RuoTo: Talvenselkä

Back to reviews and straight away out of my comfort zone, this is the first record that has been sent to me specifically for the purpose of being reviewed and it represents a genre that I am mostly not familiar with.

The first thing that comes to my mind, however, when listening to this album, is "why is that? This is some good stuff!" I mean, I can hear echoes of Pekka Streng, Kuusumun Profeetta, Rättö & Lehtisalo and Kuollut Etana in this, but beyond that I'm not sure how to classify this. Indie-alternative-rock-ish, maybe? In any case, I'm loving it.

With repeated listens, I was drawn into the hypnotic production that rather sounds like the band was playing right in front of you. The vocals, that admittedly sounded a bit grating for about 4 seconds on the first listen, started to sound like the most natural thing in the world. Especially at certain points where a line is repeated many times, I can picture myself sitting by a fire in a dark forest listening to these guys playing. Also, I think it says something about the catchiness of these tunes that I was already singing along on the second listen.

Now, a big allure of the album, for me, is the lyrics, delivered clearly and written well – in Finnish. I don't know how many of you readers (if there, indeed are any readers) are Finns – I assume most of you – but if you don't understand Finnish, you might lose a great deal of the experience (then again, your mileage may vary). However, Finnish is a fun language to know.

To sum up, here's a small band I wish would get bigger. They probably will never reach mainstream success, but a modicum of indie success would certainly be in order. At least enough for them to descend from their native northern Finland among us southern folk and play live (and not bankrupt themselves doing it).

Listen to Talvenselkä on spotify: RuoTo – Talvenselkä
Or on their Bandcamp page: http://ruoto.bandcamp.com/

Cloud music

A year and then some ago I began writing a post about cloud music, and while I didn't get far, now is an opportune time to revisit the subject. Here's what I managed to write all that time ago:

"Spotify and the likes have lately been gaining massive popularity around the world. They have been toted as the future of music distribution, and while that may be true, and I don't see myself as some sort of luddite, I haven't as of yet made these services a part of my musical experience."

 Now, since I wrote this, it took me a year before I signed up for Spotify. Why? Simply put, I thought it superfluous to use in addition to all the records I was buying. I suppose I thought I have little enough time to listen to the records I already own and wouldn't need a nigh limitless source of new music to distract me. I may have been right.

At the end of 2013, I decided I'd limit the amount of records I buy to 1 per month, and this gave me the idea to sign up for Spotify, if purely for the purpose of not being completely thrown out of the loop with regards to new releases. What I didn't imagine was that I'd get so hooked on the discover feature: based on my statistics on last.fm, at the time of signing up for Spotify I had listened to just under one thousand different artists or bands; now that figure is past 1,100. I have found myself steering away from the bands I've known and towards new stuff, of which I've found a metric shitton.

Then how do I feel about this? After realising my changed behaviour, I have tried to listen to old favourites as well as finding new ones, but the fact is that my listening habits have undergone a distinct shift in focus. I still listen to vinyls, every now and then I get a vinyl kick, especially if I have company, but just the fact that it's now that much easier to look up new stuff when someone mentions it has been a kind of a minor revolution, as I rarely could be bothered to go traipsing around youtube or, *gasp*, myspace (is myspace even a thing anymore?). Then again, this whole thing is still so new to me that I might not be really accustomed to it yet.

Oh, and I still take my ipod on the road instead of using Spotify on my phone, if for no other reasons than the inevitable battery drain and patchy mobile network that gives me trouble even when just browsing.

The best of 2013 – my subjective list of 6 favourites

Another year went flying past and I found myself in possession of a bunch of new records. Looking closely, I found out a whole lot of them had come out in 2013, a lot more than I'd feel like putting on a list, so eliminations would have to be made. This proved to be quite the task, took me the better part of 3 weeks to get there, but I made it, and here's my favourite 6 albums from 2013, in no particular order, however, since I can't be arsed to take 3 more weeks to decide the exact order.

