"Monsteriser sounds like Alice in Chains with Dimebag Darrell on guitar" - Soundi
music monthly
Monsteriser is a four-piece from eastern Finland who call their music South Carelia
Heavy Grunge. The definition is short but all the sweeter and precisely, that's what
its all about. Grinding guitars, strong melodies, rocking heavy rhythms and sleek,
but not watered down production. Monsteriser are no new kids on the block, these
guys have been playing in bands and making music for the past two decades. They have
families and real jobs yet they are still playing heavy rock like there's no
tomorrow. Is this a wise thing for grown-ups to be doing? But why of course!
Monsteriser is fronted by music virtuoso Miitri Aaltonen (voc, guitar) who also
enjoys fame as a much sought-after producer having been in the limelight with
chart-topping Finnish metal acts Stam1na and Mokoma amongst others.
"The Long Snap to Zero" was Monsteriser's debut from 2006 paying homage to their
heroes in Seattle as well as the forefathers of modern metal. The new album,
"Shortcuts to a Dead End", mixes all the goodness of grunge into dark guitar riffs
with a solid metal ladle. Drummer Janne Hynynen sees it as a quintessentially
Finnish realist approach to metal sounds that evolved far overseas. "Its Finnish
grunge with a heavy sound but we traded those flannel shirts for Jussi jumpers and
wiped our asses with the beanies" (Jussi jumpers are the traditional outfits of
infamous knife-wielding rednecks from the Ostrobothnia region of Finland, often worn
by fellow countrymen The Dudesons).
"Shortcuts to a Dead End" was recorded in Imatra, the band's hometown in southeastern
Finland, rubbing shoulders with the Russian border. And as on their album debut the
producer twiddling the knobs was Miitri.
"We found it worked extremely well on the first album, so why change a good thing.
Plus of course we didn't want any outsiders messing the place up", chortles Janne.
The main bulk of the album was recorded in November 2007 through to January 2008.
This time songwriting duties were divided among all four band members which can be
heard in the album's more diverse output. One track is fully acoustic (A track
without fuzz guitar, can it be music?, the band laugh) and all lyrical credits go to
main man Miitri. His lyrics much reflect the state of the world as it is today, with
a special focus on things that have gone awry.
Regarding the album title Miitri says: "When we started the project we weren't
focused on where the album was going musically. However, we wanted to stick with the
heavy grunge sound but didn't want to take the easy way out, as it were. This
thought evolved into an inside joke about going under fences and through open gates
that roughly translates as not taking the easy way out but just taking a way out. So
that idea kind of attached itself to the title". The title also brings to mind Finns
in general, who typically tend to see things in terms of Murphy's Law - things that
can go wrong will go wrong.
"Yeah, we're a bunch of sad bastards. But I think we have got it right on this album."
And this they definitely have done, go and listen for yourselves.
MONSTERISER - SLOWLY WE DIE
MONSTERISER - DAYS LIKE THESE
Review quotes:
“Monsteriser brings grunge back to life by a series of electric shocks.” www.imperumi.net
“The album has a perfect ratio of melodies and ruthless pounding.” Soundi
“If ‘Days Like These’ was a song by an American band, it would already be a global hit”. www.noise.fi
“Grown men at the real job!” Aamulehti
“Monsteriser doesn’t reach over their heads, they simply do what they do best.” Inferno
“These guys make it easy to applaud “The Long Snap To Zero.” www.vertigo.cd
Ai hemmetti ku kuulostaa taas hyvälle. Ylättävän raikas biisi teijän orkan bändiltä ja noilla saundeilla.. mahtavaa!! Uutta levyä odotellessa ja keikkaa Ouluun!!
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