Usman's Staff Pick: June 8, 2023

Hello and thanks for reading. While I am here today to talk about AIVOPROTEESI, I wanted to mention some other stuff first. I’m sure I will talk about it more some other time, but the debut FAIRYTALE LP is just so damn good. I’ve been following the band since they came down and played the house just a few months before Covid-19 hit the States. They had a flexi out only at the time, and it did not really give testament to the band’s raw intensity. Live they were so unbelievably good, and this LP is without a doubt my favorite release so far. Also, I wanted to mention this LP from D.T.A.L. I was really excited for this one, cos the EPs from the ‘80s are so sick, especially the first one,”Time to Die." I always thought it was interesting their second EP “A Beautiful Day” was much harder to find, especially cos it’s not as crazy and raw sounding as their debut EP. Eventually I attributed its allure to it being pressed on blue vinyl, haha. The “Dark Dimensions of War” LP comes with an insert explaining the history of the band and its ever-changing line-up. I’m guessing “A Beautiful Day” was poorly distributed (if at all), since the band was not technically a band when this EP was released. It was a new line-up with a new metallic direction that went on to do “Dark Dimensions of War” years later. They explain this record was planned to be released on CBR Records in 1990, who released ANTI-CIMEX that same year. Apparently, the plans for the D.T.A.L. 12" faded into nothing after CBR was dealing with lawsuits due to the title of “Absolut Country of Sweden.” Recently the original tapes were found, restored, and the release picked up right where it left off - thanks to De:Nihil Records. I was happy to get this record, and read the history of the band especially. Check it out, but be warned this is not raw hardcore like the way they originally played.

Alright, so AIVOPROTEESI. I just found this video made by the band with studio tracks and live footage, collaged together with images of war and propaganda. The timing of it looks like this was released when the LP came out. It is kind of cheesy, but I think it’s super cool still. They give us a brief history of the band, which is also cool. I was hoping this compilation LP would come with an insert of some sort, but unfortunately it does not. The record is housed in a nice gatefold jacket that is loaded will full-color photos of the band. I don’t think the cover itself is very appealing (I think it’s the color scheme?), and it has tons of labels listed on the back. Most of the time when you see that, it’s a sign of a whack ass record... haha. There is a US label on the back of this record, but I worried we would never get copies since it has been available in Europe for nearly a year. Eventually I said fuck it and mail-ordered a copy from Germany. Finally though, we can all enjoy copies of this hot slab in USA. AIVOPROTEESI unfortunately never had a proper record until this one. They appeared on the legendary Yalta Hi-Life compilation, and that was their only real appearance (aside from a handful of obscure 80s compilation tapes and a couple bootleg LPs that came much later). Maybe it’s easy for some to overlook AIVOPROTEESI on this compilation cos they appear next to super popular bands like TERVEET KÄDET, KAAOS, or VARAUS. But their tracks on this compilation are just as killer and they are easily of the same caliber as those legendary bands. On this compilation they released eight songs, although ten were recorded in the session. Those tracks were pretty much lost to time until the Finnish Hardcore label reissued them on a super limited lathe in 2020. It was definitely cool to hear these missing tracks, but nothing beats being able to hear the full session in all its glory. I think that alone makes this compilation LP worth it, but they’ve loaded it up with a handful of different recording sessions and some live tracks - totaling in 31 tracks, killer. Alright I think that about does it for today. Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for the support. Cheers!