Domovoyd: Oh Sensibility
We played a gig with these guys in January, and I liked what I heard back then. Shortly afterwards, they were rising fast, with a confirmed gig at Ilosaarirock, one of the biggest rock festivals of the Finnish summer, and a deal with Svart Records, who put out this, their debut album. Upon listening to the album, I liked what I heard even better. This is a great debut effort and one of the 4 albums I had no doubt about putting on the list.
http://domovoyd.bandcamp.com/

Moss: Horrible Night
Sounding like Electric Wizard's depressed little brother, Moss's latest was released bu Rise Above Records, who put out quite a few good albums last year. Of those, this was the best, in my humble opinion. Unabashedly slow and plodding, with riffs that flow through you like glaciers on acid. I can see why someone might think this is boring stuff, but to me it's the opposite: it's trance-inducing in the best way imaginable. Also, having previously only heard the Tombs of the Blind Drugged and Eternal Return EPs, I was surprised to hear clean vocals from Olly, but they work.
http://mossdoom.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-night

The Body: Christs, Redeemers
For me, as a fan of Thou and Khanate, this kind of sublime mix of ugliness and eerie beauty works wonders. I saw the video for the track "An Altar or a Grave" and nearly lost my shit then and there. Unforgiving, unrelenting, not an easy album to listen to, but tickles my fancy for the grimier things in life.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/the-body/334047229514

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats: Mind Control
You may remember me gushing about Uncle Acid's sophomore album, Blood Lust, some years ago. That in mind, I was a bit reserved about this one prior to hearing it. The album, however, met my expectations and surpassed them. The band kicked into doom gear and proceeded to pour honey into my ears. With an air of matter-of-fact seriousness, this is just a well thought-out whole.
https://www.facebook.com/uncleacid

Oranssi Pazuzu: Valonielu
From the first note of Oranssi Pazuzu's debut album, Muukalainen Puhuu, I've loved them, and, album by album, they've kept on one-upping themselves, evolving very naturally. Valonielu, their third effort, is no exception. Here's a hulking behemoth of aggression coupled with psychedelia to once again spirit me to another level of being.
http://www.oranssipazuzu.com/

Risto Juhani: Pimeä Saari
And to prevent you from thinking I'm some kind of a doom goblin entirely, here's something on a softer note (though not that much lighter, as this, too, is some pretty melancholy stuff). I heard like 2 songs on the radio last year that I actually liked, and one of them was from this album. As the rest of the album was on par with that one track, which I really liked, it was quite the easy decision to include this on the list.
https://soundcloud.com/ristojuhani

In addition, I'd like to briefly mention some other albums that I quite liked that didn't make the list proper:
Deafheaven: Sunbather
Hebosagil: Lähtö
Cult of Luna: Vertikal
KEN mode: Entrench
Church of Misery: Thy Kingdom Scum
High Priest of Saturn: High Priest of Saturn
Ghost: Infestissumam

And on top of that, two albums that came out in 2011 and 2012 respectively, but that I only heard last year and think are worth a mention, are Mars Red Sky by Mars Red Sky (http://marsredsky.bandcamp.com/album/mars-red-sky-debut-album) and Sorrow and Extinction by Pallbearer (http://pallbearer.bandcamp.com/album/sorrow-and-extinction), so check 'em out.

To conclude, as I've been getting into Spotify lately, I've created playlists of these here records:
Best of 2013
Runners-up 2013 (missing Hebosagil and Church of Misery due to their unavailability)

A beautiful dystopia: best albums from 1984 to now

Ever a fan of lists, I decided to compile a list from what I think are the very best albums of every year since my birth in 1984. The further back we go, my knowledge of music decreases, so I thought I'd make the cutoff at 1984. So, if your favourite album from 1989 isn't on the list, it's very much possible I haven't heard it. Or maybe I just liked another album better. Also, I know you were expecting it, but I nevertheless apologise for writing a list of metal albums. But now, without further ado, the list:

1984 – Metallica: Ride the Lightning
Something like the fourth Metallica album I bought. Also one of the first few albums I owned. It was a tossup between this one and Powerslave by Iron Maiden, but as is often the case with Maiden albums, Powerslave contains too much filler whereas Ride the Lightning is, in my opinion, top notch material from start to finish.

1985 – Sielun Veljet: L'Amourha
Sielun Veljet are a cornerstone of Finnish rock music of the 80s, noteworthy in the sense that they didn't suck. And this album is, simply put, pure fucking awesomeness.

