Rattus-Turta

Svart Records
2013

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the punk/hardcore fanatic in your life? Does it matter if said band doesn't sing in English? If you answered yes to that first question and no to the second question then have I ever got the right band for you! Finland's Rattus, which was formed in Vilppulathen way back in 1978 (when I was just 5 years old!), is a well-loved and revered punk/hardcore act that has been keeping it real since day one! What does that mean exactly? Well, ever since releasing the privately pressed EP "Khomeini Rock" in1980 this band has been a regular fixture in the Finnish punk scene! Along with Kaaos and Terveet Kädet this band was in on the ground floor when the Finnish punk and hardcore scene exploded around 1982. While Rattus did split-up in 1988 (as all good things must come to an end at one point or another) it would not be the last time that this punk/hardcore band would sound off for all the world to hear. In 2003 they came back together and then they ended up releasing a self-titled album in 2005. Fast forward a few years to the here and now and we find ourselves starring down the barrel of one explosive collection of punk rock fury in the form of "Turta"! On this new 14-track release, which features new vocalist/guitarist Jopo Rantanen, the band sounds as pissed off and angry as any "young" band out there these days and yet this is one "power" trio that comes to the party all armed to the teeth (riff-wise) thanks to countless years of experience! Jopo, who replaced Jake Marjamäki after he decided to leave the group in 2011, has the "rabid grizzly bear gargling rough shards of glass" hardcore vocals down pat on "Turta" and he joins bassist Tomppa Marjamäki and drummer V-P Hyvärinen in creating the kind of street-ready punk/core that makes you fondly smile in remembrance of the scenes heyday! As far as influences the only one this group lists on their Facebook page is the mighty Discharge and that makes for a fair enough starting point I suppose. There's certainly plenty of fueled-up fury in-between the lines of "Turta". The only things is with Rattus there is way more of a pissed-off street punk vibe going on then the edgier, hardcore assault that Discharge was known for. Also, this Finnish group isn't quite as abrasive as Discharge. That's not to say that anything about this bunch is commercialized or sterilized. This trio is every-bit punk in sound, look and (mot likely) lifestyle! Even if Rattus doesn't wallow in the same sort of is corrosive filth that Discharge does this trio is quite noisy in their own right! And they do their best work when they let their fingers bleed into the material and choose to walk along the path of "less is more" three-cord punk! So, even if the lyrics are not in English (which means that some of us are forced to use our imagination as to the subject matter at hand) it's all good thanks to how gritty and hostile the music itself sounds! I would certainly look into this bunch if you prefer old-school punk and hardcore that comes at you like a punch in your face and kick in your gut!