Raven's Review: Arseeni - Saastaa

Finally a release I've waited a long time to finally get my hands on!
Arseeni is a 3 piece Hardcore Punk / Noisey Metal band from Heinola consisting of members: Reea - Lead Vocals , Jimi - Guitar , Patrik - Drums
And their new EP 'Saastaa' is a three song musical assault on the senses in the best way possible

The Tracklist:

1. Polvet Ikkunaan, 2 minutes 26 seconds

2. Huuda Mulle, 4 minutes 4 seconds

3. Laaksos Lomal, 2 minutes 27 seconds
In total: 8 minutes 55 seconds

Let's get right into the meat and bones of this great release.

1. Polvet Ikkunaan 8/10

Though I am more a fan of the raw sound of the demo that Arseeni has posted on their YouTube channel, I feel like this more polished and well rounded full song still has a lot of punch and energy to it that it hasn't lost from said demo. The intro riff is mean, getting you right in the face with a proper suckerpunch as you start off, the simple three chord intro begins the downwards descent into insanity and screaming to ensue.

Jimi has very clean playing throughout the whole song in what I would describe as a perfectly sloppy accurate, very punk playing and the background solo proves that he is also very proficient in picking up the "slack" of his playing for a more well rounded approach.

Reea, performing vocal duties does an amazing job here, though it's a lot less achey on the throat that the original demo is, her screams and gritty shouting are precise, she doesn't stumble over words, nor does she mince them, letting loose over the already noisy instrumental with a nice kick of energy. And I must say that the lyrics are amazing, the chorus is among the best I've heard from younger bands period and they have an angry poetry to them that is well expressed.

Patrik, the man behind the drum kit does an immense job of filling out the guitar shredding and the screaming of his fellow bandmates, with an amazing mixing job on the drums, the cymbals, snare and bass drum shine through beautifully to show the beatdown happening behind the band, big props for the great double bass playing. 

Verdict: 8/10, amazing start to the EP

2. Huuda Mulle 10/10 (Personal Favourite)

This song has it all, groovy rhythms, beautiful melodic singing, great bass playing and a chorus filled pure hatred and melancholy, accurately portraying the anger some people can feel towards others. Definitely my favourite from this release.

The guitar playing on this track is superb, the lead guitar channel provides a beautiful cutthroat like sound that carries the listener down the path to scream their lungs out alongside Reea. The rhythm guitar is what I can only accurately describe as being smashed in with a clawhammer, tight boxy chugs accompanied with the bass gives it a lovely wide boom that really gets a guitarist like me to throw a nasty stankface on and chug along on air guitar. Well done Jimi.

Reea on this track is definitely the rawest I've heard her go across all the demoes and songs I've heard thus far, just hearing her belt out the chorus section on this song makes me want to join along, just grab a microphone and scream out all the aggression that lives pent up within. But she also shows an incredible singing voice fitting of more lovey dovey rock or blues songs, I have to appreciate the versatility and the amazing performance.

And once again the human drum machine Patrik does a lethal job on the kick drums, blasting pure machine guns and delivering an ungodly amount of groove throughout the whole song, I would listen to this song for just the drums alone.

Verdict: 10/10, if anything, listen to this song to get a feel for Arseeni at their grooviest. 

3. Laaksos Lomal 8/10

A song about being locked into the psych ward and forced to take drugs? Now that is something I can definitely get behind.

Regardless this song is brutal, the lyrics paint a beautifully fucked up picture of mental illness and some of the stories regarding people suffering from mental illness, or at least the fear that some mentally ill people have.

Reea does a great job on this song of going absolutely mental on the song, her delivery on the track almost rivals 'Huuda Mulle' in terms of aggression, the lyrics are great and like with the last two songs, the band have a knack for making really good screamable hooks to their songs, this song makes me want to jump in the pit and just go crazy.

Jimi, like the last two songs proves he can do an amazing job at keeping the groove up, the guitars set a beautiful atmosphere to the whole song and the chugs are just as they should to my ears. (I'm assuming) his bass playing on the track is also superb, he can definitely handle his instruments well. Instrumentally this band has everything to win me over from the get go, not to mention the beautiful producing on the EP that lets each member shine through in their own way.

This song serves as a great track to end the EP on, infectiously groovy and undoubtedly heavy, this EP is one for the books for fans of heavier punk sounds akin to Harkko or Rytmihäiriö

Final Verdict: I'll give this EP a strong 9.25/10, it is exactly what I wanted to hear from the band's first EP and it even exceeded my expectations, I can't wait to see where they take their soundscape from here and how the band will evolve from this release onwards. I wish the trio all the best for the years to come and a big kudos for such a great release.