1986 – Metallica: Master of Puppets
Going through my collection, I found an assload of good albums from 1986. Reign in Blood, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Somewhere in Time, Orgasmatron. Master of Puppets, however, is the best.

1987 – Bathory: Under the Sign of the Black Mark
What can I say about this one? The first Bathory album I ever heard. Raw, unpolished, totally awesome. And a legion of Norwegians followed.

1988 – Saint Vitus: Mournful Cries
At this point it's already getting difficult to decide on just one album, there's so much awesome stuff out there that I'm acquainted with. But this is a stunning record and I'll crown it king of 1988.

1989 – The Offspring: The Offspring
Getting even harder to decide, argh! In this golden age of death metal, I'll go with punk rock. My indisputable favourite from The Offspring's catalogue, catchy enough and yet harsh enough to create an atmosphere unrivaled by the rest of their albums. All in all, a fine display of youth energy.

1990 – Megadeth: Rust in Peace
Megadeth's finest hour. Despite increasing difficulty in making up my mind, this is the conclusion I came to.

1991 – Carcass: Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious
About time I had some death metal on this list. Even with just death metal albums, I had a tough call between 5 albums, but I'm partial to Carcass.

1992 – Alice in Chains: Dirt
All killer, no filler. No mean feat with an album with 13 tracks (of which one isn't really a song, but you get me, right?).

1993 – My Dying Bride: Turn Loose the Swans
This got really difficult. There were like 10 albums I wanted to pick. But since I can choose just one, it's this. Liquid gold in my ears every time I listen to this, a sublime concoction of beauty and despair. One of my all time favourite albums.

1994 – Acid Bath: When the Kite String Pops
From the swamps of Louisiana, sludge arose in the early nineties (probably even as early as the late eighties), and while these guys weren't the first, to me they were the most interesting.

1995 – Saint Vitus: Die Healing
Another Vitus album on the list. It's simply proper, since this is, to me, their best effort to date. I will forever stand in awe of Scott Reagers's voice, and together with some of the best songs they've written, Vitus win 1995.

1996 – Acid Bath: Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Another Acid Bath album, I cannot help it. They only released two albums and both were like the best thing ever. Simply amazing.

1997 – Katatonia: Discouraged Ones
It took me awhile to dance my way through the rest of Katatonia's back catalogue to this one, but when I first heard it, it was love. Say what you will about Katatonia, but their style works for me.

1998 – Anathema: Alternative 4
Another incredibly hard decision. Another incredibly awesome record.

1999 – Type O Negative: World Coming Down
So dark, so heartfelt, so full of pain, so catchy. I suppose most fans of Type O like their odd sense of humor, but to me, the balance was only perfect on this album, and what a nigh-perfect album it is.

2000 – Electric Wizard: Dopethrone
There's no question here, I didn't even have to think on this one.

2001 – Crowbar: Sonic Excess in Its Purest Form
This was difficult again, so many good ones to choose from. This one prevailed, however, because it's slightly more awesome than the other awesome albums from the same year.

2002 – Agalloch: The Mantle
An even better year than 2001, tons of really, really good albums. Still, this wasn't a difficult choice, since this is the. best. album. ever.

2003 – Sleep: Dopesmoker
Originally released in 1997 as an edited version called Jerusalem,  2003 finally saw the emergence of Dopesmoker as it was supposed to be. And it was good.

2004 – Kuusumun Profeetta: Sanansaattaja oraakkeli salamurha hyökkäysvaunu
From the pen of a Finnish genius by the name of Mika Rättö (also known from Circle, Omfalos Renaissance, Eleanoora Rosenholm and others) comes this slab of I don't know exactly what. What I do know is I love it.

2005 – Kent: Du & Jag Döden
The least heavy record on the list so far. Not a single bit cheerier, however, and that is how I like my music.

2006 – Celtic Frost: Monotheist
This. Is. Metal.

2007 – Wolves in the Throne Room: Two Hunters
Another year packed with awesome stuff. This, WITTR's finest effort to date, takes the cake, however.

