ALAMAAILMAN VASARAT

The second Alamaailman Vasarat album diversifies their style a bit. Their core business is still jagged gypsy folk with a punk-energy shot, but the intensity and tempos vary a bit more then on the debut. Strangely enough, the variation doesn't remove the impression that this band remains a one-trick stop.

The great thing about the album, and this type of Kletzmer folk music in general, is how immediate and catchy it is. Alamaailman Vasarat adds a (very) light RIO avant-garde touch to the music, adding some dissonance, sonic experimentations, interesting harmonic arrangements and of course their 'saxophone-metal' trick as evident on the sweeping Astiatehdas and the heavy Jaa, Hyva Mieli, which are, due to the more original approach, the two highlights of the album. But generally I find their music less dynamic and adventurous then the original world music that they were inspired by.

On top of that, Alamaailman Vasarat also let go of an essential feature of this type of music, namely heartfelt intensity. A few vivacious moments not withstanding, this music bears none of the passion and emotional turmoil that usually defines Kletzmer music. I only have to play a couple of minutes from a Turkish artist like Selim Sesler to hear how cold and calculated Käärmelautakunta sounds.

A nice listen but there's little to discover behind the pleasant façade, not from a musical perspective, nor emotionally. Hardly 3 stars.

Vasaraasia is the debut of Alamaailan Vasarat, a Finnish band with a fine mix of kletzmer-styled RIO with dots of 'metal'. This could potentially turn into a kind of a gimmick, and it kind of does. But I believe the material and musicianship remains strong and varied enough to support continued listening pleasure.

The band really fires through all sorts of instrumental polka and gypsy tunes, they add some jazz, a hint of avant-rock, and something that sounds like heavy metal guitars. Not too much, not even in every song, but where applied it gives this already very dynamic music another boost of energy. Surprisingly, the heavy sound is created with cellos and low-key trombone, but it sure sounds like distorted electric guitar to me.

The closest bands to compare them with would be Von Zamla, or Zorn's Masada injected with a shot of punk energy and aggression. Also the Norwegian polka-indie-rock of Kaizer's Orchestra comes to mind, be it that that band has vocals, use electrical guitars and are generally much better songwriters.

Alamaailan Vasarat's debut makes for an interesting listen where kletzmer folk music meets the energy of rock, a very alluring combination of sadness and vitality, perfect for my taste. With a keen eye for good hooks and the high level musicianship they've kept me engaged for the entire 51 minutes of this album. A great find. 3.5 stars

Finnish band plays metal/Balkan folk/klezmer/60-70-s movie soundtracks/classic and even jazz. All in one. In fact I like this music.

Whenever Apocalyptica some time ago opened for Finnish bands the way and formula to success, it is nothing strange to hear mostly classic strings sound there. More interesting is what for they are used. Not only pseudo-power metal sound, but many other styles, from all over the world. Great drumming, piano and brass adding to strings all are making the music much more different and dynamic.

It is possible to group album songs for few groups by stylistic similarity. First, Apocalyptica-influenced metal string attacks. Second - John Zorn influenced pseudo movie soundtracks ( to classic movies from your ( or possibly my) childhood)). Third - Balkan street bands, Goran Bregovič and klezmer influenced songs. This category often attract listener because of it's hot emotions and rhythms, but don't try to find deep interpretations of this music there. It sounds quite "on the surface", rootless, what isn't too strange for musicians from cold Finland.

All groups of songs sound quite interesting, but not too much connected between each other. Another problem, inside of the same group, songs are quite similar. So, being very eclectic, album is more collection of average ( and average +) songs. Even if many RIO bands (I believe under Masada and other Zorn's projects influence) started to mix same components at the late 90-s- early 00's, this album represents quite successful version of it. Around 3,5.

