Tonttu/Fahl/Was Wurden Gnome Sagen (The Gnome Apocalypse)/Panicmachine/2018 Collaboration CD Review

  Finland's  Tonttu  and  Russia's  Fahl  team  up  on  this  recording  and  and  go  into  more  of  an  experimental  and  dark  ambient  direction  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  collaboration  album  "Was  Wurden  Gnome  Sagen  (The  Gnome  Apocalypse)"  which  was  released  by  Panicmachine.

  Ambient  style  soundscapes  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  atmospheric  sounding  synths  and  after  awhile elements  of  industrial  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  music  getting  very  experimental  at  times.

  Drones  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  music  also  captures  a  very  ritualistic atmosphere  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  avant  garde  and  psychedelic  elements  as  well  as  being  very  apocalyptic  at  times  and  both  of  the  songs  are  divided  into  17  different  parts  and  at  times  the  music  captures  the  soundtrack  feeling  of  an  80's  horror  or  science  fiction  film  and  acoustic  guitars,  clean  vocals  and  folk  music  elements  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  On  this  recording  Tonrttu  move  way  from  the  metal  elements  of  their  regular  albums  and  mix  their  music  in  with  Fahl's  dark  ambient  style  while  still  keeping  the  same  concepts,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Gnome  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collaboration  between  Tonttu  and  Fahl  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  8  out  of  10.   

Video: https://youtu.be/VB7V_cAalbc
http://digital.panicmachine.com/album/was-w-rden-gnome-sagen-2-the-gnome-apocalypse  

Tonttu/Riimuja Ja Tonttuja/Panicmachine/2018 CD Review

   Finland's  Tonttu  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  their  mixture  of  martial,  neo-folk,  industrial  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Rimmuja  Ja  Tonttuja"  which  was  released  by  Panicmachine.

  Audience  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  which  are  a  huge  parts  of  the  recording  and  shots  being  used  briefly  before  going  into  more  of  a  neo-classical  direction  along  with  some  stringed  instruments  being  utilized  and  most  of  the  tracks a re  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Percussions  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  along  with  some  metal  elements  being  added  into  the  heavy  riffs  and  guitar  leads  while  chants  are  also  used  at  times  as  well  as  the  music  getting  very  experimental  and  avant  garde in  some  parts  of  the  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  industrial  elements.

 When  throat  singing  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  shamanistic  and  ritualistic  feeling  with  both  troll  and  clean  vocals  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  folk  instruments  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  black  metal  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  martial  beats  as  well  as  some  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Tonttu  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  mixture  of  neo  folk,  martial,  industrial  and  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  Anti  Gnome  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tonttu  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  martial,  neo  folk,  industrial  and  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Riimuja Ja Tonttuja"  and  "Tonttu  2".  8  out  of  10.

http://digital.panicmachine.com/album/riimuja-ja-tonttuja

Tonttu/Fahl/P. Emerson Williams/The Decline And Fall Of The Gnomen Empire/Panicmachine/2016 3 Way CD Split Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Finland's  Tonttu,  Russia's  Fahl  and  United  Kingdom's  P.   Emerson  Williams  called  "The  Decline  And  Fall  Of  The  Gnomen  Empire"  which  was  released  by  PANICMACHINE  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  TONTTU  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  neo-folk,  avant  garde  and  industrial  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  militant  folk  music  sounds  along  with  a  touch  of  neo classical  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  programmed  beats  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  heavy  yet  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  the  vocals  start  throwing  in  aggressive  screams  and  shouts.

    They  also  mix  the  folk  and  classical  elements  with  metal  and  after  awhile  traces  of  industrial  can  be  heard  along  with  the  first  song  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  acoustic  guitars  along  pianos  and  saxophones  are  added  onto  the  second  song, the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  gnome  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tonttu  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  industrial,  neo  folk  and  avant  garde  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of t he  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Gnostradamus  Ja  Tonttuteknologian".

  Next  up  is  Fahl  a  band  that  plays  dark  ambient.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  ambient  soundscape  and  atmospheric  synths  and  after  a  few  seconds  spoken  word  parts  are  added  on  their  side  of  the  recording  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  before  mixing  them  in  with  whispers  and  the  music  can  also  be  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  at  times  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  demonic  and  gnome  voices,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark and  ocult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fahl  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental,  dark  ambient  project  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "They  Are  Everywhere.  And  Sneaky"  and  "We  Are  Done  For.  And  They  Have  A  Plan".