2008 – Thou: Peasant
Plagued by shoddy mastering, this is still one of the best albums I know.

2009 – Fall of Efrafa: Inlé
What was ultimately Fall of Efrafa's swansong is also their finest work. One of those records I feel lucky to have heard.

2010 – Christian Mistress: Agony & Opium
Short and to the point. Energetic heavy metal that gets stuck in your head.

2011 – Witch Mountain: South of Salem
Traditional doom with an uncanny knack for writing the best songs.

2012 – Witch Mountain: Cauldron of the Wild
From the top of my last year's end of the year list, as seen on the Ever Circling Wolves blog. Might've linked the list to my facebook, too. Anyway, Witch Mountain are on a roll, and while it took me some time to really get into this one, eventually I understood it and it was awesome.

2013 – My Bloody Valentine: M B V
It's a bit early to tell for this year, but so far this has been my favourite. I've got a couple of new records I haven't really had time to listen to, so only time will tell, but right now this sounds really good.

Is less really more?

The expression "less is more" is probably quite familiar to all. In this post I intend to reflect upon that expression in the context of music, specifically metal in album form.

This idea came to me today as I was taking a bus downtown to get me a copy of Anaal Nathrakh's latest effort, Vanitas. I used to be of the persuasion that more is more when I was younger, you see. I got to thinking about how I bought all the Metallica albums so far released when I was 15 – deciding which one to get next based on how many tracks it had. My justification for this was that I'd be getting more bang for the buck if I got an album with more tracks. And let's be honest here: if a Metallica album clocks over 70 minutes, it more or less sucks, though I didn't realize this until years after the fact.

Some years later as I got into heavier stuff, I decided to get something by Carcass. You know where this is going, don't you? Yes, of all their albums I chose Reek of Putrefaction with its 22 tracks. Unfamiliar with grindcore at the time it was a bit of a shock and it took years to understand that stuff, but I got all their other albums (with a lot less tracks) a bit later anyway, and they were a lot easier to stomach. This is roughly when I learned the unimportance of the number of tracks, but I will be returning to this point eventually.

Anyway, a sort of affinity for long albums persisted beyond that time until at some point I realized that the ideal length for an album is largely based on genre. For example, Nasum's Inhale/Exhale (38 tracks, 45 minutes) feels bloated, because who can listen to 45 minutes of grindcore at once? It's an arduous task if it's not live or if you don't at least change bands halfway through. Whereas (at least in my opinion) Reverend Bizarre's final album, III: So Long Suckers (7 tracks, 2 hours 10 minutes) flows through quite easily. Yes, groundbreaking notion here, amirite? Fast music is better suited for short songs whereas slow music can go on a lot longer.

And now, back to the point about long albums. You see, some bands just can't hold their horses and compile an album of a number of tracks that is both sufficiently big and sufficiently small. Take the aforementioned Metallica for example, specifically their sixth album, Load. 14 tracks and 79 minutes, sheesh (not to mention that they originally intended to release Load and Reload as a double album)! Say what you want about post-justice Metallica, but that album definitely has its moments. If only they'd shaved off something like 4 or 5 tracks and it would've been that much more palatable. And an even worse offender from the Metallica camp is the infamous St. Anger with 11 tracks and clocking in at 75 minutes. I mean, if your songs are almost 9 minutes long, you don't need so many of them. That none of the songs were any good is beside the point. While at the other end of the spectrum, the aforementioned Reek of Putrefaction by Carcass is just about the perfect length at 39 minutes, despite the 22 tracks.

Going down to the level of individual songs, as what I have said so far really only matters when you're listening to albums as a whole, context is equally important nevertheless. For example, making a fast grindcore track of 9 minutes is, as a rule, a mistake (I do not know if such a track exists, this is hyperbole), whereas Sleep did a mighty fine job of writing an hour long track with Dopesmoker. And, because I haven't ranted enough about St. Anger, let's take its title track under inspection. It's been a while since I've last heard it and I don't necessarily want to hear it again, but if I recall correctly it's got 3 different parts, the structure is something like ABCABCABC (dunno, there might've been a D somewhere as well) and the tracks clocks in at 7:21. In order to make a track this simple and this long listenable, basically all the riffs should be fucking class A kings of riffs. And they aren't, not by a long shot. Similarly, some of Napalm Death's 4+ minutes grind tracks may sound a bit overlong, though hardly to the same degree.

