Frogskin / Lähdön Aika – Split 7″ 2014

The split with these two Finnish bands will not change anyone’s world. That is a given, what it does offer is a taste of the sound these bands produce. They don’t perform live that much, nor do they release tons of records. All the more special for this release.

Frogskin sounds dark, gloomy and intense on their song ‘Itse‘. Guttural vocals are barked over slow, foggy riffs. There is not much information to be found about the band in general and that clouded identity seems to be represented in the sound. The recording feels hazy and mysterious. With only one song on offer it becomes hard to form judgement on this band, let alone get to know them.

Formed in what they describe as one of the rare warm summers in Finland in 2003, Lähdön Aika plays sun scorched sludge. The blazing sun can be felt on their track ‘Hiljaisuus Kaikkialla‘, which just happens to sound more like the deserts or swamps of the southern part of the USA. The vocals seem more based on raw streetpunk, hoarse shouting and blurting out the words in anger.

The music sounds very cohesive, dense and terribly heavy. It overwhelms the listener like a surge of lava. The drums add some depth to the sound, sounding pretty distinct from the barrage of guitar sound. Clean guitar play bridges the gaps between speed changes and provide breathing space. Lähdön Aika is not an innovative band in all honesty, but they do well that thing they do, which is playing deep, heavy sludge.

This release does exactly what you would wish for; it makes you as a listener hungry to get to know these bands. One song is hardly enough to really get into them so I’m pretty sure that this release will leave you wanting a second and maybe more tastes of this Finnish dish.

Label: Julkaisut Records | 82 Records | Rusto Osiris
Frogskin: Official | Bandcamp
Lähdön Aika: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp

Scribed by: Guido Segers