A portfolio type for featuring items in your portfolio.
AUTOFIKTIO (SONY, 2023) The title means “Men Don’t Cry” and it is a song by Finnish rap artist Paleface. It tells a story about fathers, sons, and the culture of silence — exploring why men often feel they’re not allowed to show their emotions, or at least not sorrow, sadness, or regret: anything considered “soft.” …
ACTIVE: 2003- Combichrist is an American aggrotech/industrial metal band formed in 2003 by Norwegian vocalist Andy LaPlegua. I first discovered the band a few years ago through Spotify recommendations. Normally, I don’t pay much attention to what the algorithm suggests (or at least I like to think I don’t), but I guess I must’ve been …
ACTIVE: 2019- Ghosts of Atlantis is a metal band from the UK. I discovered them only a few years ago — and what a pleasant surprise they’ve been! They describe themselves as a “fierce, atmospheric fusion of modern metal, brooding cinematic tension, and deep mythological storytelling.” Fair enough. To me, they’re simply a damn good …
ACTIVE: 1997- F.K.Ü. is a thrash metal band from Sweden – and they’re absolutely brilliant! The band was formed in the late nineties, but they sound as if they traveled here in a time machine straight from the early eighties. Seriously: they capture the best of early thrash, but with modern production. The humor, the …
DREAMS OF LANDS UNSEEN (NAPALM RECORDS, 2023) “Далекі Обрії” (Distant Horizons), is a song by Ignea, featured on their 2023 album Dreams of Lands Unseen. The title is inspired by a Ukrainian book of the same name, written by Sofia Yablonska. The book recounts Yablonska’s travels from 1934 to 1935, and the entire album is …
ACTIVE: 2002- DevilDriver is a heavy metal band formed in 2002 in California, USA, by vocalist Dez Fafara and his friends. At the time, Dez was the frontman for Coal Chamber, but the band essentially broke up around the same time DevilDriver took shape. While Coal Chamber leaned more toward nu metal, DevilDriver is all …
MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (WARNER, 1979) Monty Python’s Life of Brian is a surreal biblical black comedy released in 1979. I didn’t see it back then — I was only four years old — but I probably encountered this masterpiece in the late eighties or early nineties. And I’ve loved every second of it …
ABOMINATE (CENTURY MEDIA, 2019) This is by far one of the catchiest songs by Firespawn, the Swedish death metal supergroup. Firespawn happens to be one of the best bands representing the genre, in my opinion. The song comes from their latest album, Abominate, which so far remains their most recent release. But who knows? They’ve …
ACTIVE: 2016- Now, this is an interesting band — or duo, or whatever you’d call them. I first came across them in 2022, when they were about to play here in Helsinki. At the time, I’d never heard about them before. But the bizarre description in a local newspaper — something about ‘satanic Mexican industrial …
YOU’LL NEVER SEE… (CENTURY MEDIA, 1992) A killer song from a killer album by a killer band. You’ll Never See… is the second album by the legendary Swedish death metal band Grave. Eight tracks of catchy, in-your-face, no-frills death metal. As was typical of the era, there’s a slight anti-Christian edge to the lyrics. Even …