I'll conclude by asking you (and myself): did I write too much here? Would less have been more? I don't know, I've never been that verbose and everything I write seems to come out shorter than intended. But am I just rambling incoherently here? Or is that the point?



P.S. Like my page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tssoml

And I am nothing of an indie expert but here I dreamt I could review a Decemberists album

So, it's become time to finally carry out this task I set out to do so long ago and write something about Castaways and Cutouts by The Decemberists. Released in 2002, this is their debut album and I love it.

my name is Leslie Anne Levine
my mother birthed me down a dry ravine
my mother birthed me far too soon
born at nine and dead at noon 

From the first four lines of the first track, the mood for the record is set. While not in its entirety quite this dismal, the whole album is appropriately melancholy. Which is good. I mean, who likes cheery music anyway? Not me and judging by the fact that you're reading this, not you either.

And this is where my lack of knowledge about indie folk rock or whatever this is supposed to be comes forth and sits in my way like an impenetrable wall. I've no point of reference within a similar context, so I can't really tell about this in a way that would evoke some sort of recognition or what have you. Therefore, and assuming that pretty much everyone who will read this likes metal (let's be honest, why would you read this blog if you weren't into metal?), let me ask you this: Would you like to hear something good that is not metal? Something that isn't, however, that cheery shit that's all over the radio and MTV? Do you like American folk music? Do you like a good Hammond organ? How about some Irishness? If the answer to all or even most of these is yes, The Decemberists just might be a band for you to check out.

And if you're already familiar with The Decemberists, just not this particular album, and are wondering if it's worth listening, well, that depends on whether you like their other albums. Granted, their sound has evolved over time, but I personally think they haven't released a single bad album. Not even a mediocre album, just different shades of good, and while this one's got nothing on their best effort, The Crane Wife, it's still fairly awesome.



Oh yeah, did I mention I only write about albums I like?

Open mind, closed mind

You know how there's a stereotype that heavy metal fans are closed-minded about music? And you know how, as a metal fan yourself, that stereotype is inaccurate? Yeah, me too. The more I get to know new people, especially metal fans, the more I learn they're pretty open-minded.

Still, I used to be one of those stereotypical, stuck up dunces myself, in my younger years. If it didn't have distorted guitars (and maybe even if it did) it wasn't worth listening to. Ironically enough, at the time I also listened to a lot of what I'd now say is crappy metal.

With age comes wisdom, right? Right, in that my musical taste seems to be ever developing, ever diversifying. I'm learning about new, awesome bands and artists all the time. Then again, wrong, in that on the other hand I seem to be getting ever pickier as well, and something that may have delighted me 5 years ago now bores me to death. Age also brings with it the infamous "young people and their incomprehensible music" attitude. You know how it goes.

Ultimately, however, the goodness of all music is subjective. Why, then, do I get so annoyed when people wonder how come I don't like popular artist x but not-so-popular artist y from roughly the same genre instead? I suppose I'd like to think that popularity can really only be achieved by appealing to the lowest common denominator and all that hipster jazz. Does it make me cool that I like all these obscure bands you've probably never even heard of? Maybe not. Probably not. But can I help it if they sound so good to me? I don't see why I should. Instead, I suppose I could throw around recommendations for those who are on the lookout for new musical acquaintances and listen to the recommendations of others. To try to keep an open mind.

vblog: amazon.com sent me stuff

I decided to do a video blog for once. Excuse the video filter, my squeaky chair and non-native English.

Living, breathing Burzum

Varg Vikernes is a busy man. He got out of prison in 2009 and has since released 3 new Burzum albums, plus an album of re-recorded old songs. This much is fact. Whether these new albums are any good, however, is a matter of opinion.

Lots of people are annoyed because they don't sound like the good old Burzum records of the early 90s. But what do you expect? It's not a twenty-something guy making the records anymore, and, furthermore, there was a 15 year gap between albums (not counting the two ambient records, of course), during which the man sat in prison – he was not cryogenically frozen and didn't just pick up where he left off. Had Vikernes been able to write and record albums throughout this time – and at the pace he was, and now is again, releasing them – roughly one per year – we would have something like 20 Burzum albums by which to judge the musical evolution at this point.