  Next  up  is  P.  Emerson  Williams  a  solo  project  that  plays  experimental  music.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  hospital  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  and  after  a  few  seconds  sinister  sounding  synths  are  added  into t he  song  which  is  over  20  minutes  in  length  and  the  song  also  mixes  in  elements  of  avant  garde  classical  and  psychedelic  music  and  after  awhile the  sounds  of  gnomes  make  their  presence  known  in the  track  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and r aw  while  the  lyrics  mix  anti  gnome  philosophy  with the  Goetia  and  writings  of  Colin  DePlancy.

  In  my  opinion  P.  Emerson  Williams  is  a very  great  sounding  experimental  solo  artist  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.

  In  conclusion  i  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  avant  garde,  experimental,  dark  ambient  and  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/TONTTUofficial/   

  

     

Tonttu/Der Human-Gnome Projektum 5/Panicmachine/2014 CD Review

  Finland's  Tonttu  have  returned  with  a  new  album  which  continues  their  martial  approach  to  neo-folk  and  industrial  metal  of  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Der  Human-Gnome  Projektum  5"  which  was  released  by  Panicmachine.

  Hospital  noises  and  machine  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  whispers  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  up  to  some  synths  that  bring  in  a  dark  ambient  and  neo-classical  feeling  to  the  album  and  there  are  also  some  spoken  word  parts  being  added  into  certain sections  of  the  recording  and  after  a  few  minutes  guitars  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  Industrial  sounds  are  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  martial  beats  throughout  most  of  the  tracks  and  with  the  synths  mixed  in  they  bring  a  war  like  atmosphere  to  the  recording  along  with  some  melodic  neo-folk  vocals  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  guitars  bring  in  an  extreme  metal  sound.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  experimental  and  they  also  bring  in  a  track t hat  is  over  13  minutes  in  length  and  all  of  the  songs  have  a  very  different  sound  to  them  which  also  makes  the  album  more  diverse  and  hard  to  classify  in  a  certain  category  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  elements  of  old  school  electronic  music  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  heavier  parts  showing  an  influence  of  black  metal.

  Tonttu  creates  a  very  diverse  recording  taking  metal,  industrial,  neo-folk,  martial,  ambient,  neo-classical  and  electronica  to  create  an  album  that does  not  fit  in  with  any  genre  or  catefgory,  th e production  sound s very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  anti-gnome  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tonttu  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  martial,  neo-folk  and  industrial  metal,  you  should  check out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Infektoitu,  Possessoitu  Ja/Tai  Sympatiseerus"  and  "Se  On  Tonttusota  Nyt,  Perkele!".  8  out  of  10.

https://tonttu.bandcamp.com/album/der-human-gnome-projektum-5

Tonttu/Le Twisto Gnomique: Remix Und Remake/Panicmachine/2014 CD Review

  Finland's  Tonttu  have  returned  with  a  new  album  which  continues  their  mixture  of  martial,  industrial,  ambient,  neo-folk,  psychedelic  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Le  Twisto  Gnomique:  Remix  Und  Remake"  which  was  released  in  2014  by  Panicmachine.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  which  gives  the  music  a  neo-folk  feeling  and  you  can  hear  some  demonic  vocals  being  utilized  in  the  background  which  leads  to  a  more  heavier  sound  that  leans  towards  depressive  black  metal  and  after  the  intro  more  avant  garde  sounds  are  added  in  along  with  the  acoustic  guitars  sounding  more  powerful.

  Psychedelic  sounds  can  be  heard  in  the  background  along  with  some  ambient  style  synths  and  after  awhile elements  of  industrial  and  noise  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  robotic  sounds  and  they  also  bring  in  a  track  that  is  close  to  10  minutes  in  length  which  also  shows  them  adding  in  more  militant  and  martial  beats  along  with  some  melodic  clean  singing  vocals.

  On  the  4th  track  the  band  go  into  a  more  extreme  metal  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  they  also  add  in  a  good  amount  of  melodic  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  keeping  around  the  avant  garde  elements  of  previous  tracks  which  also  leads  up  to  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  following  track  sees  the  band  heading  into  a  more  ambient  and  experimental  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  elements  of  classical  music  and  spoken  word  parts  which  they  continue  with  on  the  following  track  as  well  along  with  some  melodic  gnome  chanting  and  the  last  track  sees  the  band  adding  more  electronic  music  into  their  martial  and  militant  sound.

