few too many.

Matters get off to what can only be described as a rip roaring start with the title track throwing down the gauntlet: it’s sprightly and full of chutzpah, an energetic tour de force. You get the impression of a band comfortable in their skin and ready to take us on new musical adventures with gusto. ‘You Don’t Know My Name’ lightens the frenetic pace somewhat but the straightforward rock style is maintained in earnest. ‘Trouble’ is initially disingenuous with its soft opening, soon breaking out into an expansive number and a clear progression from the album’s opening two cuts. So far, so very agreeable.

The brakes come on for the melancholy of ‘Black Rain’, which has a nice gentle melody that supports the mood of reflection and introspection. ‘Hold Me Up’ is, make no mistake, Coldplay through a Helsinki misty rain, and is as arch and contrived as that sounds. It’s a self-consciously “big” ballad and I’m not sure it works: if someone said it was Finland’s Eurovision entry, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. I don’t actively dislike it but it jars the overall tenor of the record.

One of the interesting things about Von Hertzen Brothers has been their fearlessness in trying something new and different, keeping the listener on their proverbial toes and demanding your undivided attention. Despite the relatively straightforward nature of New Day Rising, the quirky nature of ‘Dreams’ demonstrates that this sense of gentle provocation remains firmly in place. It’s quirky and fun, lightweight and unassuming.

‘Sunday Child’ is much more serious stuff, and whilst the Coldplay echoes and sense of impending drama remain leitmotifs there’s also a whiff of Biffy Clyro invading the melody giving it a sense of defiance in its melancholic timbre. ‘The Destitute’ is much more traditional Von Hertzen fare, with a glitzy bassline that recalls U2’s Berlin period. Again, like much of the record it dashes and dances through pace and time signatures as all Prog records tend to but, despite what appears to be wilful exuberance, the core song holds its own. The album coda, ‘Hibernating Heart’ brings the pace and mood down again: an archetypal reflection of times past, of mistakes made, it’s a heartfelt and impassioned ballad and a more than decent sign off.

New Day Rising is an album of progress and advance from the Von Hertzen Brothers: there are some brilliant new songs that build on a growing reputation. However, it’s a record that also has a few jarring moments and, weirdly, too many ideas for its own good. What we’re left with is a very good record but not a nailed on classic. Greatness though is surely round the corner. As it stands, less would, in this instance, have probably been more.

7.5/10

von Hertzen Brothers on Facebook

MAT DAVIES


Santa Cruz – Santa Cruz

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The opening of thirty seconds of the self-titled sophomore album (Spinefarm) from Finland’s Santa Cruz teases of this being (yet another) post-hardcore album before, like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible II, rips off the covering mask with a stomping cojones-to-the-max Sleaze Rock riff. We’re implored to get our “middle fingers up” and raise our “fucking hands in the air” before being swept up into the type of chorus that used to get millions of mulleted and permed peeps singing along.

Santa Cruz have unveiled their true selves.

But let’s get some disclaimers in early before we end up doing Santa Cruz a disservice and having you all rolling your eyes to the heavens and thinking this is some kind of retro throwback, na-na-na (as many a great chorus’ go), this is sleaze and glam but up-to-date. Yes, the roots of the rock swagger on display have been led from Park Avenue to Skid Row, but there are also similarities to The Used and Hardcore Superstar in there.

OK, there is no musical revolution going on here, but when you have songs as massive as ‘6(66) Feet Under’ or ‘My Remedy’ you don’t need to be setting a new agenda, you’ll win hearts and minds just by producing damn good, catchy, slick spirited rock songs; ‘Wasted & Wounded’ is, (woah-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh), the song Black Veil Brides have always been striving for.

Vocalist “Archie” has Seb Bach ‘tood in his voice and “Johnny” Parkkonen is happy slamming riffs, chugs, and searing widdling leads (the solo to ‘Vagabonds’ is pure Marty Friedman – love it!), but between them the quartet stay on target for the duration of the ten tracks on display, high-energy rock music, excellently captured with enough heaviness, balls and vibe in the sound to help them stand out, and to indicate a live show would a great night out.

