„I do not have any idols anymore, and I am not really a ”fan” of anything – ok, maybe I am in some ways still a fan of Iron Maiden, but that is almost like an alchemical marriage – nor do I follow anyone, so in that sense I am in my own hermetic world, but obviously there have been many influential artists and bands for me – and to see something like Keiji Haino, Boris, Godflesh, or Melvins play live, still shake me mentally and physically.”

Finnish musician (and graphic artist) Albert Witchfinder has hardcore-punk, black, doom, death, drone metal and power electronics background. His bands’ names speak for themselves: Reverend Bizarre, Opium Warlords, Spiritus Mortis. He has started a new project with Vilunki 3000 from Kraftwerk-style electro band, Op:l Bastards. Originally it was Opel Bastards, but it would be changed on request.

strange ice cold minimal techno

Tähtiportti – Poikarakkaus

from debut self-titled album on Svart Records (Finland)

The original song from the 80s

„Maybe I was surprised twenty years ago, but now I am just very deeply saddened. I am disgusted when thinking of what people do to the forests, oceans, lakes, air, animals and plants. It is horrible and sad. We most definitely are living the Kali Yuga. I guess in the Mad Max – world we have other worries than ”where can I get that new Merzbow album?”

Full interview      More songs

Anthology of legendary Finnish metal fanzine ISTEN
804 page A4 hardcover book, 3 kilograms of heavy metal

will published by Svart Records (Finland). It’s in English.

„I craved life metal. Heavy metal for life. And “heavy”, for all you smart alecks out there, is not a prefix. Heavy metal is not even a genre. Heavy metal is a realm. Swear the oath. The Force is heavy metal. Mental Funeral is heavy metal. A Blaze in the Northern Sky is heavy metal. If it doesn’t work as heavy metal, it’s fucked, it fails, full stop.”

e.g. the Swiss Coroner in East-Berlin in 1990

ps: there’s no word Isten in the Finnish language, so they took a Hungarian dictionary, and seek out the equivalent of Jumala (God).

The next prefatory has been made originally for a psychedelic free jazz album review (which is under way), but it also goes well here in same way.

The horror has started with Iron Bonehead Records. It’s an obscure German vinyl only extreme metal label. I wrote a letter to them, that I would like to write reviews from some releases. At once I have been attached to promotion circle of the metal underground. Since then I get tons of free metal stuff. Horrible records every day from the whole world. The Swiss Bölzer was the only remarkable band with their avant-garde death metal. And I have become familiar with the Finnish Svart Records. Their range of audibility expands from free jazz to extreme metal, and there’re some good bands and records. For example

3 Fresh Finnish Hard Rock/Metal singles on Svart Records

The names speak for theirselves: Hard Action, The Black Mass, Forced Kill. The first two play 70s style hard rock and roll with this difference that The Black Mass has a smack of black metal. While Forced Kill is „such as early Sodom, beer drinking Slayer”

Little oriental and surf influenced Finnish psychedelic rock with some members from the death/thrash band Deathchain. Jess & The Ancient Ones have been personally selected by King Diamond himself to be the openers on his tour.

„Castaneda” 10″ EP on Svart Records (Finland)

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Collected works of the greatest French fuzzy neo yé-yé wave band, The Liminanas: „I’ve Got Trouble in Mind: 7″s + rare stuff from 2009-14. ” Some tracks are total Gainsbourg copies nearly word for word and beat for beat.

LP and maybe CD and digital by  Trouble in Mind Records (US) on 30 Sept

Riitaoja is a Finnish band. His first album is a very quiet record. Good to listen. So much that I didn’t want write about it, but during the listening their music took me in the mood to write. Lack of something better I call this style slow country – doom folk. Sometimes they remind me of the Bohren und der Club of Gore. I understand sole word from the entire album: pizzeria. The album was recorded in the communal living room of a municipal summer house during one of the snowiest winters in recent memory.The drummer was in the one of best Finnish band, Sielun Veljet.

Mantereelle LP by Svart Records