Psyyke-1983 - 1985

Svart Records
2014

Don't fret if the name doesn't ring any bells. Finland's Psyyke are an obscure bunch. Or at least outside of their home country. And seeing as this vinyl only release is limited to only 500 copies that bit isn't likely to change anytime soon. This 16-track compilation follows the band from 1983 until 1985 while they were set doing the whole post-punk thing (apparently they took a turn towards pop around 1986 or so) and (other then maybe the language barrier) is likely to hit quite a few of the right notes for those folks into raw/primitive punk rock and roll. Starting off in 1983 with the group's first privately pressed 7 inch single, "Temppeli / Neondertal" this collection gathers together a bunch of demo material (14 tracks in all with this whole release having been restored and mastered for what it's worth) in order to make the point that there was some substance to Psyyke's early post punk years. Despite being a bit of a hit on the underground sound-scape the band remained unsigned until 1986 when they were finally picked up by Finnlevy for an EP release. Unfortunately by that point (in a case of changing trends and styles) Psyyke's sound was less post-punk and more pop. It does pose the question as to whether Psyyke quite on the scene or if the scene quite on Psyyke? Whichever way you choose to look at it this compilation does a solid job of showcasing an underground punk band who just happened to hail from Finland. But the keyword should always be punk as that is what Psyyke was between a small time frame in the early eighties.

Ranger-Shock Skull 7"

Ektro
2014

Having graced these pages before, last summer with their "Knights of Darkness" EP serving up some real headbanging heavy metal (http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Ranger-Knights+of+Darkness+), I was stoked to find out about this 7". This time around Finland's Ranger cranks up the RIFFS, gets more then a bit LOUD, WILD and CRAZY and, in a way that brought a real sparkle to my eyes(!), unloads two metallic tracks that are for all the world like a sexy party between Venom, Iron Maiden and Megadeth!!! My only qualm remains the usual. When will we get a full-length album from this bunch and why do all the good ones always tease us with EPs and 7" singles?


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Curimus-Artificial Revolution

Freezing Penguin / Svart Records
2014

Finnish thrash metal from a band active since 2004. That makes 10 years in the business and, to paraphrase Megadeth, this group's motto could very easily be "Thrashing Is My Business...and Business Is Good!". With four demos and one other full-length album (2012's "Realization") to their name it doesn't look as if this group plays on slowing down anytime soon. And there's no reason to think that they should. Seeing as the world can always use more quality thrash outfits. Right? Right! Especially when it's technical enough that it never dissolves into runny raw thrash  and it has an ear for melody like this band seems to have. Featuring Adramelech member Marko Silvennoinen (ex-Emissary) on the mic and guys who have played in The Wake, G.O.R.E. and The Moment of Collapse, Curimus possesses all the right skills needed to get the party started! That begs the question then, what are you waiting for?

 

Beastmilk-Climax

Svart Records
2013

Expectations can lead you anywhere. They can a fancy flight of fantasy or a dangerous game of Russian Roulette. No matter what it was that I had hoped to get out of "Climax" or what it was that I had reasonably, or even unreasonably (in retrospect), expected to experience from Finland's Beastmilk, it still wasn't enough. This was still a strange occurrence where we find a band that has fashioned itself around the idea that thier music comes out of the cold and unrepeated wasteland that is a post-apocalyptic world. Recorded with the help of  Kurt Ballou (Converge), "Climax" is the first full-length release from Beastmilk and is an album that I struggle to fully-comprehend and yet wholeheartedly recommend. Formed back in 2010, during a "nuclear winter" in Helsinki, Finland no less, there are so many reasons why I love this release even if I've never been sure why it is that I continue to be drawn to music like this that is both damning and hopeful and haunting and beautiful. If you've ever heard "Gloomy Sunday" then this release is a straight-line drawn in it's own blood from that (reportedly) suicide-inspiring track to the post-post leanings of this 10-track LP. And of course it's a release that opens the door to so many more questions for which I have no answers. But, that hardly seems relevant to the chore at hand which is explaining what is it that I love about "Climax". I have to admit that at least vibe-wise I kept on thinking about the U2/Johnny Cash collaboration, "The Wanderer", which is off of U2's experimental album, "Zooropa" . It's as if Johnny sings "I went out walking under an atomic sky. Where the ground won't turn and the rain it burns like the tears when I said goodbye" as a means of prophesying the coming of  Beastmilk and their 2013 album, "Climax". Now, as I've danced around the topic at hand for far too long already let us expand on that "post-punk" tag that is affixed to Beastmilk. Not once could I have anticipated the near flood-like list of bands that swept over me as I listened to the apocalyptic flavorings of   "Climax". Their seems to be no shortage of bands that make their home in the music of Beastmilk. While the group itself  lists local "old-school legends" such as Nolla Nolla Nolla and Radiopuhelimet (neither of which I'm familiar with) it's bands like Christian Death, Killing Joke, Christian Death, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, Magazine, Gang Of Four, Joy Division (or at least Joy Division on suicide watch),  Peter Murphy solo and with Bauhaus and even a more rock-oriented Depeche Mode that come to mind when listening to "Climax". As if that's not enough there is even some signs that both The Misfits and The Cure may have played a part in the early formation of Beastmilk's (sorrowful) sound. Of course anytime you have a group like Beastmilk that approaches rock music from the perspective of the lost and lonely, or in this case (theme-wise) the unfortunate survivors of an all out global-war,  you're faced with the reality that it's not for everyone. Still, those who embrace the early years of post-rock and dark rock should give "Climax" a chance as this is a album that sounds both old-fashioned and modern.