Year: 2024
Label: Doom of the Ignorant
Subtlety is a fine art, a tough thing to master – and something Finnish Kusipää don’t fuck with. From the name of the project, the Finnish equivalent of dickhead, asshole or bastard, to the cover of this anthology, to the lyrics, there’s nothing subtle or veiled about the entire thing. No, Kusipää wear their hearts on their sleeves, and their hearts are out to shock and offend.
Containing four 7″ vinyl EP’s on one disc, Discography 2013-2019 compiles together the entirety of the project’s studio output thus far. The only thing missing from a complete discography is a live tape from 2022. But there’s plenty of stuff here as it is: 28 tracks crammed into just under 40 minutes.
As you might know, Finnish hardcore is a bit of a thing, even globally. Many are the illustrious acts from especially early 80’s Finland, who’ve inspired musicians the world over. One famous fan of early Finnish hardcore is Max Cavalera of Sepultura and Soulfy. Kusipää take this crude, straightforward and violent form of punk music as their starting point – and go on to make something even cruder and more violent out of it.
In other words: fast, short bursts of violence. Simple, fast and vicious hardcore riffs, speedily plodding drums, and vocals that reek of violence. Kusipää take the tried and true recipe of bands such as Kaaos, Rattus and Riistetyt, and throw in a little extra amount of caked dirt and phlegm. Especially in the vocal department: the gruff, nasty vocals often approach a semi-growl. Just listening to this makes my throat hurt.
It’s all very classic in the sense that there’s nothing intrinsically original in Kusipää’s sound, but what sets it apart from colleagues is that these dials go to 11.
There’s not a huge amount of musical or artistical progression in the course of the EP’s. I suppose the guys in Kusipää might find it amusing to speak of “artistic progression” in connection to their music; but what I mean is, that from the onset, Kusipää have found their thing and stick to it.
But you do notice small steps forward from release to release. There’s a certain untightness to the music from start to finish, but the vocals get more vicious and the overall sound more aggressive and unrelenting on the newer EP’s. The music also becomes slightly more focused: on the first EP, there’s a rocking Motörhead edge to some of the riffs, which is not heard on the later releases. Rocking is replaced by a steamroller mentality.
Lyrically, Kusipää hold nothing back. They certainly remember the days when punk was all about stirring up shit, upsetting the status quo and make goody two shoes people scared and offended. Because Kusipää’s lyrics are full of offensive, egregious shit. Middle fingers are held up and waved firmly in every direction conceivable: one could certainly describe Kusipää as an equal opportunity offender.
I suppose some people might detest that. And of course, if nobody is offended, I suppose you could say Kusipää have failed. But I get it: it’s a valid point that punk should have matured from those roots of flipping the finger just for the sake of flipping the finger. But, hear me out, when shit rocks as hard as this, who gives a hooting holler?
Because the simple bottom line is this: there’s nothing sophisticated or intelligent about Kusipää; nothing original or innovative; no perceivable depth beneath the offensive lyrics. But Kusipää do what they do exceptionally well, tapping into that classic hardcore vein and creating a furious, violent modern take on a classic sound out of it.
If that’s not enough, I don’t know what the fuck is.
Only Death Is Real 