Get a load of that cover, will ya? You’ve got a pile of skulls spilling out of a creepy car park, Ghost Rider and his angry dog, and a hooded demon about to shoot up his inner child in front of the Helsinki Cathedral. No, I have no idea what’s happening here. But I must admit: I like it.
In case you couldn’t tell from the abbreviation sometimes appended to the band name, or from the first word of the album title, this Foreseen comes from the capital of Finland. Helsinki Savagery is the band’s debut full-length, following the two-track Structural Oppression EP from 2013 and an earlier split with Upright. (Both of those are available as name-your price downloads here.) In addition, Helsinki Savagery is Foreseen’s first release for the dependable 20 Buck Spin, and it’s also my introduction to the band.
And a darn fine introduction it is.
Standing between Agnostic Front metallic punk and Nuclear Assault punkish metal, Foreseen’s brand of thrashing pulls from the best of both worlds. Of that blend, its riffs lean squarely toward the latter ingredient, full-on furious thrash that feels perpetually on the verge of complete chaos. In that respect, Foreseen reminds not only of Nuclear Assault, but also of the early work of European thrash giants like Sodom and Kreator, albeit with a much more pronounced hardcore punk influence.
Instrumental opener “Slam Savagery” is perfectly pummeling – and its title a mission statement, if nothing else – but it’s really “Death Injection” that sets the tone for the album. One of the best tracks on Helsinki, “Death Injection” is a microcosmic of the band’s overall approach. Its first two minutes are balls-out thrashers, with call-and-response gang vocals that clearly crib from the punk playbook. The second half drops into a swinging groove that isn’t so much “break down” as “break things,” just a swaggering half-time tension that erupts back into the thrash motif for a minute before the whole thing collapses into the feedback squall and trashcan clamor that opens “The Prowler.” Later track “Bonded By United Blood” (howzat for a crossover title, huh?) is another highlight, its stomping opening custom-made for maximum moshpit frenzy.
For all my talk of riffs and shouts, this type of hybridized punk-metal is ultimately all about energy, and Helsinki Savagery has more than its share. Sure, it’s been done before, and sometimes it’s been done better, but it’s more often been done worse, especially recently. In a time when “punk + metal” often equates to thrice-warmed-over crusty d-beat, Foreseen blends the same ingredients in a slightly different manner than many and offers up a fun little record in the process.
Original, no. Enjoyable, absolutely.
