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Rating:
A leap into the past, in a time when Scandinavian death metal was taking its first steps and revolutionary pages were being written by acts like Entombed, Dismember, Hypocrisy, Unanimated, and, indeed, Amorphis.
It is 1993, and this work marks the debut of the five Finnish members (then almost teens). Recorded at the "legendary" Sunlight Studios by the guru Tomas Skogsberg, "The Karelian Isthmus" is a concentrate of feral brutality, catacombal guitar-crunches, pachyderm rhythms, and screams of catarhing ferocity. Opened by a gentle intro with a folk call, the album spits out a dozen raging and urgent tracks where "chainsaw" guitars (Entombed docet) scratch but become, at times, surprisingly melodic, opening the door for the subsequent harmonious turns of "Tales...". The opener "The gathering" and "Warriors Trial" stand out for their intensity, with a ferocious riffing that duets with doom-bordering slowdowns as Mr. Koivusaari "warbles" crazed and venomous barks. A punctual and aggressive drumming serves as the "engine" demolishing what remains. The same tones continue for the rest of the album with the brutality-melody pair timidly appearing in the leads of "Exile of the Sons of Uisliu", truly engaging with an easily assimilable refrain. Adrenaline charges come from "Pilgrimage", abrasive, fast with an apocalyptic riffs finale and truly fast'n'furious drumming. The peak is nonetheless reached by the jewel "Sign from the North Side", deadly in its opening with bone-crushing guitars followed by vitriolic growls and, subsequently, energetically "epic" with its battle-like atmospheres dressed in the band's typical doom-death combination. It closes with a roaring finale with solos reminiscent of "Left Hand Path", again from Entombed.
In short, a work unsuitable for originality maniacs, for those seeking elegance and, in particular, for those who love the band's progressive side. Hardened death metallers, on the other hand, will find here lava flows with which to set their ear cups ablaze in truly enthralling "headbanging". Bearing witness to the wildest period of the Helsinki quintet "The Karelian Isthmus" embodies the essence of Northern European death metal incorporating all its loved and hated patterns.
Primitive, raw, and energetic.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Karelia (00:45)
(lyrics: E. Holopainen)
(music: T. Koivusaari E. Holopainen)
"The sound of thousand warriors
The fields of thousand battles
Still, in our hearts we can hear
the great hymn of Karelia."
02 The Gathering (04:15)
(lyrics: E. Holopainen)
(music: T. Koivusaari)
As I sense their steel,
As I see the mighty one,
As we all gather once again
the gods of war summon us...
summon us
North wind blows to our valley
men with ships, with swords, with honour
Their horses between flames,
their dogs eating enemy childs,
Our heavenly father, what is this mortality,
do you see my mortal agony
Look, I see the shield up high
this must be the sign from my lord
this can be my death - sentence
what a fine day to die
Taste of blood comes up high
Wind blows hard, our men fall...
one by one
This oath claims me
I must bleed for my generation
Strong is the enemy,
strong is my sword
the hammer is rising
I feel their cold steel
Now when I leave this world
I shall open the mighty oaken gate
and we all shall gather once again
04 Warriors Trial (05:07)
lyrics: E. Holopainen)
(music: T. Koivusaari & E. Holopainen)
As the sun falls down
and the swell crashes into the shore
The great warriors of doom and wind
ride high
Silent is the silence,
the only breathing of horses sound,
Cold northern steel, shining blade, pleases us
And we all live under the black mark
Oh lord, lead us to the paradise
My lord, is this the promised land
is this your gift
Let us fly into your dreams
Let us taste some blood
Sorrow - the unknown force
Hate - respect your enemy
Bitterness - shall be forever
Silence - nothing left
Let us fly into your dreams
Let us taste some blood
06 Exile of the Sons of Uisliu (03:46)
A wave the sound of Noisiu's voice
his singing was ever sweet...
Noisiu's grave has now been made
and the accompaniment was mournful
For him I poured out - hero of heroes,
the deadly drink that killed him
Dear his short shining hair
a handsome man, even very beautiful
Dear the grey eyes that women loved
fierce they were foes
09 Misery Path (04:20)
We sail across the sea,
In our thoughts we float over mountains
All this vanity that we could hide
The truth
The truth is to be alive
and to live your life in fear by hate
and create our own gods
We all ourselves are created
our own images
Ourselves we are created
our own gods
In the misty morning
When the sun is rising,
When the whole sky is red like blood
Man can realize the real meaning of life
to love and respect your life
Your salvation,
or is just your damnation.
We all ourselves...
11 Vulgar Necrolatry (04:22)
Erosion of life I see
it makes the passion burn in me
Life it always withers away
Death will eternally stay
Corpses in their coffins
forever rest in peace?
There sleeping with the aspergillus
is this justice to the dead?
The atrocious sight of burial ecremony
Christians weeping for the departed
They won't understand, they should envy them!
The deceased they know, if there's a paradise
Or shall we feel, the purgatory!
I open the graves, admire the rot
I can feel the presence, of something beyond
Aureola of nauseating reek
Wings of shriveled skin
Holy beauty of a carcass
Divine sight for me to gaze upon!
Necrolatic! Reverence for putrefaction
Necrolatic! reverence for the stench
I kneel, before a carrion
I pray, before the dead
I know, they shall rise
I fear, for the scourge
I revere, power of the dead
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