Band Submission: Polanski-Grunge/Stoner Rock/Punk From Helsinki, Finland

Band Name: Polanski
Genre: Grunge stoner rock punk
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Brief Bio/Description: Polanski is a 4-piece rockstonergrunge -band from the drunken neighbourhoods of Helsinki. Founded in 2011, slowly but unreliably expanding the exposure to fellow citizens of earth. Newest release Medicine EP (2016) available now. Usually muddled up but always sincere.
Band Members: 
Anttoni Pikkarainen - Vocals & Guitar
Kalle Loimula - Guitar
Miika Kyyrö - Bass
Tyko Haapala - Drums
Links: Medicine EP/Bandcamp/Soundcloud/Facebook

LP Review: Overstaying My Welcome by Void Cruiser

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!...oh sorry, getting a bit carried away with ourselves there. Let’s start from the beginning; Overstaying My Welcome is outstanding! Hold on, we’ll go a little further back than that still...

Void Cruiser come from Helsinki, Finland, they formed in 2011, released an EP, Motherload, in 2013, and now have released their debut full length,, Overstaying My Welcome: eight tracks of heavy riffs, fuzzy, loud walls of guitars, stoner guttural vocals, all combined to make a glorious noise that we at Heavy Planet just purr over.

So many superlatives can be thrown at this band that it would become a ridiculous review , not really making any sense. Take the title track, five-and-a-half minutes of swift kicks to the face of fuzzy stoner guitar licks, stadium igniting solos, as well as the gentlest weeping of the same six stringer. The vocals of Santeri Salo chanting “I’m not supposed to be around” are the perfect accompanying tone to intertwine the heavy instrumentation (Vili Salo – guitar, backing vocals, Lassi Tähtinen – bass, backing vocals, Teemu Rantanen – Drums) together, as the song builds and builds to its aggressive crescendo; and so every other track pretty much follows in epic proportions.

‘Heist’ is every part heavy stoner, groovy blues, balls-to-the-wall metal you could possibly want in a song,  ‘Splinters’ is an energetic youth spirited pure rock episode of attitude and gnarly riffs, while both ‘Borrow From Tomorrow’ and ‘Golden Teeth Smile’ initially offer glimpses into a softer side to the band, they just serve to lull you into a false sense of security before continuing their plan of ripping you a new one.

Void Cruiser have similarities to Generous Maria, or at least the band that they should have become. This band are planting the flag high for all of Scandinavian stoner rock for all the world to take note and up their game and reach their level. Like we said at the start, Overstaying My Welcome just makes you yell out “YES! YES! YES!” forevermore!

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Quick Hit: Kaiser

Kaiser

Lead-footed and rhythmic, this 3-piece from Helsinki, Finland rattles skulls with their impressive 5-song debut offering. Along with steady driving beats, mighty vocals and a fondness for the fuzz, the band unleashes an inspired collection of grungy stoner metal madness. From the opening note of "Speeder" to the tasty doom lick of closer "Monsteroid", Kaiser has gained my attention. 

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Sunday Sludge: Gniyrg Gnaarg - "The Acolytes Feel Sleepy"

Scandinavia is normally great for power metal, black metal, apocalyptic cathedral throat-chirp metal, and all kinds of other metal that's indulgent, over-the-top, and seeking to balance the pretty with the ugly. With every release, from the great to the awful, I wanna grab bands by the short-and-curlies and quietly, softly ask them to slow the fuck down. Just once. Maybe my American frame just isn't built to withstand all that fog, all that hair, and all the high-pitched nut-cradling. 

Helsinki, Finland's Gniyrg Gnaarg, featured as a Heavy Planet "New Band To Burn One To" more than eighteen months ago, have triumphantly returned with a low-slung, first-gear trip through ancient, troubled times. The Acolytes Feel Sleepy is the band's conceptual second release, chronicling what the band calls an "ancient chaos monk who tries to warn his nonchalant acolytes about imminent doom" and a "prophet who has a vision of the depressing future of the world, but manages to see the bright side of it all in the end."

Likely more doom (or "dungeon," as they've claimed in the past) than sludge, Heavy Planet still felt the release deserved a push. The vocals set apart this lo-fi stoner fuzz from the down-tuned deliciousness normally served piping-hot every weekend. Where the slow doom grumble hovers somewhere between hell and its own billowed smoke, the vocals carry these three (well, two... A Wizard? is instrumental) tracks back hundreds of years to a time that not even a medieval history buff can fully grasp. There's something about the way bassist/vocalist Tommy T juxtaposes "A wizard? Nay. A PROPHET!" that drives home a hint of doubt blended with a wall of realization that you won't find anywhere else.

Mangling just under twenty fuzzy clicks won't be tolerated in your cool, damp cell. I can't promise yelling out "Gniyrg Gnaarg" will win over your sweaty bunk-mate, either. But with enough cunning, maybe a rookie dungeon master will look the other way as you spin The Acolytes Feel Sleepy. Or maybe Gniyrg Gnaarg will snap you out of this role-playing bullshit altogether and just get you laid. Regardless, this doomy, hazy sophomore effort is worth your attention. And a few pence.

Band:

Tommy T - Bass/Vocals
Leo N - Guitar/Backing Vocals
Ines B - Drums

bandcamp | Myspace | Soundcloud | Youtube

New Band To Burn One To: SPACE LIZARD

HEAVY PLANET presents...SPACE LIZARD!

BAND BIO:

Space Lizard from Helsinki plays heavy rock with a hint of psychedelia reaching from snail-paced tempos to straight forward rock'n'roll. The band was founded in the 90's, but reformed and changed its name from Devil's Harvest to Space Lizard in 2008. So far two demo-CD's Hazy Mystical Groove (2009) and Month of the Rabbit (2012) have been released.

B - Henri Lehto
G - Tapio Pesälä
V - Matti Pitkänen
D - Antti Selamaa



THOUGHTS:

"Starting off the latest EP "Month of the Rabbit" by Finnish band Space Lizard is the toasty buzz of "Plutonium Sunrise". The song saturates your ears with a nice groove, bottom heavy blast and a shredding guitar solo. Vocalist Matti Pitkänen takes hold of the track with full force and a bit of Ozzy-like nasality. The next track "Never Free" slows down the tempo and is much heavier and doomier, the vocals are more dramatic and less edgy on this track. Closing out this familiar but diverse EP is the uptempo "Nazi Woman" which takes on a more seventies heavy rock vibe a la Cactus. A very nice intro to the band. Check them out!"

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