Alamaailman Vasarat - Valta (2012)

Con "Valta" terminamos con la discografía por ahora de los Alamaailman Vasarat y su estilo que ha hecho escuela. Y si bien pareciera a primera vista que hacen lo mismo que en discos anteriores, paren la oreja porque tienen una interesante vuelta de tuerca en el plano melódico. Sea como sea aquí culmina la saga de esta genial banda en el blog cabezón.

Artista: Alamaailman Vasarat

Álbum: Valta
Año: 2012
Género: RIO / Avant-Prog
Nacionalidad: Finlandia

Lista de Temas:
1. Riistomaasiirtäjä
2. Henkipatto
3. Hajakas
4. Norsuvaljakko
5. Haudankantaja
6. Luu Messingillä
7. Väärä Käärme
8. Uurnilla
9. Hirmuhallinto

Alineación:
- Jarno Sarkula / saxophones, clarinets and tuba
- Erno Haukkala / trombone, brass
- Miikka Huttunen / pump organ, grand piano
- Tuukka Helminen / cello
- Marko Manninen / cello, theremin
- Santeri Saksala / drums, percussion

"Valta" es el nuevo disco de los geniales y particulares Alamaailman Vasarat, este grupo finlandés que mezcla infinidad de estilos y que derivados del estilo que emprendiera Höyry Köne, ya que proviene Alamaailman Vasarat de la disolución de Höyry Köne, que hacía rock progresivo muy influído por King Crimson aunque ahora su música es una mezcla de rock, música de los balcanes, klezmer, y con el paso de los años ha conseguido crear escuela con grupos como Diablo Swing Orchestra por ejemplo.
Este nuevo album es una vuelta de tuerca mas a su estilo y vuelven a crear composiciones directas y agresivas donde el folk balcánico brilla por encima de todo.

Antes ya he tenido la oportunidad de hablar sobre la música que abarca este ensamble finlandés y ahora quisiera retomar esos escritos para señalar que siguen frescos y en la vía de la música compleja, variable, impredecible. Con Valta graban lo que para mí es su mejor disco desde Kaarmelautakunta.
Aquí nos encontramos una vez más con tracks de una gran riqueza melódica, excelsa ejecución de los metales y nuevamente el perfeccionado truco del chelo amplificado que les ha funcionado bastante bien y en este disco lo vuelven a exprimir en aquellos momentos más salvajes y metaleros.
Por supuesto la variabilidad rítmica y las velocidades manejadas consideran tanto temas ágiles de poco descanso como otros igualmente folk pero de naturaleza más lenta y que invitan ya sea a destacar el papel del chelo, el acordeón o del piano. Hallaremos momentos de euforia seguidos de instantes de agresividad, y por allí un track completamente calmo, depresivo y con algo de sentimentalismo, algo raro en este ensamble pero sin duda les da ese aire de frescura que nunca han perdido.
Recomendación para todo aquel seguidor de este blog, es un disco que escucho casi diariamente desde que tuve acceso a él.

Kobaïan

Y así termina la saga de Alamaailman Vasarat en el blog cabezón, espero que lo hayan disfrutado, y si bien terminamos con ésta banda tengo ganas de entrarle a un par más de bandas finlandesas desconocidas y buenas así que si me permiten continuaré con alguna presentación finlandesa más (esto de presentar bandas finlandesas empezó con la discografía de Tasavallan Presidentti por parte de Vicky, no sé si recuerdan). Todo ésto fue su secuela.
Ahora les dejo algunos comentarios en inglés aunque a éstas alturas ya todos saben de lo que estamos hablando cuando presentamos un disco de Alamaailman Vasarat.

This band was formed by former members of the Finnish avant-rock group Hoyry-Kone. Unlike that band these guys are purely instrumental and not as electric or electronic. This is their latest album and only full album I have heard from them. I pre-ordered my copy and am still waiting for it weeks later; supposedly it has not reached North America yet. Thanks to the Progstreaming website I was able to do this review and notice this album in the first place. Having not heard a full album, I had still heard many songs by this group. From what I have read this isn't too much of a departure from what they have done previously, and if anything is more concise and accessible to what they were doing before.
I'm not a Finnish speaker so I like to call these guys 'Allah Mailman Vasarat'. The name means "hammers of the underworld" and would be a great name for a metal band. Oddly enough, some of this band's music sounds like metal...without a guitar! They use instruments such as sax, tuba and cello put through effects units to make them sound like distorted guitars. Their music is sometimes compared to klezmer, which the bandmembers claim they have no knowledge of. Instead they call their music "fictional folk music". You can detect influences from Eastern European folk music and Latin American music as well as metal. The music can be light and easy-going or more intense and metallic sounding. Some of the songs are more 'folk' sounding while others have more of a 'rock' feel.
AV have been around for 15 years but the only thing that has really changed is that they have a new drummer. The drumming never really stands out but the music would sound a lot different without it; less 'rock' sounding anyway. "Hajakas" is one of the more interesting tracks. It changes a bit but has a nice flow from section to section. Some of the best melodies on the album, the main one being some kind of klezmer-punk. "Norsuvaljakko" is a highlight. I like how the drummer flawlessly switches from a disco beat to a more swinging rock beat and back. The cello(?) here sounds like a monster. One of my favourite parts of the album is towards the end of "Haudankantaja" with some trumpet or trombone playing that sounds like it came from out of some old Western movie.
"Uurnilla" sounds different from the rest of the album. A very somber and moody chamber piece. Almost sounds like music from the pre-WW2 era. Another difference is the prominence of piano here. In contrast to the previous song, "Hirmuhallinto" is the most metal sounding on the album. Love the sludge metal riff here. You hear sounds of water drops as the music dies down slowly. Great way to close the album. If you have an appetite for classical-metal-klezmer-folk-rock this may be for you. Valta means "power" in Finnish and this album has some powerful music on it. Great sound, well played music full of great melodies and rhythms. 4/5 stars.

