I recently came into possession of a number of new and upcoming releases from Locomotive records. Among the group of disks was a pair of albums from Waltari. First thing I did was find out which one was older. Since I had two, I figured it would be best to listen to them in order.
This disc — Release Date — was the second, so it is not my first experience with the band, although it was really close. My first real listen was Blood Sample, and what an experience it was. It was like getting hit upside the head with a baseball bat.
It had been some time since I heard a band that possessed so much talent and had a sound that was so over the map and cohesive at the same time. Needless to say, I was quite impressed. Having enjoyed the wild diversity of that album, I eagerly anticipated slipping this one into the player. Was Blood Sample a one shot deal? Was it possible that there could be more creative energy waiting to explode on another album?
Release Date is Waltari's 14th (yes, 14th) full-length album. On top of that, they have a debut LP, and a two disk retrospective of their early years under their belts. I cannot believe it took this long for me to hear them, much less, actually hear of them.
How is it possible for a band with such a high level of creativity not reach a broad audience? I am sure there is a laundry list of reasons, but I am still surprised. They strike me as a band that would have been picked up on and marketed over here much sooner, someone like Century Media Records, which has done a great job of delivering a great deal of metal music over the years with bands such as Iced Earth, Sentenced, and Nevermore. In any event, I think Locomotive has a great opportunity to bring this Finnish band to the world, or the US at least, with their distrobution deal with Dockyard 1.
Is Release Date equal to Blood Sample? I have to answer no to this. But please do not take that as a negative, as I think the earlier album is a near masterpiece and would be hard to top in any case. This outing is nearly as good, though it may be a touch less catchy, but no less inventive. They are the only band that I can think of that has incorporated this many different styles into one album and still sound like the same band. The only other bands that come to mind for having an odd sound with varying styles are Faith No More and Mr. Bungle (Mike Patton bands both). Now, they don't come quite as close to Waltari's level of broad spectrum styles, but all three of them expand (or expanded) the scope beyond their genre label.
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