This is such an interesting recording.I don't know their earlier stuff but Brandon from "Ground & Sky" says "If you enjoyed the first two albums you are likely to find much to like here.If anything the compositions are more concise and hard hitting...". What i find interesting is that there is no lead guitar or bass guitar on this album,instead we get dual cellos that just rip it up like the guitar normally would, and this growly bass clarinet in place of the bass guitar.Lots of horns and drum work as well.This album kicks some seroius butt at times and of course it's a little crazy,in fact if i wasn't giving it my full attention i found it quite annoying.Very cool album cover by the way.I like that it clocks in at just under 40 minutes as well. "Maahan" is the 1 horn minute intro. "Kyyhylli" opens with heavy drums then it settles with bass clarinet as other horns come in. "Helmi Otsalla" is very uptempo with a full sound. "Luiden Valossa,Naapurin Talossa" is a top three for me.It opens with drums,piano and other sounds.It kicks in with a great sound then settles again.Lots of bass sounds here.Contrasts continue.Another top three is "Huikeuden Lierio" which opens sounding very much like the band AREA.Drums join in then it settles with piano a minute in.It kicks back in with bass clarinet.Amazing! Contrasts continue. "Elaimet Huutaa" is led by slow moving cellos until the tempo picks up and the sound gets fuller before 2 minutes.Horns are just a blasting at one point. The tempo continues to change.It's pretty intense 4 minutes in.Cool sounds end it. I don't know what they are though. "Lumeen Nukkuneet" has this haunting atmosphere with piano.Then we start to get this slow rhythm the rest of the way. "Kattkorapu" features heavy drums,bass clarinet and horns.What a great song. "Kaarme Toi Ruton Kaupunkiin" has these horns and drums leading the way as cellos come and go. "Rooman Ruumiit" is the final top three tune for me.This is heavy duty.This is a beast! Drums,cellos and bass clarinet bring the heat. The final song is "Elukka" features a slow moving melody with growly bass clarinet. Certainly not for everyone but this is unique enough and hard hitting enough that i have to give it 4 stars.

Fifth album of this crazy Finnish group that is now well established, but are also now busy rethreading the same fabric with not much change ever since their debut album. Well, I guess I'd better be clear: there are novelties here. First this is a concept album about the explorer Huuro Kolkko (hence the album title), although you'd have a hard time telling what the story is about since there is no vocals (call back on Tuomari Nurinio???;o)))) and the booklet says nothing of the concept's storyline. Second, Jarno Stakula (ex-Sarkula) has had built custom for him a new "tubax" (a contrabass-sax), and the group acquired a Theremin, but none of this is likely to provoke drastic changes under the midnight sun or noon moon.

Unfortunately, the group doesn't extend their scope from their usual Kelzmer-Manouche soundscape, which by now are really wearing thin on the most resilient Avant-prog fans like me. Even more so that the group is hardly the only one occupying that niche - look towards Quebec or to a lesser extent Belgium. If the debut had managed to make a small dent in the music market and cause a shock with its Black Metal Cellos and nearly-uncontrollable brass, one must say that after 4,5 albums, this one is not much different and certainly never surprises the auditor. Whether this album is better than the previous ones? Worse , certainly not, better also not. Neither is it different or unusual for them.

It is almost inconceivable to me than anyone wouldn't love this band. Imagine a Bar Mitzvah played by Apocalyptica...or Finntroll with 60% less Black Metal and 80% more authentic instruments...or even John Zorn with a Gypsy fetish. How about Tom Waits' backing band doing Univers Zero cover tunes? What's not to love?

Seriously, though, I do understand that insane ethnic party jazz metal isn't everyone's cup of tea. Still, I dare you not to get a smile on your face from the very first few seconds. And I dare you not to be blown away by the sheer proficiency of the musicians (whether you approve of their choice of instruments or not).

And it's not all party. There's plenty of dramatic, even dark moments on the album ("Lakeus" could scare the pants off of you if you were in the right frame of mind, and some of the other songs can certainly evoke a sinister circus or a New Orleans funeral from time to time). The dynamic and thematic range is pretty broad, given the specific genre (a genre of one? Who else sounds quite like this?). From intricate blazing exoticism to death-metal-heavy martial moments ("Tankkaustunti" is an excellent example), this is one band that can cover a lot of exotic territory (like a wave of Cossacks, raping and pillaging across the musical Eastern landscape...okay, now I'm getting carried away with the metaphors).

I'm always raving about Comus, but it's not all that strained a comparison; though drastically different in form, the two bands manage to achieve the same ecstatic menace, that evil abandon that you just know is going to lead impressionable youth to kinky bonfire scenes and maybe a blood sacrifice or two...if only enough impressionable youths would listen to this kind of music (unlikely, for better or worse).

No, really, this is mostly just good crazy fun. Does humor belong in music? If you've checked yours at the door, don't bother with this band. Just give your copy to the next acidhead Rabbinical student you meet (and hide the cutlery!). Freedom Freedom Freedom Oy!

3.5 stars really!!!

After the temporary collaboration with local folk hero Tuomari Nurinio, AV resumes their discography with their third album, which finds a Silence label release (it wasn't so with that collaboration), but this time, not in digipack and with very bright red colours showing the right ear of each of the six members. So aside the unusual package (there s a wink on the back cover to Kaarmelautakunta with what's become AV's double hammer logo), the least we can say about Maahan is: back to business as usual.