So, yes, new Burzum isn't old Burzum, that much is obvious, but to me at least, the new albums also have their well-deserved place in the universe of music. They just fit a different mood than the old ones.

And now, to sum up, a few words about the latest Burzum offering, Umskiptar. Entirely devoid of faster tracks and based on heavy repetition and layered guitars, the album is at the core of what kind of music Vikernes does well – at least in my opinion. It's not the least bit in your face, but rather lulls the listener into a trance (which is not a new trick in Vikernes's book). Now, if I could only understand the lyrics, which are taken from the Völuspá, a poem written in Old Norse.

Note that I dislike some of Vikernes's opinions, but luckily he has managed to keep them out of his music, which, incidentally, I tend to like.



And next time it's time for another pick of the week, don't you think?

Trip report: Tuska Open Air Metal Festival 2012

Okay, I'm back from the party and a trip report will follow. So, this was my eighth Tuska in row and tenth altogether, and also the second time it was at Suvilahti instead of Kaisaniemi, as we'd grown accustomed. By default, the setting was less appealing than Kaisaniemi: no shade, no lawns to sit on; but not entirely without its perks, as the bars of Kallio were within walking distance and so was my favourite fastfood place, Vegemesta. But in spite of the shortcomings I was there again, and again for all the three days. And it was worth it, goddammit!

On Friday, I arrived just as Saint Vitus were beginning their set, which consisted largely of material off their new album, Lillie: F-65. They didn't, however, abandon such old favourites as "Born too Late" and "Look Behind You", and with their no-nonsense style of playing, they got the crowd warmed up pretty well. If there was something wanting, it was tracks off Die Healing, which I think is hands down their best album.

After Vitus, it was time to hit the beer area and save our poor ears from Trivium's shit. While enjoying our overpriced, watered down beers, we accidentally missed Demigod, but made it to the 3rd stage in time for Arcturus. And it was glorious! I am only familiar with one of their albums, La Masquerade Infernale, but the rest of the material, despite its strangeness, came naturally to these ears and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And the damn pipes on ICS Vortex! I mean, goddamn! I knew he could sing from the couple of Dimmu Borgir albums I've heard, but Arcturus's material allowed for a wider range of styles and display of skill. And did they say they're making a new album? Seems like I may have to see them again some day.

After Arcturus, it was time to get out of dodge before Megadeth would hit the stage, since they were fairly disappointing two years ago and didn't interest me all that much. Therefore, we went out for some beers, followed by Gaf and Ghoul Patrol (and Moonsorrow) at an afterparty. Without going into more detail, both G-bands were awesome, and we were knackered enough after them, that we skipped Moonsorrow, but I'm sure they were pretty awesome too, as they usually are.

Branching out

I decided to make a facebook page for this blog. You can find it here. Go now, and like it. I'll be posting smaller tidbits every now and then, as well as links for all new blog posts.

Maybe this'll even keep me active.

Until next time!

Pick of the week: Throes of Dawn - The Great Fleet of Echoes

Again it's been ages since I've last written anything, but now I'm back in action. This time we have here a fairly old album, from 2010, but it's just so good that I must write about it.

Back around the time this album came out I knew practically nothing about Throes of Dawn. Then they were interviewed in the Finnish metal magazine called Inferno and caught my interest. I went and bought the album and while I still don't know a whole lot about the band, I know that this is an awesome album.

Throes of Dawn play, for lack of a better term, gothic metal that hits a sweet spot where the doom and sludge I mostly listen to can't reach, not entirely unlike modern Katatonia. So don't go in expecting a barrage of crushing guitars and anguished screaming, the melancholy here is of a more brooding sort and laden with beautiful melodies, only occasionally accented by the odd growl.

I fully expected Throes of Dawn to break through with this album (maybe they have, but if they have, it's gone completely under my radar) but I suppose the best things don't attract a very wide audience. For me, however, this is one of the best records to have come out in 2010.

