Sunday, February 19, 2012

Worth mentioning

I have many friends and acquaintances who create things. They create sounds and images, words and tastes, chills and thrills. I feel ashamed, for I have not spent a single word on this blog to praise and share the creative works of my friends. That changes now.

This weekend the winners of the Finnish Metal Awards were announced at the Finnish Metal Expo held in Helsinki (see the FME site  for winners and top nominees). I was dismayed but not surprised that Turisas won a bunch of awards with their newest album, which in my opinion was boring and repetitive and certainly not worth the attention they received. I was expecting to at least see Moonsorrow in the top-ten lists, for their "Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa" was one of the best albums and probably the best Finnish album of last year.

I was, however, overjoyed when I noticed the top newcomers of 2011. Of the ten bands mentioned I must mention two. First, there's Brymir, who made it to seventh place. I have followed their progress since they formed in 2006, as half of the original line-up consisted of my old classmates. They are all extremely talented musicians and I'm sure the band will continue to develop and create even more epic soundscapes in the future. Here is one of my favorite songs from their debut:



Second is Constantine. They were chosen the best newcomer of 2011 and they've certainly earned it. Although I have only had the pleasure of knowing the band for less then two years, during that time I've seen them perform plenty of shows and each time I have been blown off my feet. When they announced in 2010 of their new record deal, I new something great would come out of it. I'll let the music speak for itself:


Congratulations to both bands! As a personal reward for them, I shall finally go through and send them photos that I've taken from their gigs during the past two years :D

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