Out of nowhere we get this now familiar Jazz Manouche (Gypsy Jazz) so close to Eastern European folklore mixed with these amazing cellos that try to reiterate what they had done on Kaarmelautakunta, but only partly succeeding so. So we get nothing new under the sun out of this latest AV album, but at least we get in large amount and impeccably played. The two wind players Saarkula and Haukala are their usual selves, blowing their lungs out, crying out Eastern European Jewish and Gypsy painful memories and joys. The cello duet of Helminen and Maninnen is still the base, the heartbeat and much of the rhythm of the group, but often offering the most poignant and gloomy moments in AV's soundscapes. Too bad they're not a little more present on this album. As for Huttunen on keys and Haninen on drums, they are often the star of the show, especially the latter and his manic frantic playing.

So if you liked their first two albums, and less their collaborative effort with Nurinio, the good news is that AV's third album should please you a lot. The lesser good news is that they fail to match the absolute craziness of the second Kaarmelautakunka album, but Maahan remains a worthy album. On the downside, I was hoping they would progress experimentally a little more with this one, but hopefully this will happen with their next one.

As of 2007, we have a fourth studio album from the Höyny Kone off-shot that made it tremendously big, we have another coup of avant-esque music from this strange yet stunning Finnish group that constantly came with something else than homeland Sibelusian, mystic, aurorally intense specialties, leaning rather on Balkan folk, Klezmer music or Gypsy rock. Here's Maahan, an album that's Alamaailman Vasarat's factual return to form, after 2003's Käärmelautakunta, seeming to be as much of a top spinner as the 2003 effort.

Persisting a bit more on the Maahan-Käärmelautakunta relation, it is for some strange reason that I considered AV to have sorted out a weaker instrumental range and peculiarness than before; not true however, as we're still talking heavy brass music, the grave sound of the tuba being even more fastidious here than anywhere else, because it gives you utter chills, plus has a hard to achieve technique. The sax and the trombone rule out, and Hänninen's drumming speaks its own weirdness or agitation. Less forward, but more experimental are clarinets, "other woodwinds" or even the cello!

The particular disappointment would be that, overall, the drug for Maahan was set on heaviness, a royal of Eastern dances and traditional-induced rhythms, dynamic explosions that weight more than you can carry, with a contrast of slower or experimental (even rock, but rare) bits. What's the actual disappointment in this? The appetite for fast, tapping or crushingly avant-esque rhythms and heaps, whilst in anything prior to this there was still more art and intricacy - Maahan is remarkably played, vividly imagined and tastefully listenable, but more shallow on attaining something truly special. If one remembers the dashing Lentävä Mato from Käärmelautakunta, that album's sole high-adrenaline/cheap-profoundness dance (think it as a folk word, of course), a lot of short aromas from Maahan are of the same calibre. The dynamite explodes, the fireworks are splendid, but the mood is just casually contented. This is what Maahan lacks.

Judged in a different way, this album is mostly an avant-heavy show, avant being the basic ingredient regardless of the prime Eastern influences (not so much because of professional personal interpretations, but because of the mood, the deciphered style of each bit and everything altogether), while heavy, previously regarded as pure metal, is now more relaxed, but still plugged to enough power as to put current through your veins. There are crazy moments when you can't stay put, loud and fast excerpts like these are half a delicacy, half AV's currently profound spirit. In less exacerbated moments, the band chips a bit of experimentalism, of heterogeneous sounds & samples. I truly feel jazz isn't at the core of some fisting improvisations, instead there's a bit of funk added to the taste, without alternating the whole dish.

As length and size, AV keep it short and casual as always, but even if Maahan is their shortest album up to date only by a minute or so, it's the substance that counts more, and here there isn't much to be crazy about, as we're talking a slim work, out of which multiple pieces can be your favourite without striking an essential cord. I won't go again over what I've mentioned as disappointing, fact is this creative and interesting experience is also split in sequences. I'm even set on describing three major parts Maahan would be split into, excepting the much obvious and very ceremonial prologue, just like the very filler-esque Elukka: the first, from Kyyhylly to Huikeuden lieriö, straps you heavily and parties ravishingly, except for the dark Luiden valossa...; the middle part of the album is also the best, topping with a funeral/weeping tune that's beautiful and surprising, Luumen Nukkuneet; meanwhile the last part has a great avant track in Katkorapu, but slightly mellows with the shallow, wobbling Käärme toi ruton kaupunkiin and with the rock-funkier (at least by its first minute) Rooman ruumiit, that goes back to brassing too late in order to be considered that good any longer. Still, even with only the central pieces being truly worthwhile, Maahan still turns up to be a wildly achieved work.

