:: Waltari - Release Date

Waltari

It’s rare that to find a band can truly defy any particular genre tag, but one act that continues to remain impossible to categorise with every new release is Finnish based outfit Waltari. Although having been around since 1986, and having recorded ten full-length albums to their name, Waltari remains a relatively unknown act to most, dwelling on the outer fringes of progressive rock with a sound that seemingly borrows from every genre possible. After gaining some well overdue worldwide recognition with their 2005 release ‘Blood Sample’ (the group’s first release through Bluelight Records), the quintet returns with its eleventh album ‘Release Date’, and once again it’s another strange and compelling mix of everything under the sun.

The opening track ‘Get Stamped’ is a heavy metallic rhythmic monster of a song with a raw guitar sound, unobtrusive keyboard beats and an interesting acoustic interlude around the three quarter mark, while the follow up number ‘Big Sleep’ sounds more rock orientated, with Hatakka’s stunning vocals and melody structures taking centre stage. The thrash/punk based ‘Let’s Puke Together’ and ‘Sex In The Beergarden’ again show off the metallic side of the bands sound with some great solo work and Hatakka’s varied vocal abilities, while ‘Hype’, the brief ‘THD’ and ‘Wish I Could Heal’ reveals the bands pop/punk/rock influences, which only goes to show the group’s diverse use of sounds from various genres. Making up a huge part of the album is the thirty-six minute epic ‘Cityshamaani’. Comprising of five movements, ‘Cityshamaani’ drifts from the truly progressive (‘Night Flight’), the experimental/avante-garde (‘Morning’), the thrash/pop/rap (‘Colgate County Showdown’), the symphonic heavy techno (‘The Incarnation Party’) and a mix of all of the above with classical elements (‘Sympathy’), all of which works in the strangest possible way.

Listed as a bonus track, ‘Spokebone’ is a collaboration between Waltari and Finnish pop/pock outfit Värttinä that is centred around sampled beats and female vocals (in Finnish), and while interesting, sounds very different from the remainder of the album in almost every way, and therefore doesn’t gel or flow with the preceding numbers.
Waltari once again retain their weird reputation as a band that’s almost impossible to pin down. But while that statement may turn some listeners away, those with courage and an open mind with soon find ‘Release Date’ every bit as unique as it is addictive.