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Viikate > Unholan urut > Reviews
Viikate - Unholan urut

So goddamn beautiful! - 75%

PazuzuZlave, October 3rd, 2005

Viikate is a relatively known band… in Finland. Upon listening to this beautiful work of art, one can conclude that they’re only known locally because of the simple matter which language the lyrics are expressed in. Maybe it also has something to do with their occasional use of folk-melodies, who knows? Anyway, this is a band who almost everyone could listen to. It’s darn near mainstream, but the difference is that they rely solely on their one style. Which works very well here.

This band has, since I’ve known about them, been kind of a nutcracker to me. How to categorize them? The closest band in comparison has to be Amorphis, for the likeness of the guitar melodies. Well, they use distorted guitars, mostly mid-tempo rhythms and sing their songs with all-clean vocals. Oh, the vocals. When has anyone heard a voice so deep yet wonderful as Kaarle Viikate’s? This guy sings with passion, he always has and always will. The only problem is that they almost never change from the mid-key he sings best in. This causes a little glitch in terms of longevity. Sure, it’s all beautiful and fits, but with little more variation to the vocals this could’ve been dubbed a stellar album!

The music mostly revolve around powerchords or a guitar-melody, or in most cases combined. The riffs aren’t particularly complex, but they do have their charm, and combined with excellent drumming it becomes a good mix. The melodies, on the other hand, are most of the time very well constructed. Folk-melodies tend to be close to a tradition these days, every band tries to smuggle one into a song here and there, but this is Viikate’s real signature.

The record starts out with a sad guitar-melody and drives forward with drums and riffs. Synth is used from time to time, but it’s really just “there” to enhance the other instruments. “Unholan Urut” (the song) is a good way to start off the album. Then follows “Pohjoista Viljaa”, the first single from U.U. When I first heard it, I fell in love with it instantly, and I still have a weak spot for the whole tune. “Vesi jota Pelkäät”, “Käki” & “He Eivät Hengitä” are also strong tunes here. The downside is that they could’ve left two songs out. “Nämä Herrasmiehet” and “Autuaat” don’t deserve their place here, and sound like they’re just there acting as filler material.

The real interesting thing about this album is that most songs work well as sing-along material. “Pohjoista Viljaa” is an easy tune to learn and is a definitive “Best of…”-song on U.U. Whatever country you’re from, whatever language you speak, try to listen to this. I can’t guarantee anything, it very much varies from person to person. Download before buying!