Part two covers a bunch more crucial bands in the so-called NWOFHM movement, which is, as previously discussed, a bit of a joke hatched by our friends from Finnish neo-krautrock legends Circle. Yet, a lot more than a joke.
In the more than a year-and-a-half (!) since I posted part one, we've seen the release of a few more efforts in the NWOFHM realm, including a Circle album, Terminal, on mostly metal label Southern Lord, and more recently an excellent new Pharaoh Overlord, Zero. Then there was the Danko Jones/Circle side project Iron Magazine who put out a 12" last year, and also, more recently, the second Split Cranium 'crossover' collaboration featuring members of Circle, Isis, Converge, Mammifer and Old Man Gloom. Perhaps most notable, though, was the first release in six years from Steel Mammoth, Atomic Oblivion! None more NWOFHM than them, so as promised, they'll kick off this 2nd part of our NWOFHM 101 primer, here goes...
STEEL MAMMOTH!!! Probably Jussi & Co.’s flagship act when it comes to pure NWOFHM stuff (and “post-grunge” stuff too). The sheer metalness of their name, album titles, song titles, cover graphics, adds up to NWOFHM heroes. Steel Mammoth is a joke wrapped in a riddle inside an iron fist wearing a velvet glove, etc., etc.
The band is fronted by the signature voice of the NWOFHM, Ville Pirinen aka Garfield Steel. He’s a quirky Finnish indie rocker and visual artist with a bunch of different bands on his C.V. that predate his involvement in the NWOFHM scene, such as the blues rock/synth pop of Black Audio, which you can definitely hear a bit of in Steel Mammoth. Also, Pirinen currently is part of one of thee best bands in the current wave of ‘female-fronted occult rock’ bands, Seremonia – a subject for another post someday. Check out Seremonia though if you’re at all into bands like Blood Ceremony and The Devil's Blood - they’re by far the most legitimately psychedelic of the lot! Another guy from Seremonia is in Steel Mammoth too, Ilkka Vekka, who is also behind the psychedelic/noise/industrial project Haare.
As far as Steel Mammoth goes, all their albums and eps are essential NWOFHM listening, here’s but a taste, beginning with "Nuclear Barbarians" off of their 2007 debut:
This next track, "Extinction," from their third album Nuclear Ritual (2009), is a big fave too. When we reviewed that release on the aQuarius list, we compared this album-ending eight-plus minute song's lumbering stoner/doom riffage to Witchcraft and Jex Thoth, and went on to say that it "eventually morphs into an extended lysergic jam worthy of Circle in its krautiness, with a bassline that Rick Rubin woulda loved on Bloodsugarsexmagic, that never seems like it will end and when it does you'll want to start it again... With results like this, Steel Mammoth are doing something right, even if they're playing metal 'wrong'." Check it out:
And finally, here's a video of a track from 2011's Nuclear Rebirth, the second in the trilogy of vinyl-only albums that has seen Steel Mammoth evolving into sounding like an actual metal (or metalpunk) band, a super thrashy and gnarly one at that:
AKTOR!!! A collaboration between Jussi and the almost equally prolific Chris "Professor" Black of Dawnbringer and High Spirits fame. It sounds like an '80s keyboard infused, sci-fi frazzled version of High Spirits in a lot of ways, trading the positive pop metal sound of that band for something equally poppy but more paranoid, definitely heavily influenced by Blue Öyster Cult circa The Revölution By Night and even Club Ninja. Plus a dose of Angel Rat era Voivod and, I dunno, maybe even some Return To Forever. And, 'cause of the BÖC thing, this band may perhaps remind some folks of Sweden's Ghost as well.
So far, Aktor is responsible for one wonderful full-length in 2015 and, before that, a 7" single from 2013. Here’s the A-side of that single:
Good news though – Aktor have a new 2018 album coming out SOON, teaser track here:
ARKHAMIN KIRJASTO!!! Jussi, again, with support from one of the other Steel Mammoth guys, takes the NWOFHM into Nordic black metal territory, sort of a la Darkthrone and Satyricon. But way weird and psychedelic and Lovecraftian (the band's name in English is "Arkham Library"). They've put out two 7" singles and a full-length album, and in the aQuarius review of the latter we noted that "if their tongues are in cheek here, they're well hidden." Serious rockin' death/black metal business happening here. In fact, it's the least metal tracks on there that sound the most typically NWOFHM. Here's a taste, a video for the opening track on their Torches Ablaze (2012) album:
OK, so that wraps up our run down on thee NWOFHM essentials so far! However, stay tuned someday for part three of this primer, where I'll dig into the 'roots of the NWOFHM' (inspirations and influences) and also discuss some other contemporary non-Finnish bands that kind of fit into the NWOFHM sound, like Realmbuilder. Or perhaps I'll save those for an eventual part four... which could include mention of the non-Circle-related, actual New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal from Finland (NWOTHMFF?) including Iron Griffin, Lord Fist, Angel Sword, Rotör and more.
But, before we go today, if you have another 18 minutes to spare, and haven't already wandered down some YouTube hole as a result of the above, gonna leave you with this 'bonus track' – an up close and personal documentary segment about the life and art of Garfield Steel himself, from Sami Sänpäkkilä's 'A Day In The Mouth' series:
All hail the NMOFHM! (–Allan)
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