TULIKASTE

I was very pleased hearing the local space cadets of Tuliterä finally releasing their first long player record. I had enjoyed their instrumental cosmic atmospherics from concert venues, and allowing their earlier EP's occupy the stereos of my car on its nocturnal kamikaze straits. I have noted the many obstacles facing the small groups struggling to get their studio works copleted as proper releases, and also seen these attempts being lead to failure. After spinning few weeks this disc concealed to Kari A. Sihvonen's wonderful graphic forms, I'm really very glad Vesa Partti and his musician fellows had patience and faith to work forth this musical vision to conclusion. This recording 'Tulikaste' strikes firmly its flaming blade to the accepting listener's brain with over one hour aggressive ride on stellar rollercoaster to the stars. This glittering skyline of the universe is revealed on the opening soundscapes of 'Percolator', presenting the group's instruments one by one and raising the pressure firmly. This album introduction also represents wonderfully the core characteristics of Tuliterä's sound; The songs do not have so much compositional elements, but they are approached from many interesting perspectives, both arrangements and instrumentations being done with good imagination, professional precision and ambition for sound perfection.

Glimmering burst of stars (possibly in a form of a flamingo) conjure the 'Alpha Blade' for interstellar al-saïf dance. I recall this song as one of the head-banging anthems the group could set the crow on fire at their gigs, memorable guitar lines layering the catchy riff patterns. Some melodic side twists and rhythmic solutions associate with psychedelic orientalism, and recurrent guitar licks within blistering space rock synths create a powerful sensation of movement. The scarce alterations in key notes with short arrangements form also magically vivid and deep track from ostensible simple heavy metal song. When I listened this album through better headphones and soundsystem I have at home, I considered the fine depth of sounds; The soft and very low frequency bass guitars and high pitched guitar tones merge as round and enjoyable sound entity. Following piece 'Jagat' continues the same song logics as its predecessor; When thinking analytically, the main theme could be from a middle section of some more commercial heavy rock song, but here the calm layers of spacey synths helps to build from it a meditative dive trough a galactic wormhole of voices, revealing planes with detailed guitar solo orbits.

After these two heavier songs the listener arrives to vaster corners of space, offering revelations of more massive aural visions. The first of them, 'Firedew', paints the musical canvas now with full potential from the group's palette, relying on beautiful melodies, powerful rhythms and interesting evolvements of compositional themes. The song length also escapes beyond eight minutes, rejoicing on massive power thrusti of musical innovation and performing skills. Further drive to outer space is launched by 'Cetus', an introductive part of cosmic conviction being integral with infinite chronic 'Voidborn'. This existential monolith of universal truth pulses more slowly, curving deterministically in galactic regions, having also some orientalist blessings of Octopus Syng's Jaire among the myriad sonic worlds captured to the massive gravitational forces of the song. These long, meditative apparitions are really on my favor, though I'm open to the faster blasts also. That is provided after leaving the centrum of the galaxy via 'Star Rodeo', more dramatic heavy rock riffs crunching over longer synthesizer layers. This configuration reminds slightly the group's version of Blade Runner's end credits music, which the band has sometimes had on their concert set list. The four-minute song uses also quite many clear compositional themes in its fast pace than the longer songs. The longest of them with fourteen minutes duration follows, 'All-Seeing Delirium' being maybe my own favorite track from this wonderful space heavy band. The pace of rhythm section or guitar riffs do not affect the determinism of solemn melody, pointing The Fireblade's way to the center of listener's mind. The length of the song is not borne from composed complexities, but really euphoric tension buildings of ever-spinning vortex of a cosmic musical mind; The first phase's persisting theme growing as accepting and sorrowful disintegration of universal orders for the second plateau of sonic vastness. Finally the scenery is left for open void of solitary guitar searching answers from echoing apparitions left behind. The reprisal of first massive spin of the cosmos leads to the closing catharsis of the album, 'Menticide'. This slowly beating pulsar appeared somehow as the antiparticle for 'Percolator', these two being borne from void, curving the album on their dance, and hence meeting wiping out all heard and experiences; But maybe only from out of our limited senses, the multidimensional truth residing beyond our limited senses.

Personally I believe the pleasant aspects on Tuliterä's music are borne from its instrumental characteristics, giving room for the listener's imagination, strengthening surge of hypnotic drive of lengthy sonic tunnelings. The lack of singing also relieves from any reactions which certain vocal styles could cause. I also think when this vocal silence is synthesized with shimmering tone textures, precise playing and cosmic themes, the lack of human presence works on this context very well; No one can hear your scream in space, and also when the only association of humanity is outsourced to the listener, a concept of voyaging alone along grandiose pillars of cosmic dust pillars is enforced. The music lacks also anykind of sadism, the heavy metal elements associating with crushing vastness of infinite space and it's celestial events instead of hate; Similarly as I felt on Supernatural Cat's extravaganza with Incoming Cerebral Overdrive's 'La Stelle' and Ufomammut's existential double records 'Oro', though these referred groups have different stylistic approach to artistic heavy metal music than Tuliterä certainly. Also the versions of songs familiar to me from earlier EP's have evolved to yet better direction, and the composition quality with all other details seem very well considered. Sadly I could not make it to the April gigs 2015 also reaching both Latvia and Estonia, but I'll certainly look forward of the upcoming concerts and the vinyl LP version, which was announced to be released later trough Space rock productions. I wonder if it would grow as a double gatefold album with some extra music?