September 2002 Archives
CD, Spikefarm 1999
Track list: Intro - Svartberg - RivFader - Vätteanda - Bastuvisan - Blodnatt - Midnattens Widunder - Segersäng - Svampfest
To summarize Finntroll is easy: fast black metal with lots of synths and a good dose of humppa, a Finnish variation of polka. Lyrics are sung in Swedish and are about trolls who are plotting to take over the world and I suppose they execute the plan successfully, as well. And what great fun it all is! If you think black metal is all dead serious and therefore a bit silly, just listen to Finntroll and you can rest assured that even black metal people can sometimes have some fun. *****
CD, Spikefarm 2001
Track list: Yhdeksäs - Verivalta - Musta aurinko - Kuolevan rukous - Ägräs - Murhamiesi - Tulessa - Manan lapset - Rajan takaa - Vihan musta tanssi
While Amorphis has slowly eased up on the death metal element, grunting vocals and all that, Ajattara, a side project of the Amorphis vocalist Pasi Koskinen is definitely something else. Ajattara's music is mostly medium-tempo black metal with some synths thrown into spice things. The lyrics, sung in Finnish, are excellent and what's best, sung so well you can actually hear them without consulting the booklet. Itse is very catchy album, with many excellent, if a bit simple songs. *****
CD, Mute 1989
Track list: On The Wrong Side of Relaxation - Under Wraps - Central Control - Round Up the Usual Suspects - Sounds From the Big House - Everything Happens to Me - The Swinging Detective - Autodestruction - Intensive Cre - The Most Beautiful Girl in the World - Free at Last - Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Chocolate Milk Shake - The Man With the Golden Arm
Barry Adamson's debut starts with a haunting contribution from the women with the most blood-curdling voice I've ever heard: Diamanda Galas. She sets the black-and-white tone of the album. Someone was killed, and Barry Adamson will provide the sound track. And what an excellent, dark world it is. I'm not sure, if I want to enter the world Barry Adamson paints a picture of here. ****
