Paraxism

An absolutely incredible Finnish death metal band that is as unique as they are underrated...if they're rated at all! This blog would be a worthwhile endeavor if for nothing else than introducing Paraxism to eager young ears...link for everything I got Demo #1, Promo '97, Selected Works and Xism Excursion.

Paraxism

Thrashing Relics: Volume 1: Underground Thrash Metal from Finland 1987-1990

Another re-up of this incredible Finnish thrash compilation. Featuring Lycanthropy, Mengele, National Napalm Syndicate and Morphosis....how can you go wrong??

Fukk in your Moosh

It's Fall Y'all

Celebrate with the ultimate autumn album....gotta dig that wonky sax!

Am Autumn

Nomicon - Tri Angle

Geometrical Finnish Techy Jazz Death that will tickle that primeval locale in your brainstem. Thanx to Guturral Munk blogspot for this winner.

Tri Angle

Beherit - Electric Doom Synthesis

Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance's second stab at dark ambient (after the somewhat forgettable and unpronounceable H418ov21.C), and what an improvement! Somehow Mr. Vengeance managed to incorporate that lunar black metal feel from Drawing Down The Moon with dance beats and trip hop and form them into songs (and I do mean fully differentiated songs) that are, for the most part, totally outside of the black metal genre. AND this came out in 1995! Definitely ahead of it's time and an album that I think has aged particularly well.

EDS

Suuri Shamaani - Mysteerien Maailma

Mo Finnish madness minimalism, this time from Beherit mainman Nuclear Holocausto. Even drone afficianados might hate this, but then again folks who are into drone hate just about everything so this might get a pass.

Mysterious Mailman

Tiermes

A great one from mysterious and "Unholy" Finnish heart throb Tiermes.

Unorganic Beings

Stone - No Anaesthesia!

Stone were a great Finnish thrash band that pumped out some gems in the late 80's/early 90's. No Anaesthesia! was their sophomore release and is definitely my favorite, sounding like an even more melodic Ride The Lightning era Metallica...but instead of writing songs about Kt(h)ulu these guys penned an epic 10 minute song about...a dentist appointment?!

How do you want it?
No anaesthesia
He's the dentist, you are a patient in pain
No anaesthesia
You're a special client so he locks the door
Please dear doc, drill my hole with
No anaesthesia
Let's see what you can take 'cos he's no fake

FUCK YEAH!! This is thrash just hows I like it, and if you've got a thrashing bone in your body you'll be banging to these tunes in no time.

No Anaesthesia!

Circle Of Ouroborus - Shores

One of the best most essential albums made in the last ten years.

Shores

...And Oceans - The Symmetry Of I The Circle O

Ok, one more keyboard bloated late '90's Finnish black metal post...I just can't help myself, this stuff is just too good. And really, how can you go wrong with songs titled "Mechanical Hippie", "Acid Sex Marble Teeth" and "I Wish I Was Pregnant". Jesus, these guys are like an even more pretentious version of Solefald. Eat your heart out Cornelius von Mutherfucker!

IO

Barathrum - Okkult

Will finish up the late 90's/early 2000's keyboard bloated Finnish black metal cheesefest posts with the immortal Barathrum...Okkult is quite a departure from their early work, where they played a cavernous bass-heavy brand of primal black dirge that sounded more Greek (Necromantia in particular) than Finnish. Expect driving fist pumping keyboards, thrash to bang your head, and chorus' that will stick in it despite the most furious of banging. The keyboards are so predominant in parts of Okkult that it actually sounds like a Vangelis recording...epic, catchy and fun!

Okkult

Trollheim's Grott - Bizarre Troll Technology

Bizarre Troll Technology is the psilocybin equivalent to Gloomy Grim's LSDisneyLand Fun. A fanciful romp of trolling, shrooming, sweet keyboards and unrelenting bloodshed. Hmmmm, now that I think about it there might be a little PCP in those caps.

Bizarre Troll Technology

Gloomy Grim - Life?

