Review: Fleshpress “Hulluuden Muuri”

Fleshpress “Hulluuden Muuri”

Finland is known because of its nature (huge number of lakes or Lapponia), good national ice hockey team and so on. By the way, if someone believes in Santa, then he lives in or nearby Rovaniemi. But for us, Metalheads, the most important here is the fact that it has the most Metal bands per capita on the world. Well, as I know, many musicians play in several bands over there. Example for such situation is FLESHPRESS. Especially drummer Mikko Aspa, who plays and played in so many hordes that it’s not so easy to remember all names. But guitarist and vocalist Marko Kokkonen (who’s also responsible for effects) is keeping busy. Those are the bands that first of all connected with Black and Doom Metal.

And this is very well-hearable in creativity of trio (Samuli takes position of second guitarist) from one of the main economic hubs of whole country – Lahti. Frankly I think that, contrary to how musicians describe what they play, there’s much more elements of this first sub-genre of Metal. I find some strong Doom influences here, but drums connote mostly with Black as well. This is, first of all, about songs like “Voiman täjdellinen toteutumienen” (and this is practically about whole the song), but not only this one. However, they exist since 1998, but I didn’t heared about them earlier, unfortunately. As I see their discography is rich and “Hulluuden Muuri” is seventh full-length, which Finnish serve us. There were also splits, demo, EPs and live album, anyhow.

In general, music is in slow tempo and has depressive, even funeral character. Riffs aren’t, but rather seemingly, complicated and don’t change too often. And this is something what is welcome in music which has something to do with Doom Metal! Anyway, guys play, as on standards of such creativity (regardless of the fact if we’ll find here more elements of Doom or Depressive Black Metal), variable. Well, we’re able to heat some technique tricks. Mikko beats, as I said, more in Black Metal way. Some speed parts happen quite often. In general it’s not as monotonous as you think it should be in Doom Metal. To be honest, it isn’t monotonous in any moment and this happens a lot here. Some fragments remind me a genre of music which has nothing to do with Metal, by the way.

Despair vocal add even more this specific climate. However, this band is for people who like at least sometimes to get clipped by musical road roller and get crazy because of sick music. Personally I don’t care if there’s more Black or Doom here (in meaning of using this or another term). I like this, but by now I need to recover myself a little with listening to something else.