P.S Arseeni is still in search of a bassist, if you think you have what it takes, look at their requirements and try your luck! - Judas

LINKS

Arseeni on YouTube

Arseeni on Instagram

Raven's Review: Moreless - Little Grey Men

 "The Game You're Playing is a Dead Man's Roulette"

Brand spanking new Finnish Psychobilly from a little ways north, Moreless is a five piece band consisting of:
Riku  - Upright Bass 
Aleksi  - Guitar
Veera - Lead Vocals
Tommi - Lead Vocals
Juuso - Drums 

Moreless plays what the band themselves would call "Morebilly" which is basically just a combination of Billy genres, blues and the sort, though a fairly newer band in the scene, they have a very consistent sound and most importantly, they look like they have fun whenever they play

I first came into contact with the band on complete accident, I was at a gig up north, getting my first real proper big Psychobilly experience when I bumped into Riku, their bass player, I saw him with his Moreless patch just walking through the crowd and thought that the logo looked peculiar enough for me to look them up after the gig.

And funnily enough after the gig I ended up seeing a few clips shot by Riku (if my memory serves right) and ended up hitting him up. After a little conversing we hit it off (at least in my mind, correct me if I'm wrong R. o7). He told me he played bass for the band Moreless and after that I'd kept my eyes peeled for new content, and after a little wait, it finally arrived.

Moreless's debut EP 'Little Grey Men' came out on July 7th of this year (2023) a few days after my birthday, like a lovely belated birthday gift that was definitely not just a gift for me.

The EP was recorded in Ylämylly at a studio called the Purple Room which also occasionally acts as the band's training flat if I understood right. The mixing and mastering was done by Sampo Kinnunen.

What I do know though that this EP is 4 original songs that serve as a great introduction to the sound of Morebilly hahaha.

Here's the Tracklist:

1. Dead Man's Roulette, 3 minutes 8 seconds

2. Ghosts, 2 minutes 32 seconds

3. Monsters of the Night, 2 minutes 27 seconds

4. Little Grey Men, 3 minutes 8 seconds

Coming out to a nice breezy 11 minutes and 17 seconds of playtime from start to finish.

So let's get right into the meat and bones.

1. Dead Man's Roulette, 9/10 (Personal Favourite)

Starting us off, what better way to introduce a rocking band than a song about gambling, and gambling with your life no less, the intro starts off with a beautiful raunchy riff from Aleksi that ends up repeating through a lot of the song in one way or another, making for a really consistent foundation for an already great sounding song.

The next thing to come straight to your ears is the beautifully mixed, walking bass line delivered by the smiley man Riku, tightly played and very fitting accompaniment to what Aleksi plays through the song so big props for the instrumentalists for the composition! 

Another big plus for the song in my opinion is the chorus, it's catchy and definitely something that makes for a great little shout for those sweet crowd participation moments, Tommi's vocal delivery on the song reminds me a lot of another great Finnish psychobilly band 'The Bullet Biters'

Overall, it's a song that's amazingly composed, amazingly performed and well mixed, serving as a great start to the EP so far. 9/10

2. Ghosts, 7/10

A slower song about paranormal activities and midnight shenanigans, showing off the more melodic side of the band and introducing the second vocalist Veera. The vocals have a tinge of that Imelda May vibe to them, though Veera's delivery is a lot more soft-spoken, well fitting the song and how it's performed. 

The guitars and the bass of the song reminds me a lot of more melodic Nekromantix material, it has a lot of that Sandorff-Nekroman type chemistry to it to my ears, again it's a well mixed and performed song, I just think it's not the strongest one on this EP but a great song for sure. 7/10

3. Monsters of the Night, 7.5/10

We all have our own tales of monsters in the night right? Moreless sure does, a beautifully melodic track with just the right amount of raunchiness to it to keep the ear listening and the foot tapping. The first song to feature both Tommi and Veera on vocals on the same track, showing off the nice blend between soft melodies and gritty rock 

Though you hear a bit of the good old 'Finglish' accent in a few parts, the lyrics are good, the chorus is a good sing along type reminiscent of Tiger Army and the sort and as always the instrumentalia is top notch. Overall it's a tight track with just the right amount of humanity in it for me to like it. 7.5/10

4. Little Grey Men, 8/10

And finally the title track of the whole EP, starting off with a groovy intro with that lovely scifi flavour to it, the song has a lot of the same vibes and quirks to it that The Nevrotix' catalogue has with the grit of songs like 'Out of This World' from De La Rocka. I've always loved songs that feel like I'm reading a comic book about aliens and the distant future and this song definitely makes me feel just that.

Featuring wacky sound effects, the groove to make you bop from side to side for hours if you had the song on loop and a well mixed, if not a little funny sounding vocal ensemble, the vibes are just right for this one, making a great addition to all your Sci-fi music needs. A strong 8/10

All in all I definitely recommend checking out the full EP and keeping an eye out for these Morebilly maniacs, this is a solid first punch into the sonicsphere of Psychobilly and adjacent genres, I'm giving the whole EP an 8/10. It is a solid, tight and well mixed EP and I'm excited to get a physical copy of it if that's possible in the future. 

The band is also set to record and release a full-length album sometime next year, rumours say early next year, and there are plans for a full row of physical copies and probably other great merch items to roll out with it so keep your eyes peeled on Moreless! - Judas

LINKS

Moreless on Instagram

Moreless on Facebook

Moreless on YouTube