If one were to take an LSD fueled boatride down Disney's It's A Small World exhibit (or maybe even Epcot's Imagination Land), Gloomy Grim should most likely be your soundtrack of choice...that Figment character always struck me as quite grim anyways.

Life?

Circling Round Finland

I don't know what it is about Finland, but they must have more excellent musicians per capita than anywhere else on this green Earth...for a nation that has a population of a shade over 5 million (for comparison, NYC alone is a bit over 8 million) to have so many cool, unique bands is just an embarrassment of riches...
If you don't know Circle, they are the vanguard of NWOFHM (like NWOBHM, but you can take a guess what the F is for), which is really just spacy krautrock with heavy metal lyrics...absurd heavy metal lyrics at that...Infektio is a lot more spacy than most of their stuff that I've listened too, and it is truly excellent. Great mood music to put on when you read your old Heavy Metals...Circle Of Ouroborus just keep getting better and better, further pushing their sound into an ambient direction...the guitar tone on Eleven Fingers is sooo pleasing, I find it especially nice to listen to in the early morning when I'm walking into work...it's meditative qualities prepare me for the day.
So there you go...2 great albums from 2 excellent bands...Finland I salute you!!

Infektio

Eleven Fingers

Taake - Noregs Vaapen

A new Taake out boys and girls, and I for one couldn't be more thrilled! I've been a fan of all the Taake albums, but their last one left me a little bit cold...it had some great moments (Motpol is just an outrageously good song), but overall it wasn't as captivating compared to earlier work. Well, that is fixed in spades on this new one! Mainman Hoest must've went back under that Bodhi tree cuz there are some delicious riffs flying about; Myr even features a good old fashioned hootenanny hoedown!! The whole album is filled with a kind of "down on the farm" atmosphere...I don't know quite how else to put it. Noregs Vaapen has certainly redeemed Taake in my eyes, even if Herr Hoest is responsible for one of the most shameful moments in heavy metal history.

Of course I speak of his very literal interpretation of "to rock out with your cock out". I for one do not wish to propogate this nasty stereotype of the pencil-dicked black metal musician, but one cannot whitewash over such events. We can only hope that Hoest spends his Taake "f-you" money on a sturdier set of denims.

Noregs Vaapen

Formloff - Adjø Silo

Surreal Nordic metal that'll have your toes tapping and your dog's barking (especially during Vaskebjoernen A.l.e.k.s.). Imagine Sculptured's back-catalogue being remixed by that Cornelius mutherfucker from Solefald...real fun stuff!!

Pup'n'fresh

Bethzaida - LXXVIII

Finnish death metal that fuses folky riffs with a Voivodian pacing and dissonance. Much like the underrated Dark Heresy did on their lone full-length.  Plenty of flute too, so suck on that. 

78

Thrashing Relics: Volume 1: Underground Thrash Metal from Finland 1987-1990

Great compendium of late 80's thrash/death bands from Finland!! Featuring the likes of Lycanthropy, Mengele, National Napalm Syndicate, and my personal fav, Morphosis......
.....Fuck in your moosh!!!

Thrashing Relics

Joyless - Without Support

Damn, a new Joyless?! This really was a nice surprise, and a fucking strange one! If you thought Wisdom & Arrogance was off the wall, hang on to your bicycle shorts cuz this one bounces between depressive coffee house ballads and surf rock record scratching to banjo solos galore and off the cuff warbling. I'm still reminded of the Cranberries (the chick's voice), but there is something undeniably Japanese about this; like a mixture of Cornelius and the less aggro moments of Melt Banana. Gonna be a favorite of mine I can tell already.

Without Support

Potentiam - Orka I Myrkri

My favorite album from Iceland, and that's actually saying a whole helluva lot!  Orka I Myrkri is rabid yet melodic black thrash done excruciatingly tight'n'right.  Eldur, the main man behind Potentiam, is a musical dilettante.  His sound has drastically changed from album to album, but it's all done to perfection...from the cinematic icicleness of Balsyn to Orka's thrash attak to Years In der Shadows power metal escapades...it's all good.  I believe they used the same producer that Sigur Ros uses, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Before I Wither