But don't just take my word for it, take a listen:

The Great Fleet of Echoes is out on Firebox Records.
Throes of Dawn official website

Pick of the Week: Witch Mountain - South of Salem

I've been meaning to write this for a long time, but you know how it goes when you've got work and all of that. Better late than never, though, and now I've the time, and a good time it is, too.

South of Salem, Witch Mountain's second full length album, originally self-released on vinyl, later re-released on CD by Profound Lore, is a doom metal album. And a damn fine one at that. This is doom, no frills.

Inevitably lumped together with the likes of Jex Thoth, Witch Mountain have an ageless doom sound (as opposed to the retro boom currently going strong), brilliant, groovy riffs, and the whole thing crowned with the powerful voice of Uta Plotkin makes this my album of the year 2011.

The only negative side about the album is that it's too short (which is somewhat improved upon on the CD version, with a bonus track), much like this text I'm writing. But what do you need words for when you've got music like this? If bluesy doom is your thing, South of Salem should definitely be, nay, will be your thing too. Go to Witch Mountain's bandcamp page, and get it either as a name-your-price download or on CD (and if they are sold out, try Profound Lore Records). And hopefully there will be a repress of the vinyl in the future.

Witch Mountain also have a new album on the way, which I'm awaiting eagerly.

Pick of the week: Christian Mistress - Agony & Opium

I've been meaning to write about this album from the moment I first heard it, but you know how it goes. Anyway, here it is now, and boy do I urge you to take a look at this here album (if you haven't already). I got the album in December, if I remember correctly, and it would've been my album of the year, except that it had already come out in 2010.

Now, you may think of me as "that guy who listens to a lot of doom and shit", and while Christian Mistress skirt the same musical areas as, say, Cirith Ungol, their stuff is mainly a bit faster. I believe the style is mostly akin to NWOBHM of the early 80s, and while I'm no expert on the genre, I can hear echoes of Iron Maiden &co. in Christian Mistress's music. On top of that, the Olympia, WA -based quintet has a knack for writing kick-ass songs, which are made even more awesome by the vocals of Christine Davis. With a production that reeks of emotion, this album goes directly for my heartstrings. And did I mention that it's awesome? It is.

If you haven't yet heard Christian Mistress, do yourself a favor and take a listen.
Agony & Opium is out on 20 Buck Spin and can probably be found at least at Record Shop X.
They also have a new album out soon on Relapse Records.

Pick of the week: Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Blood Lust

I originally meant to write this months ago but didn't have time or didn't feel up to it. Mostly, I guess, I didn't have time. But here it is now!

I originally found out about Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats through an IRC channel I frequent. Someone posted a youtube link for "Death's Door" and I was convinced. I promptly ordered the cd-r edition of Blood Lust that was out at the time, only to sell it to someone else after it had sold out and I'd acquired myself a copy of the vinyl edition, which also had sold out by that time. And now it's out again, on cd, released by the band's own label, Killer Candy, and distributed by Svart Records.


Anyway, onto the music. For it is a lot like it came straight from the sixties or seventies. I'm no expert on those decades, but I hear echoes of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple on Blood Lust, with lyrics that take Sabbath's flirtation with the occult and turn it into full-on embrace, not unlike what Electric Wizard have been doing lately. Lyrically, Ghost might be an apt comparison, but musically Uncle Acid sounds rawer, dirtier and, in my opinion, simply better.

I suppose this kind of music somehow trendy these days, and some people urge us to listen to the original seventies bands instead of these modern day retro acts, but I think an important element in the sound of Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats is that they live in a world where the 80s, 90s and 00s have happened, and it has contributed to how they approach their music. In other words, this band's music couldn't have been made much earlier.

Blood Lust is available as CD from Svart Records.

Pick of the week: Author & Punisher - Drone Machines

So, yesterday my band Ever Circling Wolves' drummer posted a link to this youtube clip that was about a guy who'd built himself, quite literally, drone machines: a setup with which he could perform multi-layered drone music by himself, even live. Naturally, this grabbed my interest and so I watched the clip. Afterwards, I was convinced I needed this guy's music in my life and his bandcamp page came to my assistance.

