Weekly album: Paavoharju - Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne

Paavoharju - Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne

2013 / Experimental, folk, hip-hop 

1. Metsän hämärä

2. Patsaatkin kuolevat

3. Krabat

4. Sä olit

5. Tumulus

6. Kuolon uni

7. Tattarisuo 1931

8. Penuel

9. Valkeat majat

10. Olet maailman syli

10. Minä nousen sinne

10. Kolmas voima

Orostider: Paavoharju was completely unknown to me before my visit to the record store bus in 2013. I went in and inquired if they had any stoner doom with them. The response was negative, but they told me to grab 'Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne' if I'm into psychedelic and fuzzy music. I have no regrets.

Paavoharju got originally known for their experimental and psychedelic folk, but my first contact with them was this album. Their previous albums are also amazing, but I enjoy how this album differs from the rest of their discography. Heavier electronic elements and dark hip-hop/rap elements possibly make this album more approachable, but they are also the reason why the album's atmosphere is almost completely different than, for example, how the mood is on 'Yhä hämärää.'

Paavoharju is also completely different than anything we've written about, because the lyrics play such a large role. The album is magnificent otherwise too, but when combined to arcane and morbid lyrics with deep rap vocals, the album takes its true form. My absolute favourite track of the album, 'Tumulus', is a fine example of a perfect symbiosis between the vocals and the rest of the track.

Even though I really like the album, there are some flaws. The repetitive style doesn't work as well as it could and the album as a whole loses some of its replay value. Other flaw, at least in my opinion, is the single song that feels like a filler: 'Penuel.' It could work as an intro, but the low pitched vocals sort of break the immersion and are, in the end, pretty awful.

Even with its flaws 'Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne' is a wonderful album that should be visited by everyone interested by experimental music. Unless rap vocals are a huge turnoff. 

Favourite songs: 'Tumulus', 'Valkeat Majat', 'Minä nousen sinne'

TP5170: As someone who finds the vocal style of Finnish rap / hip-hop really uninspiring, I wasn’t really able to get much out of this album. It is a shame that the instrumental side feels so underwhelmed, because the slightly trippy and experimental sound could be kind of interesting, but as it stands the way the music is composed is simply so vocal dependent that I can’t really see anyone listening it just for the instrumentals. There are surely some cool moments on for example the track, ‘Tumulus’, but the vocal style just unfortunately kills it completely for me.

To be frank I can’t come up with a reason why I’d ever want to return to this album as it was quite far from being my cup of tea, but at least I am now an experience richer. (PS. why does the guy on the cover have an asshole on his back?)

Btcarey: “Joko Sinä Tulet Tänne Alas Tai Minä Nousen Sinne” immerses the listener into a deep, hypnotic, trance with a psychedelic fusion of hip-hop and folk. The dreamlike atmosphere delves into both the darkness and beauty of a nocturnal state. It keeps the listener isolated, in musical purgatory, drifting between a dissonant storm and an alluring wonderland.

The atmosphere of the album is perfect, maintaining a consistent discord of musical scopes, yet fitting everything together flawlessly. Only issue I had with the album was that the lyrics were in Finnish. For any form of hip-hop, lyrics and vocal style play a key roll in the overall tone of the piece. Due to this language barrier I ended the album feeling as if it was incomplete, like there was this profound world with nothing in it. For this reason I would probably suggest the album to strictly native Finns, but if a language barrier is not a deterring factor for you then any fan of experimental hip-hop or psychedelic music could find something to enjoy in this album.

Favorite Songs: “Sä Olit”, “Kuolon Uni”, “Valkeat Majat”

Weekly album: М8Л8ТХ - Чёрным крылом

М8Л8ТХ - Чёрным крылом

2004 / Black Metal

1. Пролог / Prologue

2. Где ветви опавшей листвой / By the Fallen Leaves

3. Запах крови / Scent of Blood

4. Вселяющий страх / The One Inspiring With Fear

5. Под падающей звездой / Under the Falling Star

6. Мразь / Scum

7. По ту сторону сумерек / Beyond the Twilights

8. Чёрным крылом / By the Wings of Black

tp5170: This album originally caught my interest when just I happened to hear a glimpse of one of its tracks, and I am really glad it did because the whole album turned out to be a rather interesting one. These days when there are steady streams of new black metal projects and releases coming from basically everywhere, I have slowly started to appreciate more and more those bands that try to mix up things or otherwise do something differently.
I think that M8L8TH is a decent example of such a band. ‘By the Wings of Black’ is essentially recognizable as black metal, but it doesn’t really feel or sound like an average release of the genre.

The strongest aspects of the album are without a doubt in my mind its composition and the peculiar vocal style used. Every track is clearly different from the rest and interesting at least on some level. And the vocals are just amazing, bouncing between aggressive screams and shrieks of insanity and desperation in a rapid succession. The execution of vocals is pretty much top notch and it easily bypasses the other elements of the album in quality.

The only ‘complaint’ I have about the album is the fact that the mixing is kind of meh, and the drums sound maybe a bit too flat at some points, but in the end, those things don’t feel like a such a big deal in in the grand midst of things. So, if you don’t mind the ideology or can look past it, like every grownup should be able to, you are left with a surprisingly invigorating take on black metal.

