Finland

Man, although Norway & Sweden was thick with metal,  I wasn’t really prepared for Finland. Seems like every musician & hir wannabee cous’ are in metal bands here. I’m heading out to find a squat & maybe throw myself into a pit…a mosh pit of gnarly punks, that is. While I’m out looking for some aural knock-out punch, I toss up this gem…

Rutto (Plague) or sometimes called T.H.E.R. (for T.H.E Rutto [The Plague]) were one of the few female-fronted hardcore bands in Finland. They play a droning style of Finnish garage punk. The songs are basic punk tunes, mid-tempo at best. The most exceptional thing is the female vocalist.

Piäsky & Tilli were in legendary Finnish punk band Terveet Kädet in the mid 80s. Terveet Kädet was started in 1980 by Läjä Äijälä. He is the only original member still in that band. Piäsky was the original bass player. Tilli is Läjä’s younger brother. In fact this EP is dedicated to Walde, who played drums in TK from 1983–1984. He died in an accident in 1984. Mäkinen was in the band Kuölema, which also had members of Terveet Kädet. This was part of a close knit punk scene centered around Tornio, Finland.

This is Rutto’s 2nd EP, a one-sided affair. Only 300 copies were made. It is almost impossible too find.

T.H.E.R. here are: Kiki – vocals; Mäkinen – guitar; Piäsky – bass; & Tilli – drums. 

Enjoy this great piece of punk history !

 T.H.E.Rutto – IlmastoituPainajainen (The Air-Conditioned Nightmare) 7″ EP , 

Ikbal – IKBALS 007, 1984. 

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Side 1 -

Musta Loppu (Black Out)

Ilmastoitu Painajainen (The Air-Conditioned Nightmare)

Paha, Kuölema (Evil, Death)

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Now I feel much better. Getting away from the sacrificial lamb has done wonders. Now all I need is to rip a coupla bong hits. Maybe I’ll play “The Bong Song”. Maybe I’ll let somebody else do the work for a while. Fuck, I’m supposed to be on vacation…

My partner in blog crime Zer0_II, originator of this whole journey, posted this over at Digital Meltd0wn in February 2008. The link is long gone, but I’m puttin’ it back up. Here’s what he had to say about Velcra at the time:

“Between Force and Fate is a smack in the face from a fist that entered a time vortex in 1993 & reappeared just in time to knock the knowing noughties cynicism from our grinning faces. It's fantastic. Velcra do share a few attributes with their Finnish rock compatriots - they all have a flair for incredibly infectious musical hooks, they could all be accused of being more than a little derivative & they all have a sound that's far more than the sum of their influences. That, however, is where the comparisons end. Instead of overblown 80s rock, Velcra's heart is in early 90s rave, rap metal & political rebellion. Think Rage Against the Machine meets The Prodigy with a female lead-singer thrown in the mix.

Beginning as a two-piece for debut album Consequences of Disobedience, Velcra started life as guitarist/programmer O.D. (a sort-of Finnish Liam Howlett) & uber-versatile vocalist Jessi Frey. Now expanded to a full band that's still mixing programmed beats in with the acoustic drums, they're making music that is guaranteed to set any rock club ballistic, so long as they actually make the playlist.

Opener “War is Peace” sets off in ballistic fashion, a machine-gun riff exploding into a furious tirade from Jessi Frey. The hook lines are simple but effective, ‘The battle has begun, counting 3-2-1 / are you ready?’ she yells, & you can already hear the crowds shouting along. “War is Peace” feels like the tune of the year, at least until you get to “Our Will Against Their Will”, which is even better. Based on a speech Queen Elizabeth I gave to her troops in 1588 it combines a fantastic synth hook, a punishing sledgehammer guitar & a fantastic sense of uplifting fury to amazing effect.

By this point in the album you've tasted Velcra's energy, but only just scratched the surface of their versatility, or rather that of vocalist Jessi Frey. If she's not top of Liam Howlett's wish-list for collaborators, she soon will be after this. Imagine a female Mike Patton, or rather a cross between Mike Patton, Keith Flint, Dido & Bjork… a singer with a multitude of completely different voices & the ability to switch between any of them in an instant. I found Velcra while searching for artists to include in the female rock compilation that I'm throwing together, & they are a great find indeed. You can expect to see at least one song by them on the comp.”

On Between Force & Fate, Velcra are: Jessi Frey – vocals; O.D. – guitar & programming; DJ Freak – keyboards & sampling; Teb Bonnet – bass; Mikko – drums& The Filthy Fiddlers – strings.

 Velcra – Between Force & Fate, Virgin ‎– 07243 560182 2 8, 2005. 

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Track List:
War is Peace
Water s Getting High
Our Will Against Their Will
For My Loneliness I Pay
Memory Loss
I Can't Tell the Sun from The Moon
The Bong Song
Corruption
Hotel Alcatraz
Wonderland Sunrise

Enjoy, & do svidanya, hopefully I’ll be crossing over into Russia tomorrow.

NØ