Author & Punisher has made 3 albums, of which I grabbed the newest, Drone Machines (2010). I've yet to give it but a cursory listen, and too quiet at that, since it's the middle of the night, but I'm convinced nevertheless. The sound is thick, fuzzy and surprisingly organic for stuff that, due to the instruments it's performed with, could sound much more like industrial. I suppose it is because there is still a human body running these drone machines.

This awesome album can be obtained digitally from http://authorandpunisher.bandcamp.com/ or on cd from http://www.authorandpunisher.com/ (if they still have them in stock; I didn't manage to add the cds to my cart).

The video clip I mentioned is here:

Pick of the week: Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

Wolves in the Throne Room deliver again. I remember, some years back, when I first heard their second album, Two Hunters. I thought it was pretty cool, but in the end, I didn't fully understand it until a long while later, after the release of Black Cascade, their following effort. I still haven't heard their debut, Diadem of 12 Stars, and I wonder if the fact prevents me from fully comprehending the rest of their albums, but the way things are, I wholeheartedly enjoy this album.

Celestial Lineage seems to tie together the various styles presented on Two Hunters, Black Cascade and the Malevolent Grain EP, ranging from their bread-and-butter faster parts to doomy slowdowns and moody female vocals. Besides, they still have the uncanny knack, facilitated by the production, which is quite spot-on, for making blastbeats sound atmospheric. And while, instead of 4 tracks like on all the other albums, there is a huge total of 7 tracks on this album, I think it feels even more uniform and flowing than their previous efforts.

The album's out now on Southern Lord Recordings.

Thou shalt listen to Thou, pt. 2: Thou shalt listen to Thou and some other bands too.

Remember when I mentioned that you can download Thou's Tyrant on last.fm? Well, turns out Thou offers free downloads of most of their stuff right on their official website. So, without further ado, click this and download some of that sludgy goodness.

With similar intentions but with a considerably smaller back catalogue, Kowloon Walled City also offers some free sludgy goodness. Though they don't have as much material under their belts as Thou, they aren't any less awesome. Because they are, too, fucking awesome.

And in other news Denovali Records also has a page with a whole bunch of free downloads, right here. So, click that thing there as well, and download some of that sludgy goodness.

Sludgy goodness for free, legally. Awesome, in my humble opinion.
But don't forget to buy the records once you realize you love them!

Pick of the week: Barn Owl - Lost in the Glare

I was picking up a couple of Church of Misery LPs when I heard this album playing in the record store. The music intrigued me and prompted me to inquire as to what it was. "Barn Owl", they said. And so I bought that album as well. It's called Lost in the Glare.

The only other album I've acquired in a similar fashion is Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method by dronesters-turned-well-something-else Earth. This is just as well, since at times Barn Owl's music reminds me very much of Earth's material. At other times it brings to mind Nadja, Sunn O))) and others of that, more overdriven and fuzzed-out persuasion. At all times, the music stays downtempo and mostly instrumental. Indeed, on the album sleeve it says guitarist-organist Evan Caminiti also does vocals, but on my first listen, I did not notice them at all.

Anyway, take a listen and do your own conclusions:


The album is out now on Thrill Jockey Records.

Albums I grew up with, part 1: Type O Negative - World Coming Down

It was in May of 2000 that I bought this album, from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, shortly before heading off to Crete. 12 years later, I'm all grown up and yet the record stays the same.

Well, not exactly the same. As I've gotten older, my musical tastes have changed. Of the albums I listened to back then, World Coming Down is probably the only one I still listen to with any regularity. If anything, I like the album even better than 12 years ago. I've also learned to recognize musical styles better, and have realized that World Coming Down was the first doom metal album I ever heard.

Over the years, I've gone and bought all the other Type O full-lengths, and, while I've liked the hell out of their earlier works (I was so fucking bored of both the albums that came out after World Coming Down), none of them has, for me, been the solid gold, brilliant effort World Coming Down is. It still remains my absolute favourite Type O Negative album.

I recall Peter Steele saying in an interview that World Coming Down was a darker album than the rest of their catalogue, because he was going through some difficult shit at the time of writing and recording. I have to say, he managed to turn that shit into something beautiful, something grand. For this I will forever respect him immensely. May he rest in peace.