Reviews

Vapaa Paiva

Bad Jesus Experience Kaikki On Hyvin LP

A few weeks ago, I had to choose between a Hungarian band playing at a bar in Oakland and a Finnish band playing at a bar in San Francisco. Life is hard. I chose the Hungarians only because I was more familiar with them, and while I don’t think there was really a “wrong” choice to be made, listening to this BAD JESUS EXPERIENCE record really makes me wonder what I missed out on. Discordant intensity—stark, cold, erratic, desperate and unbelievably fukkn’ powerful. It’s like an otherworldly collision of ’00s European metalcore (ACME, AKEPHAL), chaotic ’90s California screamo (HEROIN, MOHINDER) and Scandinavian bands like BURNING KITCHEN and TO WHAT END?, and I just keep trying to figure out what in the world they are going to do next. Note to self: next time go see the Finns.

Bad Jesus Experience Ovat Muistojemme Lehdet Kuolleet LP

I’m no Finnish hardcore expert (I barely know my RATTUS from my KAOSS), but this shit rules. Each one of the ten short tracks is a total shredder: fast—like really fast—pounding drums, heavy dissonant guitars, and raspy, hyperspeed vocals that use every second to scream a desperate message. “OK HK” relentlessly blasts out and invigorates everything in me that loves hardcore. “Maa Palaa” opens with atonal strumming that is immediately backed with furious punk that sounds awesome. “Pohjalaiset Sikamafiat” takes a short, contemplative breather in the bridge that allows the band to stretch out for a few seconds before returning to rage mode. It actually makes you realize how intense and fast the rest of the record is. “Ruumiinpolttaja” starts with a blastbeat before the one-syllable-per-snare-hit vocals enter, sounding for a second like vintage NAPALM DEATH in its ferocity. Check out this record right now.

Karkaisu Tulenarkaa EP

Hardcore crust out of Finland. Very thrashy at points. In fact, this feels more like a metal album than a punk one. Not that I’m complaining, I’m a big fan of this release. It was almost a little shocking to see this was recorded within the last year—it honestly feels like this was unearthed from the early ’80s. Very tight recording, and the guitars are absolute fire. Blistering fast galloping that never wavers. Fantastic stuff, and the album art is the icing on the cake. For fans of early METALLICA and ZNOWHITE.

Rotura Al Otro Lado LP

The Oi! label is predisposed to a certain musical monotony, despite being formed against the status quo, which infects this LP. While melodic and political, each song on Al Otro Lado is punctuated by nothing, it all sounds the same. Listen to “Al Otro Lado,” followed by “Nadie Escucha” to understand my point. Spain-based ROTURA is idyllic in theory, with fast-paced instrumental pop energy and a powerful vocalist, Silvia, yet they fall flat in practice. The frenetic drums were enjoyable on most tracks, but it’s hard to appreciate them between the guitar’s almost-buzzing quality and the one-note vocals. I applaud the album’s production and creativity and perhaps others will enjoy it, but Al Otro Lado, translating “to the other side,” may just have to stay on that side.

Tuhoon Tuomitut Nälkä Kasvaa Syödessä LP

I am very glad that I was assigned that one, not just because I am quite good at pretending I speak Finnish (it is not that hard, you just have to make up sentences with the names of Finnish punk bands while looking very stern, but note that it does not work when there are actual Finns in the room), but because I had the pleasure to see TUHOON TUOMITUT live this summer. Their name means “doomed,” and the band certainly delivered despite playing first at a festival when it was too early for people to be pissed yet and everyone was therefore still discerning. The Tampere-based TUHOON TUOMITUT plays punk-as-fuck thrashing anarcho-punk with furious dual-female vocals arranged in the classic trade-off style, with the demented, high-pitched screams and rabid hoarse screams discussing important political issues. The music is reminiscent of the ’90s and early ’00s crusty anarcho-punk wave, including bands like SOCIETY GANG RAPE, STRADOOM TERROR, JOBBYKRUST, and even WITCH HUNT or PARAGRAF 119, and I just love that unpretentious old-school feel. The songs are not formulaic, either—you have some tuneful moments and mid-tempo numbers as well as full-on hardcore thrash attacks, and I think the relentless vocals work very well with each other. I guess you could argue that the production is lacking a bit in power and is pretty basic, but it works with a style of punk that was once popular but seems to have gone a little out of fashion, so TUHOON TUOMITUT sounds almost fresh.