Favourite song: ‘Чёрным крылом / By the Wing of Black’

btcarey:  “By the Wing of Black” is a studio album released in 2004 by the Russian NSBM band M8L8TH. Even though NSBM is not my favorite type of black metal, there is no doubt the subgenre has strengthened the black metal scene and inspired some of the best black metal albums of the past decade and a half. “By the Wing of Black” isn’t necessarily one of those classic black metal albums but it is a solid piece of work.

 M8L8TH is a pretty traditional black metal band, relying heavily on the drums, guitars, and vocals. There were quite a few moments where the album reminded me of Taake or Horna’s “Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne”. The riffs were a bit slower paced, melodic, and heavy metal influenced, with the frantic screams of the vocalist being the main factor of contrast.

Overall “By the Wing of Black” is a good, approachable, album that I would recommend to any fan of NSBM or black metal in general.

Favorite Song: “Scum”, “By the Wing of Black”

Orostider: Tp's picks are almost always most likely black metal of some form and this case was not different. Russian black metal scene is not too familiar to me and it's probably the least familiar to me from the Eastern European scenes. The Eastern European black metal I usually listen to incorporates quite a lot of pagan influences and M8L8TH's head is actually part of Temnozor these days.

'By the Wings of Black" is quite a slab of black metal, but it ends up being pretty mediocre. Don't get me wrong, this album will probably charm quite many black metal enthusiasts, but these days the genre itself is overflowing. The riffs and production were standard quality. Like usual, there were also superb riffs, but the rarity of them is kind of a letdown.

Even though the instrument section is important in every genre, vocals are the true focus in black metal. 'By the Wings of Black' really caught me off guard with the hallowing shrieks. You can almost feel physical suffering via them, but not in a bad way. This is how you differentiate yourself from the infinite sea of average black metal.

Even though M8L8TH didn't really impress me completely, I do recommend this album to fans of black metal and especially the ones who want some dsbm elements.

Weekly album: Profanatica - The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

Profanatica - The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

2016 / Bestial black metal

1. Ordained in Bile

2. March to Golgotha

3. Magic & Muhr

4. Black Hymna

5. Host over Cup

6. Rotten Scriptures

7. Yahweh Rejected

8. Bleed Heavenly Kingdom 

9. Vile Blessing 

10. Curling Flame

btcarey:  Profanatica is a seasoned black metal band with an impressive career that spans more than two decades. The band cannot only boast a worldwide kvlt following but also has a solid discography that’s helped establish bestial black metal as we know it. Profanatica has my utmost respect, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed after hearing their most recent release, “The Curling Flame of Blasphemy”.

I understand the band has a minimalist perspective but the album was lacking. It felt like Profanatica was just “going through the steps” when writing the record rather than actually creating something. Sure, there are some solid riffs and the songs aren’t bad, I just expected more from such a notorious band. I probably listened to their previous record, “Thy Kingdom Cum” ten times but it was a struggle to get through “The Curling Flame of Blasphemy” even twice.

To any fans of bestial black metal or Profanatica, of course check out their new album. But to prospective listeners start with Profanatica’s earlier stuff to get a feel for the band, because this album is not their finest moment.

Favorite Song: “Ordained In Bile”

tp5170: Despite being a longtime fan of bestial black metal, I still haven’t found the time to check out Profanatica more thoroughly, even though I have known for quite a while that those guys seem to know what they are doing. I can’t really say how their albums usually are, because I haven’t digged that deep yet, but I sure hope there has been more variation on the band’s previous releases than on their new one. The biggest problem for me with the new album, ‘The Curling Flame of Blasphemy’, is that it can simply get a bit dull at times. 

During my fist spin before realizing what the album was aiming to do I felt like killing someone just to get some changes in the tempo. The simplistic and repetitive nature of the music is an iconic trait of the genre and I usually enjoy it, but when it gets to the level where you don’t actually care about the track changing because they are all so very similar, it’s a bit strange, maybe even frustrating considering we are still talking about bestial black metal here. 

But what you gain from this kind of style at the same time is a consistent atmosphere throughout the album. This is probably the only bestial BM album I have encountered that has devoted itself to this extent to creating an atmosphere. The setting is somewhat interesting and in this case it works reasonably well I guess, but only because the atmosphere is pretty entertaining and the album’s playtime is not especially long - but though I kind of liked the way the album played out, I have to point out that a cool atmosphere alone can carry an album only so far. I don’t think that ‘The Curling Flame of Blasphemy’ is a bad album, but on the other hand the genre has also much more memorable experiences to offer.

Orostider: We went to see Profanatica perform earlier this year and I kind of forgot to familiarize myself with them beforehand. This didn't really matter, because the performance Profanatica put up was a good one. Bestial black metal bands don't really disappoint with their live shows and most of the well known artists of the genre release magnificent albums. Will Profanatica succeed in delivering the same ferocious atmosphere and groove as they did live on their latest album 'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy?'

