Sunday, January 6, 2013

ÄPÄRÄT - Häirikot Tulee


Finnish hardcore punk - what bands come to mind first? KAAOS, TERVEET KÄDET, RIISTETYT, LAMA, APPENDIX, BASTARDS...they are all classic and there are so many more. Today I decided to pick one of my favorites: the crudely drawn "Häirikot Tulee" EP by ÄPÄRÄT (which actually translates to "bastards") from 1985. While undeniably fitting among its Finnish hardcore contemporaries, this EP has something more to offer to folks like me that want more melody with their mayhem. They have a tighter sound and pound away at a more sturdy pace than many of the other Finnish bands of the time. They even manage to churn out a great slow, dark-ish punk jam with "Pikku Mikko" - with it's simple, textured guitar leads and effective rhythms. There's more neat open-guitar-chord work darkening the closing track, "Tavallinen Ihminen." ÄPÄRÄT had a special, controlled craft to these songs compared to the full throttle attack employed by most old Finnish hc bands. They also had some solid tracks on the essential Yalta HI-Life compilation LP back in 1984, alongside TERVEET KÄDET, VARAUS, AIVOPROTEESI, KAAOS, and KANSANTURVAMUSIIKKIKOMISSIO. I can't say I know very much else about the band - anyone have some info?

Quite a rare EP, but there's a decent, seemingly accessible bootleg floating around for those who must have a copy sitting on their shelf - I'm right there with you. People like to surround themselves with things they love!



Song titles translated to English:
1. Terrorist
2. Jesus the Dead
3. Jack the Ripper
4. Little Mikko
5. Anarchy in Finland
6. Ordinary Man

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