Kotiteollisuus - Jumalattomat - review

Kotiteollisuus - Jumalattomat - review

Cover image of the reviewed item
Album
Jumalattomat
Style
Heavy metal
Release date
May 14, 2021
Reviewer
8.0
6.3
Tracklist
01. Menestys
02. Kaikki On Pyhää
03. Saatanan Työmaa
04. Herttarouva
05. Äiti Kuolema
06. Tuoni Peiton Alla
07. Verenmaku Suussa
08. Umpimielet
09. Jumalattomat
A review by
Netzach
June 20, 2021
Foul-mouthed, hard-hitting, danceable, and catchy. Kotiteollisuus (and Tuomas) welcome you to Finland, then seriously question your decision.

Kotiteollisuus (Cottage Industry) are best summed up as a very Finnish take on Killing Joke. In fact, they covered "Pandemonium" for the tribute album Absolute Respect, and with lyrics in Finnish, to boot. Their brand of leaden, industrial schlager metal is responsible for five albums, from the strangely unforgettable Tomusta Ja Tuhkasta (Of Dust And Ash) in 2000 through their 2003 breakthrough Helvetistä Itään (Eastward From Hell) to their 2006 apex Iankaikkinen (The Eternal One), that to this day provide the same level of undisputable entertainment they did however long ago I started listening to them.

On the albums released the past 15 years, Kotiteollisuus opted for more of a hard rock, sometimes nearly pop/punk sound, presented through a somewhat lighter production than the dark and danceable wall of metal featured on their best works. Jouni Hynynen's unique, boyishly enraged voice used to bellow about living as a feeling and thinking man in a society preferring to escape said feelings by blaming each other, and said thoughts by opening yet another bottle of Kossu, with a hefty seasoning of references to the darker aspects of Christianity and the Lord Of The Rings-inspiring high-fantasy of the Kalevala. Set to steady thumping percussion and some of the best riffs ever put to tape, it made for music I will be taking with me to the grave. Then, in 2007, my interest started declining to nothingness.

Until now, because going into a new album by a former favourite band and being hit by an obvious return to form is one of the topmost musical experiences ever. The title Jumalattomat (The Godless Ones), the grayscale, iconic album cover of a giant ready to hammer the world, and Tuomas Holopainen (Nightwish etc, you know who) being back as session keyboardist raised my expectations. Then, I hit play, and was instantly pummelled by the sort of amelodic, hydraulic riff I secretly wished for, but officially did not expect, these guys to ever write again, and was only intrigued further as I followed the lyrics. "Menestys" (Success) is an anti-capitalist rags-to-riches story detailing, in first person, increasingly sociopathic acts on a quest for money simply for the sake of more money, ending with the insight that this can hardly be called a success.

Kotiteollisuus always had a penchant for sickly-sweet choruses given extra heft by relentless verses such as the thrashy assault in "Kaikki On Pyhä" (All Are Holy), and most of all, the closing title track with its sublime Black Sabbath riff, tasteful piano hooks, and raging one-word chorus. Tuomas adds some folk influence with accordion synths on "Saatanan Työmaa" (Satan's Workplace), and acoustic strumming behind thick distortion adds a singer-songwriter touch to the karaoke-friendly "Verenmaku Suussa" (Taste Of Blood In The Mouth) in the same way it brought a new layer to Sentenced on Crimson.

While it pales somewhat beside my Kotiteollisuus favourites, Jumalattomat is a true return to form, and I am more than content to listen to it over and over in wait of complaints from my new neighbours about that dude singing gibberish upstairs.
Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 9
Written by Netzach | June 20, 2021

Comments

Comments: 4 Visited by 91 users

Posts: 933


Permalink
20.06.2021 - 22:55
Rating: 7

Posts: 933


Wow is this the first Kotiteollisuus review on here? Nice job on the review by the way.
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Netzach
Planewalker

Posts: 1761


Permalink
+1
20.06.2021 - 23:33
Rating: 8
Netzach
Planewalker

Posts: 1761


Written by VileVick on 20.06.2021 at 22:55

Wow is this the first Kotiteollisuus review on here? Nice job on the review by the way.

It is, yeah, I was waiting for an opportunity to remedy that. Cheers!
----
My "blackened synth metal" solo project: maladomini.bandcamp.com.

Whenever I write something funny, weird, or pretentious... I learned English by playing Baldur's Gate, okay?
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Bad English
Tage Westerlund

Posts: 64497


Permalink
+1
21.06.2021 - 16:27
Bad English
Tage Westerlund

Posts: 64497


A swede do review finish band singing in finish. That the new way to BBQ a sosages.
Band is cool, always live, fits in short summer blues, but you need to be fin, Estonian to get into lyrics... Finlands motorhead in some way.
----
I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens.

Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"

I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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Netzach
Planewalker

Posts: 1761


Permalink
21.06.2021 - 17:59
Rating: 8
Netzach
Planewalker

Posts: 1761


Written by Bad English on 21.06.2021 at 16:27

A swede do review finish band singing in finish. That the new way to BBQ a sosages.
Band is cool, always live, fits in short summer blues, but you need to be fin, Estonian to get into lyrics... Finlands motorhead in some way.

I'm half Finnish and decent at the language, mind you Jouni is a great lyricist, funny, provocative, and brutally honest.

I'd love to see them live!
----
My "blackened synth metal" solo project: maladomini.bandcamp.com.

Whenever I write something funny, weird, or pretentious... I learned English by playing Baldur's Gate, okay?
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