Labels: Gate Of Deliria/Iron Coffin/Penny Whistles And Moon Pies/Ramekuukkeli-Levyt
Formats: Vinyl/Digital
Release Date: 21 Oct 2019
Tracklist:
1. Frogskin - Settling For Leftovers
2. Taser - Shovel Face
3. Taser - Broken Christ
Yesterday ended up being a washout (literally, due to flooding and me having to help clear the mess from outside the flats that I reside in) and also because I wasn't able to write as many reviews as I had planned for the day. I did hint on social media though that I'd be focusing my writing efforts on Finnish bands this week and here we are. This split LP was one half of a package I received from Ramekuukkeli-Levyt. It split features Frogskin and Taser, both of whom are Finnish doom/sludge bands. It feels very apt to be writing about this release given what I had to endure over the weekend. Thanks go to Tuukka for sending this to me and I'm sorry for the delay with my review.
The artwork on both sides of this split is great. There’s just something about holding the physical release in my hands and pouring over it. It came with a lyric insert and has been pressed on nice thick black vinyl (there’s also a green variant too). Frogskin’s side of this split contains the song ‘Settling For Leftovers’ and it weighs in at nearly fifteen-minutes. With the wind blowing heavily outside my window, it seems only right to jam this now. An eerie spoken word sample plays atop of slow and bass-heavy doom/sludge. It’s not pretty and nor should it be. It’s feedback-laden passages ringing from the speakers as the growled vocals enter the fray. They sit perfectly nestled within the menacing recording. The further in you get, the slower Frogskin’s music seems to become, dragging you down into a blackhole of despair and claustrophobic fear. Towards the song’s conclusion, you’re left with a screeching noise passage that’s even more terrifying than the music that precedes it.
Taser’s side is more to the point and groovy. ‘Shovelface’ is a driving beast with rock n roll sensibilities and vocals that could pass for white-noise such is their high-pitched ferocity. Their approach is to batter whatever functioning faculties you have left with hard and heavy sludge. It works too. The brilliantly named ‘Broken Christ’ continues in the same way and with it’s earth-rumbling riffs, it takes no prisoners. While Frogskin’s contribution is one born of utter harshness and misery, Taser’s duo of songs are slightly more upbeat (if that’s at all possible). I’ve always been a fan of this form of sludge and doom but this split makes me realise why I hold it above all else. It really hits that spot in my brain that wants solitude and distance from humans.
Both sides of this split are great and while I was already aware of Frogskin, Taser was a new name and I’m glad that Tuukka put them on my radar. They both show how twisted and heavy Finnish heavy music can be. I wholeheartedly recommend this split to anyone who likes the noisier and slower things in life. You won’t be disappointed.
You can stream and purchase the split digitally below, where I've included both the Frogskin and Taser sides for you two stream here via their respective bandcamp pages:-
Frogskin - https://www.facebook.com/frogskin666/
Physical copies can also be purchased from the bands or from the links below:-
Gate Of Deliria - http://gateofdeliria.blogspot.com/
Iron Coffin - https://ironcoffin.storenvy.com
Gate Of Deliria - https://www.facebook.com/gateofdeliria/
Iron Coffin - https://www.instagram.com/insidetheironcoffin/
Ramekuukkeli-Levyt - https://www.facebook.com/Rämekuukkeli-levyt
Penny Whistles And Moon Pies is a label that belongs to Taser's guitarist. I don't have a link, but that have copies for sale via their bandcamp page above, as I've already mentioned.
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