Darryl

Everything a grown man needs + tuba
Saxophones, clarinets, tuba, trombone, brass, pump organ, grand piano, cello, theremin, drums and assorted percussion devices. Now with an instrumental line up like that, you'd probably expect Alamaailman Vasarat to sound like a full on chamber rock group with the obvious nods to Univers Zero and early Art Zoyd. That is not the case however. Not even slightly!
Zravkapt(Darryl) already did a brilliant job reviewing this thing, and if you find my ramblings too zorro- jellybean-blackbag-sweaters, then I urge you to click on the red cover art on your right and read his take on the album.
This album moves from genre to genre and from country to country. I get some wonderfully mad desperado dashes emanating from the reed sections - mimicking a furious bull-run from the ancient streets of Pamplona. Sometimes the Spanish Inquisition slows down and literally transforms before your ears - now infinitely more passionate and sensuous - taking on the shape of a delirious and sweaty tango. Then you have the folk elements of the group, although on this release, Valta simply meaning power, they are squeezed in way down in the back, only colouring certain phrasings within the songs with a jolly and carefree expression. More than anything, I am reminded of Samla Mammas Manna - and that is just about the biggest compliment coming from this Dane. I adore the jumpy, almost symphonic piano Lucky Luke dressings some of these tracks take on. That sounds rather preposterous, but if you've ever heard an album like Måltid - you'll probably know what I'm on about; marvellous stints of sound that grow proportionally in size with umph and grandeur - preferably on top of a circus themed rocker.
........aaaaaaaand we're nowhere near the end of influences and different layers of this album. A most prominent feature of Valta, is the early Police-Sting-white boy-reggae-ska flavour - the thing that makes your head bob and your feet stomp in odd metered rhythms - until you finally look completely bizarre walking like a real life Goofy in the same spot without getting anywhere. There's no guitar though, which makes all of this all the more confusing. The cellos and reeds go through some kind of alterations and wind up sounding like a robust circus version of The Wailers. Speaking of circus, some of these tracks take me directly into the round hay covered arena - with galloping horses in their finest outfits elegantly swooping round and around in endless neighing circles. It's the same sort of feel I get from the reeds - that almost burial cortege feel, albeit in a fun and uplifting manner.
Lastly we find a strong metal element - taking me back to my teen years with Metallica and Maiden. Big gritty hard hitting riffs launching the music into altogether new territories, where the funky ska beats suddenly get interchanged for a wild head-banging affair. Complimenting the already eclectic behaviour of the group, the music now feels more potent and raw - adding to the overall picture that ever so fleeting ingredient of dynamics.
This is not a difficult album to get into by any stretch of the imagination, and if you're new to the avant world, Valta could very well serve as your first taste of music that presumes the worst about it's listeners: that we're mad and strangely put together - without a chance in hell of spotting a melody, even if it came attached to the peacock flavoured lollipops of our daily breakfast. Get in there people - I promise you something completely different than what you think you're going to get...

David

This band was formed by former members of the Finnish avant-rock group Hoyry-Kone. Unlike that band these guys are purely instrumental and not as electric or electronic. This is their latest album and only full album I have heard from them. I pre-ordered my copy and am still waiting for it weeks later; supposedly it has not reached North America yet. Thanks to the Progstreaming website I was able to do this review and notice this album in the first place. Having not heard a full album, I had still heard many songs by this group. From what I have read this isn’t too much of a departure from what they have done previously, and if anything is more concise and accessible to what they were doing before.
I’m not a Finnish speaker so I like to call these guys ‘Allah Mailman Vasarat’. The name means “hammers of the underworld” and would be a great name for a metal band. Oddly enough, some of this band’s music sounds like metal…without a guitar! They use instruments such as sax, tuba and cello put through effects units to make them sound like distorted guitars. Their music is sometimes compared to klezmer, which the bandmembers claim they have no knowledge of. Instead they call their music “fictional folk music”. You can detect influences from Eastern European folk music and Latin American music as well as metal. The music can be light and easy-going or more intense and metallic sounding. Some of the songs are more ‘folk’ sounding while others have more of a ‘rock’ feel.
AV have been around for 15 years but the only thing that has really changed is that they have a new drummer. The drumming never really stands out but the music would sound a lot different without it; less ‘rock’ sounding anyway. “Hajakas” is one of the more interesting tracks. It changes a bit but has a nice flow from section to section. Some of the best melodies on the album, the main one being some kind of klezmer-punk. “Norsuvaljakko” is a highlight. I like how the drummer flawlessly switches from a disco beat to a more swinging rock beat and back. The cello(?) here sounds like a monster. One of my favourite parts of the album is towards the end of “Haudankantaja” with some trumpet or trombone playing that sounds like it came from out of some old Western movie.
“Uurnilla” sounds different from the rest of the album. A very somber and moody chamber piece. Almost sounds like music from the pre-WW2 era. Another difference is the prominence of piano here. In contrast to the previous song, “Hirmuhallinto” is the most metal sounding on the album. Love the sludge metal riff here. You hear sounds of water drops as the music dies down slowly. Great way to close the album. If you have an appetite for classical-metal-klezmer-folk-rock this may be for you. Valta means “power” in Finnish and this album has some powerful music on it. Great sound, well played music full of great melodies and rhythms.

Darryl Weppler


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