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Stam1na: Viimeinen Atlantis

05/07/10 || cadenz

Stam1na. Have you ever heard of them? No? Then you’re probably not from the best country in the world. No, not Kyrgyzstan, you prick; Suomi. This Finnish bona fide alternative/groove/heavy/thrash/extreme metal band has absolutely nothing left to prove in their home country, as they’ve hit it big (“Viimeinen Atlantis” edged the simultaneously released new HIM album to top the Finnish charts in February 2010) and have become one of the most successful metal bands of today. In Finland. Why they haven’t garnered more interest from abroad has probably a lot to do with their lyrics, which are completely written and sung in Finnish. At least I hope that’s it…’cause the quality of their music sure isn’t to be belittled.

“Viimeinen Atlantis”, Stam1na’s fourth full-length, is a concept album dealing with the end of the world as we know it in a huge one- and lop-sided battle between Mother Nature and mankind. You guess who wins. Sadly, for all you linguistically impaired, you can’t understand jack shit about what vocalist Hyrde is singing and I’m sorry to have to tell you that you’re definitely missing out on something here. Cleverly constructed punch lines, sharp venomous critique on today’s society and ways of life, and a hopeless apocalyptic atmosphere give this Armageddian album the gravitas it needs. The message comes across loud and clear: we have ourselves to blame, and it is all over in the blink of an eye. No time to react.

So how does this modern Ragnarok tale sound? Take one part Devin Townsend (in all forms), one part pure thrash metal, a tiny pinch of both Meshuggah and radio rock, and top it off with forty-six gallons of crazy Finns with talent, vision and a morbid sense of dark humor, and you’ve got the twisted soup Stam1na’s cooking. Ultra-melodic clean parts alternate with harsh fucken pounding, and it all sounds very much like the same band. That’s something I love about Stam1na, they have a sound of their very own. You can definitely hear their influences, but spin any song off of any album and their sound is instantly recognizable. Huge props for that.

Hyrde’s vocals are very one-dimensional. Not. High-as-the-moon black metal shrieks? Check. Melodic yet manly (no auto-tuner here) mellow vox? Check. Fast as fuck thrash metal ranting? Double check. Devin Townsend screeching? Triple fucken check. This guy is just ace, and he’s as good live, if not better. Plus he plays the complex fucken riffs at the same time. Not hard to understand why he’s held in such high regard in Finland. The solo guitarist is quite boring, he’s ripped off quite a few licks from Mattias IA Eklundh of Freak Kitchen fame, but executes them like IA would if he was dead: stiff, stale and uninteresting. He doesn’t suck, but when his solos kick in, I usually switch my attention to some other part of the music. Actually, I guess that means he sucks. A little anyways.

A new element on “Viimeinen Atlantis” is the inclusion of live session keyboardist Lähteenmäki into the recording line-up. His soft synth pads/string chords, well-hid in the background, create an amazing depth on many parts; as do some chaotic piano arpeggios and aggressive stabs “Psycho”-style. No orchestra hits though, thank Hasselhoff. I very much approve of his performance, and welcome him to the band as full member. Overall both the arranging and production jobs have been handled with top-notch results, every instrument sounds great – punchy, heavy and crisp.

Some highlights need to be pointed out on this great record. After the solos on frantic thrasher “Maalla, merellä, ilmassa”, at the 3-minute mark, the music halts with just the main riff being played half-muted and some soft synth pads bring the atmosphere down. This beautiful short breather is like an oasis in the middle of a desert of harsh torture, like you’re arriving to the eye of the storm – you came from chaos, and soon you shall return to chaos. Calm clean vocals repeatedly profess “Tämä taistelu hävitään” (“This battle we will lose”) with an increasing amount of alacrity and a massive build-up including some guest female vocals leads into a fucken SCREAM of ANGUISH and the band explodes into hammering a last chorus into our puny minds. The ending just leaves you gasping for air.

Another favorite track is the next to last “Eloonjäänyt”. The main riff is a malevolent black metallish tremolo riff, played in the beginning on top of a tribal drum rhythm and Townsend screeching – and off we go to blast beast country. Dear lord, I just came a bit. This song also has a mellow middle part with a sense of anticipation in the air, the atmosphere enhanced by a real string ensemble – and a massive build-up leads to a fucken musical ejaculation with a blood-curdling scream and an apocalyptic proggy drum solo. At the end of the song the black metal part returns, this time brutalized to the max with proper double kicks and a high-ass satanic shriek. Need I say more, or are you convinced that this album is a winner? Even if you don’t know Finnish.

Information
Released: 2010
Label: Sakara Records
Website: www.stam1na.com
Band
Antti Hyyrynen: vocals, guitars
Pekka Olkkonen: guitars
Kai-Pekka Kangasmäki: bass
Emil Lähteenmäki: keyboards
Teppo Velin: drums

Tracklist
01. S.O.S. (Salatkaa oma sijaintinne)
02. Piste jolta ei ollut paluuta
03. Pakkolasku
04. Jäteputkiaivot
05. Maalla, merellä, ilmassa
06. Elämän tarkoitus
07. Viestintuoja
08. Rikkipää
09. Tsunami
10. Eloonjäänyt
11. Viimeinen Atlantis

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