“Maybe it’s just me but, if I were looking to quote ‘rave reviews’ of a band, I wouldn’t necessarily single out the phrase “Earnest, vibrant music specked with impressive nuance.” Nevertheless, this is the phrase that a promo blurb writer selected from our review of Sammal’s last effort, Suuliekki. Treble Yell, who penned that review in March 2018, had gone on an entirely non-suspicious but very sudden and permanent sabbatical by the time I was press ganged into service later that year. But he clearly enjoyed, without loving, Suuliekki. Since then, Sammal has shed both its keyboard player and bassist. Perhaps you, like me, think that for a band like Sammal, which trades in progressive 70s-inspired neo-folk, both of those positions are fairly critical. Well, these three Finns laugh in your face.” Folk is not afraid of you.
Finnish
Sammal – Suuliekki Review
“I have been covered in filth lately. Dragged through a mire of pestilence, I have sampled fruit irrigated by the grotesque and profane. Blast-beats that scorch the earth, inchoate riffs fat with torment and wretched vocals fit only for withering a pleasant disposition. Black metal, death metal, doom, grind and thrash. I’m a mess and I need to divest myself of the depravity that’s accumulated over the months. A panacea is in order, something that can wash away the silt and leave me lighter, fresher. To that end I have chosen to bathe in the antiseptic waters of Suuliekki, the new album by Finland’s Sammal.” Scrub-a-dub-dub.
October Falls – Kaarna Review
Earlier this year I wrote a “YER METAL IS OLDE!” article about the ongoing influence of Ulver’s epic Bergtatt, a classic by any measure. But in some ways, it only introduced a ‘trope’ of sorts that has become one of my favorite parts of the underground metal scene: the harmonized acoustic folk record. And while Ulver only did it once, on Kveldssanger, October Falls—whom you certainly have heard of if you’re a long-time reader of Angry Metal Guy [or other blogs I guest/write for]—produced a number of excellent acoustic records in this vein. These included a full length by the name of Marras, two EPs entitled Sarastus and Tuoni, and a number of singles. These are all available as lossless files via October Falls’ BandCamp website and worth purchasing, if you don’t mind spending money on a digital, lossless format.
Crimfall – As the Path Unfolds…
“For fans of Turisas, Finntroll and Nightwish,” the advertisement read. How could I possibly pass that up? I’m definitely a fan of Turisas and Finntroll, though, Nightwish I’ve pretty much been able to do without—sans diva or not. But reading that tagline, I wondered how any band could actually manage to blend these three bands into one cohesive whole. “No,” I thought to myself, “it’s really not possible to do in a convincing manner.” Apparently, and to my great dissatisfaction, I was wrong.
Stratovarius – Polaris
Stratovarius are serious veterans of good ol’ fashioned Euro Power Metal and despite the never-ending rush of silliness that surrounded this band for roughly the last three years–they have still managed to put out an album of middling quality in time. A record of middling quality, you say? Why yes, says I. All Stratovarius records are of middling quality, some are just more middling than others. Some say that this band is the pinnacle of all Finnish power metal bands–but if one listens to Polaris they’d never know that.
Oh, that’s shitty..
OK, so I literally just made a post about MySpace having the whole Amorphis record up, but now apparently it’s gone, which is totally lame. And when I say totally lame, I mean, totally lame.
Amorphis – Skyforger on MySpace
Yay for the world of the internet, and boo for the short attention span of the average MySpace visitor!! First, it has come to my attention that Amorphis, the venerable and excellent Finnish band that is madly in love with the Kalevale have, in fact, uploaded their entire new album to their MySpace. I just […]