' upcoming release schedule is bonkers -- in addition to the new Beastmilk and Hexvessel 7"s, as well as the "Dawnbearer" 2LP repress, they've also got like 5 new releases coming out every week from May through June. Here's the Finnish/Scandinavian highlights:
05/09 - Sähkö-Isku - Sata kaljaa 12"
05/09 - Kovaa Rasvaa 7"
05/09 - Problems? - Ei tää lama päähän käy 7"
05/09 - Unicef - Käkimassaa 7"
05/09 - Kollaa Kestää - Jäähyväiset aseille LP
05/16 - Abhorrence - Completely Vulgar 2LP / CD
05/23 - Jess and the Ancient Ones LP/CD
05/23 - Callisto - Noir 2LP
05/23 - Sarcofagus - Envoy of Death LP
05/23 - Sarcofagus - Go To Hell 7"
05/23 - Kimmo Kuusniemi Band - Moottorilinnut LP + DVD
05/30 - CMX - Kolmikärjen veljeskunta 4LP
05/30 - Musta Paraati - Peilitalossa LP
05/30 - Reverend Bizarre - Crush The Insects 2LP
05/30 - Rattus - WC räjähtää LP
05/30 - Mana Mana - Maria Magdalena 7"
06/06 - Pelle Miljoona & NUS LP
06/06 - Pelle Miljoona & 1980 - Pelko ja viha LP
06/06 - Carpathian Forest - Strange Old Brew LP
06/06 - Candlemass - Ancient Dreams 2LP
Finnish doom act Callisto will see their 2006 album "Noir" get the 2LP vinyl reissue treatment by this coming May. The new edition will include the previously unreleased demo track "Coming aeons" as bonus and will be issued as 300 copies on black, 200 on silver.
Check out Lohtaja Sea Tragedy, the solo project of Juho Niemelä, bassist of heavy doom-rockers Callisto: http://lohtajaseatragedy.bandcamp.com/
Nice quiet, contemplative music for a spring holiday weekend. Recommended!
Finnish doom act Callisto will be touring Europe in December. Italian dates are the only ones announced so far, but more will be confirmed shortly: http://www.callistochaos.com/shows.html
Finnish doom act Callisto has announced that Paper Tiger AV is their new North American label home. Look for their new album "Providence" to get a release over here on May 26.
Also, after looking at the label's website, it appears that Paper Tiger will be representing a number of other Fullsteam-affiliated bands in these parts such as Disco Ensemble and Rubik. The former will have their new EP "Back on the MF streets" released over here on May 26 and Rubik's debut "Bad conscience patrol" will follow on June 23 along with their most recent record "Dada bandits" soon thereafter.
Callisto has had a few health concerns recently which led to substitute members and cancelled dates, but now it appears that vocalist Jani Ala-Hukkala has undergone surgery and is being forced to chill out for the next 3 weeks. That means no European tour whatsoever. Read the full statement: http://www.callistochaos.com/news.html
Finnish doom act Callisto has unveiled that their new album "Providence" will be released on February 18 via Fullsteam Records. Hear the lead single "Covenant colours", their first with new vocalist Jani Ala-Hukkala (previous frontman Markus Myllykangas is now solely concentrating on guitar), at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/callistochaos
01. Franke - Jag älskar dig
02. TALK 1
03. White Knives - Welcome transplants
04. Bobby and Blumm - Drow a bow
05. Anna Leong - Guillotine
06. TALK 2
07. Juvelen - Don't mess
08. Eucharist - The Eucharist
09. Sophie Rimheden - Go away (ft. Aaron Phiri)
10. TALK 3
11. Form One - Money (ft. Vincent)
12. Tape - Augustan chateau
13. Moneybrother - They're building walls around us
14. TALK 4
15. Lapko - Killer whales
16. The State of Floral Beings - Bad broker
17. Opération Zéro - Grand Pere
18. TALK 5
19. Pistol Disco - Beat of the tune
20. Kusowsky - Jonny
21. Motorhomes - Into the night
22. TALK 6
23. They Live By Night - Endless summer
24. Cleaning Women - Clean up your body
25. Kaka - What a frame
26. Gorgoroth - Krig
27. TALK 7
28. Markus Krunegård - Samma nätter väntar alla
29. Snöleoparden - Waterpuppet theatre
30. Oskar Schönning - Stoner
31. TALK 8
32. Tellu - Tuulet
33. Convoj - Cultural legacy
34. Lukestar - White shade
35. Silver - The personal decay
36. TALK 9
37. Brick - Labrador
38. Callisto - Anastasis
39. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - When she's GONE
40. TALK 10
41. Magyar Posse - Singlesparks are spectral fires
Lapko is a band I stumbled across recently, somewhat randomly (thanks for the totebag Daniel!). I had seen their name before, but had never fully investigated due to their affiliation with Fullsteam Records, one of Finland's biggest indie labels. I know that it's unfounded (and unfair), but I can't shake my prejudice that they only put out watered-down punk/hardcore records from bands like Disco Ensemble. Anyhow, Lapko proves to be an exception (along with Downstairs, Callisto and many other bands the label represents) and their most recent album "Young desire" sounds surprisingly fresh. Opening track "This is aggressive melancholy" serves as an apt descriptor- before I even peeped their bio I was thinking that they sounded like a mix of Mew and Tool, two very obvious comparisons. And after watching the video for today's mp3 selection "Killer whales", you might want to add The Cult to that list as well. This is the kind of stuff I find to be woefully underserved in today's "hip" quarters, as intelligent hard-rock with obvious arena-sized aspirations is not nearly as fashionable as willfully obscure indierock. Too bad, 'cuz all too often, you're missing out.