There’s a line between disposable, retro hero-worship rock (that frankly bores the fuck out of me and flatters to deceive) and being a goddamn good rock band, and Santa Cruz are man-walking, chests out, over there; the line is a dot to them. With the power of a Bullet For My Valentine, and the choruses of Ratt, Santa Cruz is an album that’ll get your boogie on, get your hand in the air, your air guitar out and get your mouth singing along.

And you can’t argue with that.

8.0/10

Santa Cruz on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY


Nightwish announce Wembley (UK) show for December

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With their hotly anticipated eighth album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, the first to feature new vocalist Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever, ReVamp), due out on March 30 via Nuclear Blast, Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish have announced their most significant UK appearance to date, confirming they will be headlining a one-off exclusive show at the prestigious Wembley Arena on Saturday December 19.

The show sees the band become the first Finnish act to headline at the venue.

Mainman Tuomas Holopainen had this to say: “Who would have thought about headlining at Wembley Arena one day when we were starting our UK touring history from the downstairs of the legendary Astoria Club in London over ten years ago. This truly is a dream come true for us !”

Support comes from two big hitters in the form of Arch Enemy and fellow-Finns Amorphis.

 

Tickets go on sale this Friday 13th Feb at 10am and will be available here:
http://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/nightwish-tickets

 

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Endless Forms Most Beautiful can be pre-ordered via Nuclear Blast here.

 

 

Nightwish on Facebook


Sonata Arctica – Ecliptica – Revisited; 15th Anniversary Edition

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Considering Spinefarm released a re-mastered version of Ecliptica in 2008 resplendent with new packaging and bonus tracks, in order celebrate the 15th anniversary of their debut, Finnish melodic Power Metal masters Sonata Arctica had to do something different, so chose to head to the studio to re-record it. As you do. The intention seems honest enough, with only vocalist / mainman Tony Kakko and drummer Tommy Portimo playing on the original, and with songs from what is a genuine genre classic still featuring heavily in their set, the rest of the band wanted to pay tribute to the original.

So, where do we stand on re-recordings, people? Yep, thought so, that seems pretty unanimous to me… I’ve yet to come across a re-recording where the original has been improved upon too. While some are worthy curiosities worth a listen from time to time, the best example being Anthrax’s The Greater Of Two Evils (Sanctuary) – which was a compilation of older tracks with John Bush on vocals rather than a straight re-record – in the main, they are creatively redundant, futile efforts. And don’t get me started on Kings Of Metal MMXIV (Magic Circle).

The re-record is slicker and “sounds” better, with Kakko’s vocals less fresh-faced and more professional, it does lack the naivety and, well, charm, of an original that had a rawer guitar sound, less polished mix and more ‘oomph’ to it. The key of several of the songs, most notably opener ‘Blank File’, has shifted down a notch or two to better suit Kakko’s range, and some of the solos have switched between instruments.

But, minor aesthetics aside, it is pleasing to report that, at least, they haven’t fucked around with it and Ecliptica – Revisited; 15th Anniversary Edition (Nuclear Blast) is pretty much a straight re-record. Why is this pleasing? Surely you’d want the band to do something different? Nah, because different isn’t always better and this faithful re-imagining serves a reminder of just how good the songs are and just how promising a band Sonata Arctica were in their early days.

Ultimately, it must be said, this is a very, very respectable re-recording of a great album, and about as a good a job as could be done to stay true to the original, but as with all of these types of things, the original is the King. If the debut didn’t exist, I’d be reigning down recommendations on this from on high – Ecliptica is a classic for a reason, all in, a collection of great songs.

The 15th Anniversary Edition, I’m sure, was fun for all concerned, but if you’re interested in dipping into the Stratovarius influenced Power Metal world of Sonata Arctica at their peak, pick up the originals of the first three.

7.5/10

Sonata Arctica on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY


Foreseen – Helsinki Savagery

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Thrashers Foreseen have been called “Finland’s answer to Power Trip.” Formed in 2010, the band had only released a few EPs and splits up until now, but with their debut album Helsinki Savagery (20 Buck Spin) they sound more like Finland’s answer to every aggressive thrash outfit ever.

Mainly labelled as a Crossover Thrash band, Foreseen combine Slayer-like speed and aggression with stomping hardcore. If you like Municipal Waste but feel the vocals aren’t ferocious enough, these guys are just up your street. It’s aggressive, raw, and full of circle pit inducing headbangers. Anyone who wears patches on their denim vests and claims to like 80s metal should enjoy this.