  Tonttu  continue  their  sound  that  is  hard  to  categorize  combining  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  in  their  heavy  side  while  also  being  very  experimental  and  adding  in  neo  folk,  ambient,  industrial  among  many  genres  into  their  musical  style,  the  production  sound s very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism  and  anti  gnome  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tonttu  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  very  experimental  while  still  having  metal  roots,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tonttuwasara"  "Saunatonttu"  and  "Sotep  Nirrus".  8  out  of  10.  

https://www.facebook.com/TONTTUofficial/     

        

Tonttu Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
-AGD4 just out and now I'm gathering troops for Remix/Remake-album due in the beginning of summer - I do write more propaganda there and then but we will just have to wait and see if / when there's another T-album out there to be heard. We work purely as a project with music so...
Lots of work trying to spread out the word about kabouters and their deeds by promoting new album, naturally...

2.Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical sound of the new recording and also how does it differ from your past efforts?
-Earlier works are from 15-years time span (3 eps found on Nekrognomekon), so the development is there to be heard... Kabouters kidnapped our engineer after Gnomedrome (second ep) and we do not negotiate with gnomes and there we went (he made a mistake not to take this infestation seriously and did not protect himself properly)... Sayonara, out with the old & in with the new...
Enter Großinquisitor Rudolf Von Deer: Naturally sounds are better in this "New Era" consisting of Der Zwergenhammer (3rd ep) and AGD4, well the old material was made in 97-98 or something like that, new in 2013-2014... Rudolf is a wizard in raising some hell against those abominations you call gnomies... As lyrics are more war oriented so is the music. With AGD4 we also made some folklore style stuff (Tonttujen Kestit) for which we got some help with composing from our long time supporter High Commander Hephzibah (relentless anti-gnomeist)... That was our nod to our past and probably will use HCHs help in the future too.
But as we call our music: Anti-Gnomemartialindustrialneofolkmetal, that will include it all.

3.Your lyrics cover occult and anti gnome themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in these topics?
-Basically these are the things you run into while fighting against gnomes so they're one and the same, so it's necessary to keep an open mind and plug in to these topics as perilous as they might be. Gnomes often use (red) magic so you'll  have to be ready for some proper defence. Naturally most legends and folklore are really about gnomes - for some reason there seems to be a habit of switching gnomes into other creatures as the time goes by: a plot by gnomes to polish their shields, perhaps? Sympathizers helping them? Naturally & unfortunately so.
To make it a bit easier for everyone you can find lyrics also in english in all our releases.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name TONTTU?
-Gnomes, naturally: Finnish word tonttu means gnome in english. We like to keep our enemies near by using that name. You meaning changes with spelling (TONTTU / Tonttu for the project, tonttu for gnomes).

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
-Musically: No shows even though asked, otherwise the best shows are The Hunts with most gnome casualties... Napalm, hard to beat that...

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
-No touring, T (musical operations) is a project which only concentrates on raising awareness about gnomes and evil that they do, hunting and such takes our time let alone the fact that we know that gigs would give those critters too much leisure time and good chance to reveal our identity. As I mentioned earlier: it is and always will be a project.


7.The new album came out on Panicmachine, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
-Excellent label from US with awesome talent in it, happy to work with them.... Many of my favourite acts are there to be found (Veil of Thorns, Choronzon... and surely anti-gnome attitude through all that they do. We do seem to share the same sense of humour (when there is time for that... Damn pesky gnomes...). Naturally it's easier to push our propaganda with some back-up. The easiest way is to go to their site and check out the bands (http://digital.panicmachine.com/), naturally we moved Nekrognomekon to their site even though it was released by ourselves - we were not sure of which companies those sympathizers lurk in and are ready and more than eager  to destroy our Great Work.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of neo folk, industrial and metal?
-Finnish (mostly metal) magazines have already given their opinions of Nekrognomekon and it seems the whole scene is occupied by gnome sympathizers, fortunately it seems there's still some free will around the world... Seems like our humour is a bit too much for metal fans (what humour? They must think it's all fun and games but I can assure you, that these are grave things we are trying to inform you of), even though if have to be more specific BM-fans seem to be more open minded with T and its theme... Best feedback has to come from industrial / goth people around the world (dark-ambient seems to be the world most welcoming to some goode-olde-gnome-eradication). We have met many excellent musicians around the world who now are supporting & helping TONTTU. You know who you are; cheers!


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
-Where ever the lyrics lead us, we will not forget our roots and mixing those ingredients... There's lots to be done to achieve such musical effort that it repels gnomes for sure!

