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KARJALAN SISSIT: Karjalan Sissit Release year: 2001 Format: CD Tracklist: 1: In Amaritudine 05:09 Total length: 41: 20 min General Facts: Karjalan Sissit is the project of Markus Pesonen, a guy with Finnish roots, living in Sweden. The name of the project means "the Karelian Guerillas" and it is referring to the Finnish Sissi units during the Finnish Winter War. Markus grandfather served as a sniper in the Sissi units for 5 years and the album is dedicated to him. The album reviewed here is Karjalan Sissit's debut but they recently released a second album entitled Miserere on Cold Meat Industry. Both albums are produced by Peter Pettersson of Arcana and Sophia in his studio Erebus Odora. Review: It doesn't surprise me at all that this project eventually found its way to the ranks of Roger Karmanik and Cold Meat Industry. Karjalan Sissit presents majestic music composed of dramatic choirs, massive percussion sounds and mighty string sections. The typical "Industrial tinged Neo-Classical" ingredients are here mixed together with "war" and "darkness" as the most distinct finishing spices. There are also some guest appearances by old Finnish war songs like Säkkijärven Polkka and Suomi Marssi between Markus' own tracks - taking the war concept of this album to further levels. The addition of these tracks sometimes disrupts the flow, since there's an obvious contrast between new and old in Markus tracks and the old ones, yet I think the war atmosphere of this album is very genuine indeed. Fires burning on ice-covered ground, snow coloured red by blood, distant blasts on dark horizons, battles fought under hoar-frost beset trees - these are some of the sights I see while listening to this CD. The amaranthine echoes of war, presented on CD by Karjalan Sissit in a regal oddysey through militaristic splendour. The music of Karjalan Sissit much resembles that of pre-Spite Sophia. Yet, as far as I understand; this album was recorded at the same period if not before Peter Pettersson recorded Aus Der Welt and Herbstwerk. I also hear Peter himself has done some session work for this album, like the percussion on Peracta Militia and Eternal War. Perhaps this, the Erebus Odora production and common sources of inspiration explain why Sophia and Karjalan Sissit resemble each other in sound. Nevertheless, this project will most certainly appeal to those who haven't got enough of ultra-heavy Industrial tinged Neo-Classical projects like In Slaughter Natives, Der Blutharsch and of course Sophia. I don't think Karjalan Sissit reaches the class of the above three with this album even though it is a great one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Click here to contact Karjalan Sissit - Click here to enter the Karjalan Sissit website |
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