Weekly album: Nistikko - Kehä

Nistikko - Kehä

2013 / Grindcore, Crust punk, Black metal

1. Kehä pt. 1

2. Kansa unessa

3. Kehä pt. 2

4. 95410

5. Vallankumouksen sydän

6. Missä on totuus?

7. Teidän Ahneutenne

8. Rakkaudesta vihaan

9. Auringon kansa

10. Käteni eivät historiaa kerro

11. Haudan kautta kortistoon

12. Lukitut ovet, poltetut sillat

13. Herran haltuun

14. Tyhjä arpa

Orostider: Grindcore. A genre misunderstood and misinterpreted to be just senseless beating and noise by many, who even listen to harsher black metal. Nistikko and others prove that grindcore is as versatile as other more extreme forms of music. It might just require some experience in grindcore to spot all the wonderful little things. 

'Kehä's' predecessor 'Hävitys' already showed Nistikko's top notch riff barrage, but left the listener a question: are they able to produce as solid material in the future? They were. 'Kehä' shows a clear continuation in Nistikko's sound. The groovy and crusty element's presence has increased and and the prime quality riffs continue to exist. As a cherry on the top, the production is one of the best I've heard on grindcore albums. 

The most delightful thing on 'Kehä' is the preservation of all the most solid elements of 'Hävitys.' Utilization of two quality vocalists, unpredictable stops and variations and the slight catchiness are still there. Some people might argument that grindcore can't be catchy, but 'Rakkaudesta vihaan' disproves the statement with its 'chorus.'

I really recommend Kehä both to people who have already found the wonders of grind and to those who haven't. A huge salute to 'Hytky' for creating one of the best artworks I've seen. 

Favourite song: 'Tyhjä arpa'

btcarey: Even though I like and respect grind, I only listen to the genre when a specific mood strikes. And when that mood does strike, I usually fall back on classic bands like Rotten Sound or Napalm Death, rather than going out of my way to find something fresh. Due to my limited background, I can’t really say whether ”Kehä” is a ”good” or ”bad” record, just present my personal views.

First off, Nistikko has a certain groove that I really dig. It seems like a lot of the grind bands I’ve heard lately just try to pack as much material they can into 90 seconds. ”Kehä” on the other hand does a good job with song variation while still maintaining the fast and aggressive characteristics grind is all about. For example, in the song ”95410”, the pace takes a huge turn, leaving you with some heavy, old-school Black Sabbath style riffing. As soon at the track is over, the pace is kicked into overdrive with muddy, fast, punk influenced song.

Overall a solid album in my opinion. I don’t think I would add it to my go-to list of grind bands though.

Favorite Song: Käteni Eivät Historiaa Kerro

tp5170: It’s not that I don’t like the genre but so far my experiences with grindcore have been really limited. This is mainly because it’s a genre that in my mind partially overlaps with certain sub-genres of black metal, and if I have to choose between these two, I always go for the BM as it is the genre far more familiar to me. 

But as for ‘Kehä’, it felt like a solid package of grooves and chaos, and it was surely one of the better grindcore albums I have listened to. The sound would probably be best described as a fast and aggressive mess where grindcore and BM influences meet. The mixture definitely worked for me, and the shorter song lengths make sure you won’t get bored at any point. I can’t really point out any flows with the album, even though there was a couple of the songs that felt pretty bland compared to the rest.

Overall I had pretty good time with the album, but as it often goes with albums of this particular genre, it didn’t really light the spark for me to listen to the whole set again, at least for the time being.

Favorite song: Missä On Totuus?

Kattroll: I finally have to admit that I've started to actually like grindcore and the minute long tracks and 200 kph blast beats don't feel distant anymore, even if I didn't understand the attraction to this genre at all. This isn't the easiest of the genres yet and like it was with this album, several playthroughs are needed. 

The first playthrough of this fourteen song package slipped past me as a background noise, but after couple of playthroughs the album actually started to sound quite good. "You'll at least write that Finnish language is a pro!", speculated Orostider when we talked about my writing and he was correct. Though on this album, it actually wasn't the first thing in my mind. It takes quite an amount of concentration to actually make out the lyrics. The songs I particularly enjoyed were "Missä on totuus?" with its slow part with natural harmonics and 'Teidän Ahneutenne' with its catchy riffs. 

Not mentioning the absolutely wonderful artwork of 'Kehä' would be impossible, because I've admired it before I even listened to the album itself. Wow! This cover would absolutely deserve a place framed on the wall, so I probably have to find the fitting frames.