The album isn't exactly as high tempo and chaotic as Archgoat and Diocletian, but it also isn't as sludgy as Ride for Revenge. This, of course, can be counted as a pro, since distinguishable sound is always enjoyable in this genre. The album starter 'Ordained in Bile' is a powerful opener, but when the rest of the songs are similar mid-tempo bestial black metal with high echo vocals, the album gets a bit dull in the end. 

At some point the track changes are quite difficult to notice and the album just keeps going. 'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy' isn't a bad album, but it somehow falls into the 'background music' category. Some of the riffs are clearly far above average, but the rest are ridiculously mediocre. The album's production receives a huge plus from me. This is how modern black metal albums should sound. The echo could be decreased, but all in all the production is wonderful.

'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy' won't be remembered as the classic of the genre, but it certainly isn't the worst of the genre. The album would probably have sounded better in the right state of mind so I will re-listen to it when the weather is more grim and cold. 

Favourite track: 'Ordained in Bile'

Weekly album: '68 - In Humor and Sadness

'68 - In Humor and Sadness

2014 / Noise rock, Hardcore

1. Track One R

2. Track Two E

3. Track Three G

4. Track Four R

5. Track Five E

6. Track Six T

7. Track Seven N

8. Track Eight O

9. Track Nine T

10. Track Ten .

Orostider: Intensity is a broad term in music and comes in many different forms. Some artists trust velocity, some trust emotion and some trust precise rhythms. '68 aren't as high speed as grindcore bands, but there's a lot happening in quite short time periods. Emotion and intriguing rhythms on the other hand can be found in large quantities. When '68 was recommended to me by a friend, the description was: "It's noise rock." Noise as a genre is somehow strangely therapeutic and when mixed to other genres, the result can be amazing. 

The album consists of ten songs only named as tracks or/and letters. The influence variation varies from noise and hardcore to blues and classic rock, which sounds like sort of a bad idea, but in the end the result actually works well. The intensity of '68 comes from the gritty and unpolished sound, catchy and groovy riffs and powerful vocals. After hearing the first songs, the listener may already assume what's to come, but '68 manage to surprise with alternating elements. The ubiquitous elements of the album are the noise-ridden rockish passages and hardcore elements similar to Converge's. 

The noise element isn't really harsh noise like in Insect Warfare's 'Noise Power Grind Death', but the sound of amps failing and miscellaneous cracks and pops. The way the guitar tone breaks and results in amp screeches somehow sounds magnificent and doesn't even cause your ears to bleed. In an interview, the vocalist/guitarist Josh Scogin stated that he writes audibly stressful music. I found the statement to be true, but the sense of stress and even anger just add intensity. 

The album isn't good only because it has noise elements or because it's louder than many records. The real reason is the overall quality of the material '68 managed to deliver even though they didn't polish the recordings. The cracks and pops give the album a humane touch. The instrument work and songwriting are of high quality and the mood varies from mania to feels. 'In Humor and Sadness' is the album you could listen to while trying to rip your own head off and think of the reasons after trying.

Favourite tracks: 'Track Two', 'Track Four', 'Track six', 'Track Ten'

tp5170: I didn’t really know at all what to expect from ‘In Humor And Sadness’. Pretty much the only thing I knew about it prior listening was that it was supposedly quite a ride style/genre wise. And I can’t really argue with that now that I have listened to the whole thing. 

There is a constant variation in style throughout the album and the music can quickly go from something rather punkish to something that seems like a heavier version of Muse, or basically anything in between. The randomness is absolutely delightful and every track, with the exception of the ninth one which felt a bit out of place, is pretty well composed and has clearly earned its own place in the mix. On the other hand, although I liked almost every track at least on some level, there were definitely three tracks that just instantly made me wanting to hear them again, and in the end kind of outshined the rest. 

Also, as someone who doesn’t really hear that punkish vocal style in the music I usually go for – you can count the punkish albums I have listened during the last few years with fingers from one hand -, I have to say that I really, really liked the vocals throughout the album if nothing else. 

But overall the ride was pretty enjoyable and offered a nice change of pace for an evening, and left yearning for more of those sweet vocals. 

Favourite tracks: ‘Track Seven’, ‘Track Two’, ‘Track One’

btcarey:  ’68’s 2014 release “In Humor and Sadness” is an energy-packed emotional roller coaster that had me completely enthralled by the end of the album. Each song has its own character and mood, keeping the album fresh and me attentive the whole time. With such a diverse array of songs you would think that the album would lack an overall direction. To the contrary, the album had a very unified feeling, and this diversity provides impressive replay ability and enjoyment.

’68 doesn’t really fit into any specific genre. While some call it punk rock, I would argue there’s much more to it. Sure, most of the songs have somewhat of a punk passage, but the outside influences are far too great to be defined as such. There is a heavy blues/rock aspect to the album that's comparable to Jack White’s guitar and vocal style.

I would recommend “In Humor and Sadness” to almost anyone, whether they like blues/rock, metal, or punk. This is an excellent album.

Favorite Songs: “Track Two”, “Track Five”, “Track Eight”