You’ve Been Warned
Hello my friends, and today my guests are the highly energetic and ‘set off like a bomb’ Finnish band , Turmion Kätilöt, which translates as ‘ Midwives Of Ruin’ or ‘ Midwives Of Perdition’. Well now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries let’s kick things off with ‘Naitu’, the opener here with a blast furnace of a chorus that will send the crowds into a shameless bout of hip-swinging, to match the raucous, dark fantasy and thrill kill nature of the video. What level of humour is cause for this degradation I’m not entirely sure but it has divided opinion, I’m not surprised at the content, I’ve seen similar stuff in Rammstein videos, but I think in the current climate of misogyny, domestic abuse, manipulation and such dreadful behaviours, I just wonder if it is timely and suitable. Of course, it can be argued that there is no correct time for these images to be thrown into the public domain. The music however is extremely catchy and that ‘light up the night’ chorus is reminiscent of a certain Swedish House Mafia song. Next, we have that most metal of creatures, the goat, gracing the video for ‘Kyntövuohi’ and although I do not understand what these lyrics mean-I have looked up some of them- you can’t fault the music. We have another stratospheric chorus running sidelong to the theatrics and dramatics of the song. Music lyrics have always been a sticking point, some are offensive, some would argue that our reality is offensive so there is nothing new here. With colourful and tastefully named characters like Shag-U, B. Undertaker and Master Bates you get the feeling of which direction this is headed. With sexual references and a nod and a wink to the Devil himself, you are in the deepest, darkest, pitch black territory ever imagined. Partnered with the most euphonious melodies, the nature of what is being said gets overlooked. Admittedly, it is difficult to give a track by track account here, only because of my non-existent level of Finnish. Suffice to say, don’t let that stop you from discovering a band you may not have heard of, stick with it, you won’t be disappointed.
The video for ‘Sano Kun Riittää’ sees our heroes make themselves comfy in the home of an unsuspecting female, and when the befuddled creature ventures into the room they have hijacked, well, she leaves. Maybe she understood what he was singing, me, however, being completely oblivious probably would’ve stayed. The synthesisers are prominent throughout and sometimes remind me of A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ before the singer dives in with the ubiquitous, factory floor death growl. The band are in a delightfully revelrous mood, it is a disco metal party soundtrack that will get everyone up and moving. Overflowing with space age zapping electronica, it is the ‘Global Warning’ you have been waiting for.
As for ‘Say When Enough’ well, I haven’t quite had my fill yet. I say Kippis ( it means cheers) to our friends in TK and let’s party!
Azra Pathan
Turmion Kätilöt – Global Warning out now via Nuclear Blast.