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
-Well, mentioned in Nekrognomekon following acts: Isengard / Storm / Darkthrone (Saunatonttu...), Laibach (!!!!), NON, Blood Axis and Swedish band Puissance (Taisteluni) not to forget awesome experimental / avantgarde act Keuhkot from Finland.... So there you go: BM / NF / Experimental mostly... Nowadays big interests musically come mostly from same areas, maybe some more from Dark-Amb-neighbourhood, heh.... Coincidence?
To mention few inspirational acts (VoT and C already mentioned) Dead Skull (Unterwelt is awesome album), Harmony Garden (Finnish NF / Dark Rock), Ethernal (UK) and Xenomancer by MU sound laboratories...Skinny Puppy...Ministry... Emperor... List is endless as I listen very much music and find new anti-gnome-artists on a regular basis... Could write an essay of this, but: good music, usually from the darker side and naturally must be NGIT (No Gnomes In There)

11.What are some of your interests outside of music?
-Gnomes, gnomes, gnomes... If any leisure time gotta keep family safe and read some good books, let alone watch a good film every now and then... That should keep me busy.
I love to write, but that is connected to music, so... Oh, did I mention resisting gnomes?

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
-Support smaller acts if you are given the chance and if they're any good, many awesome anti-gnome oriented acts around there to be found! Bandcamp gives a good start if you feel like it.
Contacts:
Tonttufindergeneral@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tonttu/176461559038833?fref=ts
google.com/+TonttufindergeneralHanzBaal
http://digital.panicmachine.com/album/anti-gnomen-divisionen-4-mastering-the-fine-art-of-gnome-eradication

PS: Hopefully you could include AGD4-cover in this, awesome work from P Emerson Williams

Gnomen Est Omen!

Br: Tonttufindergeneral

Tonttu/Nekrognomekon/Panicmachine/2013 CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Tonttu  which  continues  their  martial,  industrial,  neo-folk,  metal  sound  with  the  album  being  released  by  Panicmachine  in  2013  and  called  "Nekrognomekon".

   The  album  starts  out  with  distorted  loops  before  adding  in  acoustic  guitars  and  a  more  neo  folk  sound  and  after  the  intro  symphonic  and  classical  elements  are  brought  into  the  recording  along  with  samples  and  spoken  word  parts  which  also  leads  up  to  militant  drumming.

  As  the  album  continues  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  traces  of  experimental  and  industrial  music  and  as  time  goes on  by  guitar  riffs  solos  are  brought  into  the  music  and  the  album s tarts  having  a  more  atmospheric  metal  feeling  to  it  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  goes  into  a  more  black  metal  direction  which  also  comes  out  in  the  vocals  at  times  and  they  never  stray  too  far  away  from  the  neo  folk  sound  as  well  as  bringing  in  melodic  vocals  at  times  and  the  last  few  tracks  have  more  traces  of  electronic  music.  
  

With  this  album  Tonttu  continue  their  neo  folk  sound  while  also  having  more  industrial  and  black  metal  influences  this  time  around  and  all  of  the  music  has  a  very  original  sound  on   this  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  diversity.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  gnomes,  occultism  and  Lovecraft  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  dark  and  powerful  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length,.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tonttu  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  metal,  industrial  and  neo  folk,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Suurin Petos"  "Taisteluni"  and  "Saunatoni".  8  out  of  10.

 http://digital.panicmachine.com/album/nekrognomekon

Tonttu/Anti​-​Gnomen Divisionen 4 (Mastering the fine art of gnome eradication)/Panicmachine/2014 CD Review

  Tonttu  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  neo-folk  industrial  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Anti-Gnomen  Divisionen  4  (Mastering  the  fine  art  of  gnome  eradication"  which  was  released  by  Panicmachine.

  The  album  starts  out  with  an  intro  which  uses acoustic  guitars  and  brings  in  a  neo  folk  sound  along  with  other  folk  instruments  and  after  the  intro  am  radio  sounds  are  brought  in  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  more  martial  and  medieval  direction  along  with  spoken  word  parts  and  after  a  few  minutes  melodic  pagan  chanting  is  added  into  the  recording.

  On  the  following  track  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  classical  influences  and  mixes  it  with  their  neo  folk  sound  and  on  the  5th  song  metal  and  industrial  sounds  are  finally  brought  into  the  music  and  the  music  has  a  ritualistic  feeling  to  it.

   Tonttu  creates  a  very  original sound  with  their  music  and  the  songs  are  very  experimental  with  traces  of  metal,  industrial,  neo  folk,  classical  and  martial  music  can  be  heard  through  the  6  songs  that  are  displayed  on  this  album.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  gnomes  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  powerful  and  dark  sound  along  with  one of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Tonttu  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde,  experimental  neo  folk  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "TONTTU"  and  "Jalkiruoka".  8  out  of  10.  

http://digital.panicmachine.com/album/anti-gnomen-divisionen-4-mastering-the-fine-art-of-gnome-eradication