Instrumental opener ‘Slam Savagery’ combines Reign In Blood (Def Jam) era shredding with early Megadeth-levels of guitar histrionics. ‘Death Injection’ is a high octane slab of brutality, featuring rasping vocals, gang shoutalongs and stomping breakdowns. Whether it’s the squealing ‘Market Target’ or the slower brutality of ‘Structural Oppression,’ there’s very little let up.

Foreseen took a look at 80s thrash and condensed it down to 40 minutes of snarling, shredding and solos. Individually, there’s not a weak song among the lot. Tracks toward the end – ‘Delusion of No Consequence,’ Paving The Way’ – are filled with the same levels of urgency and searing goodness as the opening numbers. The only criticisms you can throw at the album is the lack of variety. While it’s a formula that works, there’s almost no deviation from the standard thrash blueprint. But why fix what isn’t broken?

There’s little, if anything, that hasn’t come before in the realm of thrash metal. Luckily crossover hasn’t been played over and over to death, and Foreseen do enough to avoid sounding hackneyed. They might not be too subtle about hiding their influences, but the energy they put into in the record makes Helsinki Savagery a great record for banging your head to.

7.0/10

Foreseen on Facebook

DAN SWINHOE


Oranssi Pazuzu – Valonielu

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1185301_10151629766588553_312929272_nFor those in the know, Finnish quintet Oranssi Pazuzu have been one of the most exciting and talked about bands operating in the labyrinth depths of the black metal underground; their borderline unpronounceable name and freakishly weird take on an established sound has been a tonic to those left cold by the standard blood n’ puke splattered fare from the Land of a Thousand Lakes. 2013 sees the release of third album Valonielu (Svart Records) which in the words of the band themselves may well make good of their stated aim of making music “that invites all the arsonists and smokers to hold hands.”

The psychedelic element to Oranssi Pazuzu’s sound has always sat comfortably with their harder black metal basis, and these two forces weave and combine to great effect throughout the entirety of “Valonielu.” Opening track ‘Vino Verso’ is built around a repetitive mid-paced riff that you may find on a Satyricon B-side; clinical and basic, but it’s the swirling electronica that settles like a narcotic-infused miasma on the listener’s mind; the distorted Theremin creating a creepy, spacy atmosphere that elevates the track into something else altogether. The wandering bassline and rushing synth swells of ‘Tyhjä Temppeli’ take things to an even weirder plateau where warped prog structures meet harsh, strangulated vocals, minus guitars of course. At this point in time, reality already appears to be collapsing in on itself.

Languid dissonance is the order of the day on ‘Uraanisula’, again making use of repetition and eerie keyboards over the course of twelve increasingly harrowing minutes. This could be what happened if Pink Floyd had discovered a copy of the Necronomicon and decided to smoke the pages. The pace increases for the final few minutes with a jagged riff suggesting something truly unholy has been summoned as you feel your mind cracking under the onslaught, not helped by the nightmarish psychedelic vibe that seems to keep finding new ways to antagonise your ears.

Nerves are further frayed by the restless, swirling tones of instrumental Reikä Maisemassa’ and the dense, driving riffs of ‘Olen Aukaissut Uuden Silmän’, the latter of which finally throws in a bit of tremolo picking. It doesn’t last long however, as kaleidoscopic prog rhythms drench proceedings in awesome, alien murk once more. We finish off with a few moments of serenity at the beginning of ‘Ympyrä On Viiva Tomussa’ before a shimmering wall of noise hits home and we are off into the void again, flying helplessly away from earth and sanity. The pounding riff and other assorted noises could have been written by Beherit if they practised in a cave daubed by ancient astronaut hieroglyphs whilst off their tits on peyote and rum, and just in case you’re curious, that’s a good thing.

With Valonielu, Oranssi Pazuzu deserve to join the hallowed ranks of the weird that operate on the fringes of black metal, such as The Meads of Asphodel and A Forest of Stars. The level of originality, avant-garde oddness and raw talent is enough to render the panda-painted orthodox brigade as relevant as whatever Varg Vikernes writes on his blog these days. Is it black metal? Who knows what it is, and who cares? It’s in here now, with us, and that’s all that matters.

9/10

Oranssi Pazuzu on Facebook

James Conway