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July 3, 2009 |
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01. Intro
02. Sortajan Kaipuu
03. Katumuksen Kyinen Koura
04. Naaras
05. Armon Arvet
06. Pahan Tuoma
07. Harhojen Renki
08. Langennut
09. Uhrit
10. Tyhjyydestä
11. Outro
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Featuring none other than Pasi Koskinen (here under the alias of 'Ruoja') of former-AMORPHIS fame on vox/guitars/synths, Finland's AJATTARA (also featuring Atoni on bass, and Malakius III on drums) are a band who have achieved some well-deserved notoriety within underground Black Metal circles with their unique expression of ultra-cold, electronics-laced Troo/Kvlt/Necro BM.
'Tyhjyys' (apparently taken from a mythological character from the Finnish national epic 'The Kalevala' meaning 'Emptiness') is the band's sophomore effort, the followup to 2003's critically-acclaimed 'Kuolema'. All lyrics are in Finnish (not that it really matters given the - mostly - unintelligibly guttural style of Koskinen's vocals), and from what I've read via numerous online sources, deal with elements taken from 'The Kalevala' (an engrossing and highly recommended read to those literature enthusiasts amongst ye by the way!). In terms of pure sonics, the music is, in a nutshell - again - most easily comparable to 'Troo', old-school Black Metal ala the vibes of acts such as DARKTHRONE or more accurately, ENSLAVED, although truly, AJATTARA's sound is much more difficult to pigeonhole than that.
If anything, the band are more a reflection of what such acts as Norway's MYRKSKOG and KHOLD are doing; that being to fuse the aforementioned elements of very cold, very necro-minded, misanthropic underground BM with the dark, keyboard-laced, electronic ambience of Industrial/Darkwave acts such as MINISTRY (I hear ghosts of 'Psalm 69' murmuring throughout this!), DIE KRUPPS, and LAIBACH to create what amounts to the bastard child one would imagine springing from an unholy, violently homoerotic union between a pack of snow-blown Scandinavian church-burners and the gleaming-steel cyber-warriors of FEAR FACTORY.
Such superlatives and comparatives aside, suffice to say that the end result is a very frosty, black-hearted, and darkly opaque musical experience that drags the unwary listener under midnight waves of nightmarish wonder. Not an easy listen, but definitely an original interpretation of numerous waaayyy-extreme Metal subgenres that, at the very least, manages to prove there's still room out there in the psychological realm of black longsleeves, scowls, and sullenly crossed arms for intelligence and depth of thought when it comes to crafting music.
On a further positive, this album also proves that such fare can march along with something resembling 'groove', the tracks on 'Tyhjyys' striding forth like CANDLEMASS frothing and venomous on PCP, in a relentless, uniquely Nordic BM wedge-formation of deliberate, SABBATHian, MINISTRYesque occult intent that would surely crack the marbled countenances of Metallic legal firm Iommi, Euronymous, and Jourgensen with something resembling a half-smile, I'm sure.
Personally, as much as I appreciate the obvious creative drive and psychic mission statement of this particular hissing beastie, the simple fact of the matter is that I can only take such fare in very measured doses. This is an album geared strictly for those isolated and very dark, introspective mental islands of time when the snow is falling white against night's black canvas, the liquor is plentiful, the women have left the room, and the hate-o-meter is running high into the red zone. Both sustains and most importantly, transcends such leaden, lightless moods. Still, despite the catharsis...pretty grim stuff. Approach with caution.
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