Vehemency
On Avain ja Veitsi (Finnish for ”Key and Knife”), Circle of Ouroborus’ approach is almost rocking. This tape provides three tracks of dreamy and hardly metalish music, something utterly odd - but in all its psychedelic weirdness, something really beautiful.
Unlike the previously reviewed Maailma Uppoaaaa, Avain ja Veitsi is more straightforward with choruses and simple structures. Klemi sings in Finnish which helps to make it sound more emotional and personal, the only negative side being that foreign people are missing a lot when they can’t dwell in the very symbolic and occult lyrics that Circle of Ouroborus once again provides. While there seems to always be a droning guitar or synth buzz in the background, lead melodies are apparent on the surface (most perfectly done in ”Punaisen Viivan Päässä”), topped by clean singing which is quite high in the mix and the usual low fidelity drums.
Throughout its 16-minute running time, Avain ja Veitsi is a pleasant experience in which interesting and weird melodies are present in every corner. Lately, Kuunpalvelus re-released this rather rare tape on CD so it’s again more widely available - and I might get the CD version just to ensure that if I wear out my tape due to extensive playing, I have an official back-up version of it.