Fear, anxiety and desperation
- The sun disappears behind a cloud and it starts to rain. It’s chilly and wet. I look around and see no smiling faces, only fear, desperation and confusion. A baby cries somewhere in the distance. A group of men stands on the stage, three distorted guitars create a thick wall of sound and a slow, hypnotic rhytm starts beating in my consciousness. A tear falls on my cheek.
- Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. But not much, for life is a valley of sorrows, which the name of this band, Murheenlaakso, translates as.
- Songs from the late Mana Mana are undenied classics of the Finnish rock genre. They are right at home in the melancholic recesses of Finnish mentality. In Töminä club, the spirit of this melancholy was kept alive by Murheenlaakso, which features almost all of the original members of Mana Mana. The best part of the gig for me was Otra Romppanen‘s guitar skills, which seem to improve with age. His playing reverberates with such longing, woe and sorrow that it makes even the most cynical men weep. I think it’s what Murheenlaakso wanted.
- Text: Ville Räisänen
Photos: Risto Kuittinen
Translation: Alma Tuominen
