Karanteeni - "Best Of" - Fanclub Cassette



This tape, a bootleg/fan club type release, is something I took a chance on a few years ago when I was ordering some other things from a punk distro. The tape has a spray-painted cassette shell and a j-card made out of photocopied construction paper...very DIY. My copy is hand numbered 37/150.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a 20 song "best of" selection of the Karanteeni's music. Not having any of the original records I couldn't tell you if this is the finest representation of their output, but it sounds like great punk rock to me. Karanteeni are definitely in the mold of the UK Class of '77 and other styles of melodic, pre-hardcore punk rock. The songs are mid-tempo and very catchy even though Finnish is not a language I understand. The sound quality of the songs themselves is surprisingly good...I'm guessing they had access to a fairly professional studio. The dubbing quality of the tape itself is well done, but obviously not audiophile quality.

Since this tape was released, Svart Records out of Finland has reissued the band's LP and 7''s. From what I gather, the 7'' material is a bit more energetic and aggressive than the LP material. Anyway, I own a few Svart reissues and they are good quality, so I'd recommend those if you want to check this band out as this tape is long gone from distros at this point.

Discogs Page

Also, this youtube clip is horrible quality (really shitty needledrop), but it will give you a rough idea of what the band sounds like.

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^^ great stuff as always LionsMouth !!

Mellakka - RIP - Recordings 1984-1986




More Finnish punk, this time in a more aggressive hardcore vein. As far as Finnish bands of this type go, these guys came a bit later than the bigger name classic bands (e.g. Bastards, Riistetyt, Lama, etc.), but have plenty of energy and chaos going to make things interesting. This isn't as raw as say some of Kuolema or Terveet Kadet's stuff, but it's up there. Think early GBH or the Exploited pumped up on speed and PCP and you get the idea. This tape on TotalMangel Records compiles their two EPs and a three song demo. All raging stuff. Not sure how hard it is to find at this point, but some other labels also issued this collection on LP and CD, so there are options. The original EPs are tough to find and will set you back a fair amount of coin, of course.

Discogs Page

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^^ this is right up my alley !!

Man, the 80s were a great time for punk in Finland! Both of these are fantastic!

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