Jammed to 3.5 stars, I could upset spirits by choosing to go low with the rating, but overall what I've said is a simple matter of taste: the fireworks could count, in real time, the most, and they're nothing short of dynamic, fun, saucerful and highly enjoyable. So Maahan is a fair success, a must for AV's long-term fans, and I'll personally head to the rest that was made by this band, one that impressed me more than I could have imagined.

Alamaailman Vasarat - Käärmelautakunta

Well, there's honestly not much to say about this one. It's Alamaailman Vasarat, and it's good. Basically, the sound Alamaailman Vasarat encompasses, for those unaware, is one of a heavy, horn-induced drug overdose in the desert (for the Eastern elements of course!), something similar to the sound former band Höyry-Kone encompassed, but not nearly as varied, and missing the operatic vocals that certainly set that band's output well above this one's.

Essentially, the band plays instrumental, slightly jazzy, and typically very catchy music revolving around the heavy use of horns and the Egyptian scale. Käärmelautakunta, the bands' sophomore release, still remains my favorite release (yes, even more so than their newest, Maahan, which has been heavily praised). The album is a collection of similar sounding songs, none of which really stand out other than tracks 1, 2, and a few later tracks. While this may sound bland, it is far from it. They band as a whole manage to create a very involved, very well-performed musical soundscape, and it's one anyone who is a fan of bands like Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, and others in this vein definitely deserves to hear. For first timers to the band, I'd recommend starting with this one, and then picking up their newest Maahan, which for the most part is, technically, a better album, but overall I still enjoy this one more.

Their first and third albums are pretty much skip-able, or only for collectors and fans, as much of their music is very same-same, and not much real development takes place through these albums, or truthfully, throughout this band's career.

Some may think I am discrediting the band and their music, but truthfully I am not. The album remains a fun, well-performed, and interesting array of Egyptian nuances and blare-horned competence (for lack of better way of explaining: this album has MANY Eastern influences throughout its course, in terms of the songwriting at hand). It's worth a listen, hell it's worth many listens, but I'd rather listen to both Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3, and especially Höyry-Kone (the most similar bands I can think of) any day, if for no reason other than the fact that so much more variety is showcased in those bands as opposed to on Alamaailman Vasarat's Käärmelautakunta.

In short, don't let the sample song on this site get you too excited, as it's likely that if you've heard it, you've essentially heard the whole album.

Recommended for fans of Avant music, the bands I mentioned above, jazz (sort of), and anyone who wants to hear some beautiful instrumental music. Certainly recommended, as said before, but not with the highest regards. Something like a straight-up 7.0 on my scale, or 3.5 stars on this one. So I have to choose. And I choose 3 stars, simply because this album pretty much embodies an album which I would describe as Good, but non-essential.

Alamaailman Vasarat are back...and with power.

Of all the AV albums, this one takes the cake for heaviness. Maahan is a bit less folky and a bit more metal/avanty...which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, one thing they do not dispose of is their energy. Even on songs that are slower and more avant- garde than rock, there is still a feeling the riverbed under the water moving, so to speak. This is perhaps one of my favorite things about The Hammers. They constantly change, to bring something new to the table while keeping everything under the Avant-Jazz- gypsy-RIO that they are now undeniable experts at.

As I've stated eariler, this is their heaviest work to date. Songs like Kyyhylly, Helmi Otsalla, and Huikeuden Lierio can move the earth when being blasted out of your speakers. However, there is a balance with quieter, more avant-garde styled songs (in a way that is similar to their debut album). These songs just to show that AV are no one trick pony, and have improved their song writing throughout the years. Elaimet Huutaa gives an almost dream like quality to the first part of the song before a more upbeat folky circus like theme. This song continues to contort its way through until it reaches an even bizarrer ending. Lumeen Nukkuneet follows in the endings haughting footsteps and sets an uncomfortable mood for the next five minutes. Its a brooding ride down into the depths of their underworld.

All in all, this is one hell of an album, and one of the best to come out of 2007. Needless to say, the musicianship is top notch, and I believe that their song writing ability has gotten better. Songs like the above show they are not afraid to add new things to the mix, while songs like Katkorapu and Kaarme Toi Ruton Kaupunkiin show that they still have the raw insanity from their previous albums. In this way, they are progressing from record to record, which make them one of the true progressive bands around now-a-days. While I don't enjoy this album as much as their second it is very exciting to listen to and provides an ever thrilling ride. There is also much to discover here, thus there is a lot to sustain on repeated listens. Recommended.