Of all the regional flavors of heavy metal, particularly the extreme variety, Finland has a special weirdness unlike any other on earth. The tiny country boasts of the highest number of metal bands per capita - 53.5 metal bands per 100,000 people. Every Finnish band I've listened has their own quirky twist. So, here we have yet another lo-fi gem from the land of 1,000 lakes, Major Mistake.
These punks blasted off in 2019 with two filthy, low-budget demos, now available in the Foul Foundations compilation, via Dismal Fate recordings. Major Mistake immediately reminded me of a crust punk version of Entombed. The growls are reminiscent of LG Petrov, and they possess that sweet, down tuned chainsaw guitar tone, a characteristic of classic Swedish death metal.
However, that's where the familiarity ends. Major Mistake possess the speed and brevity of grindcore, and generous servings of Motorhead-inspired D-beats, but just when you think you have it figured out, they'll throw in a jazzy guitar lead, or even venture into surf rock territory. Oh, and their production quality on these two demos is total trash, but that's part of the apal.
The First Mistake demo brags of being "recorded with one microphone at practice space" on their bandcamp. Sure, the blast beats sound paper thin in some parts, like someone tapping their nails on a kitchen counter, yet these recordings are still endearing. "Shit In A Blanket" is a catchy rager, and this demo even ends with a whimsical grindcore version of the "Adventure Time" theme song.
Their second demo, Off With A Warning is a clear improvement in the production department. In this one, the band has graduated to a four-track audio interface, and the addition of Oskari on bass duties means the low end presence is much more prominent, the perfect bouncy counterpart to the murky guitar carnage.
Major Mistake's Joel and Jussi recently spoke with me about their Foul Foundations demo. Give it a read, and give Major Mistake a listen. You'll be "Flirting With The Void" in no time baby!
How did Major Mistake come to be?
Jussi: Me and Joel had played in a same thrash metal band for 10 years but lived in different cities. In 2018 when Joel moved to Jyväskylä which is where I lived (and still live), it was clear that we needed to start a new project. At this point it was clear that we wanted to play grindcore/punk with the Swedish death metal guitar tone and that is where it all started. We also didn’t want to be restricted by any rules and allowed ourselves to experiment with different things right from the start. In our previous band things moved too slow for our drive so in Major Mistake we wanted to keep things simple yet focused which meant we didn’t want too many members in the band. I sung on the first demo and we just went with that. I asked my old bandmate Oskari to join for bass and he accepted. At this point we had more than 20 songs but that son of a bitch managed to learn them all. Now he is also writing songs which gives a nice breeze of fresh air.
What bands are your chief musical influences?
Jussi: Our guitar sound is replicating the buzz saw guitar tone of BOSS HM-2 pedal used in the Swedish death metal scene by Dismember and Entombed. Songs are influenced by classic grindcore such as Repulsion, Terrorizer and Napalm Death but mixed with d-beat driven crust punk in the veins of Anti-Climax and Discharge. Sometimes we use guitar harmonies that Carcass or Iron Maiden like to use. We also fool around with some traditional metal and proto-metal or rock stuff every now and then. There is even some groovy sections. I think the experimental side of the band is influenced by Dead Kennedys who changed their style constantly and tried weird instruments and ideas all the time. As for newer bands I must mention Nekrofilth and Tomb Mold.
Joel: A lot of stuff. Jussi mentioned the main influences there! I’d add my personal ones that inspired a lot of the darker tones like Rudimentary Peni, Pink Turns Blue and a lot of Finnish death metal like early Sentenced, Demigod and Xysma. We do a lot of stuff like Xysma.
What is the grindcore/crust scene like in Finland? What other bands in your area would you recommend listening to?
Jussi: I’m not actually sure about those scenes but Galvanizer, Death Toll 80k and Scumripper are pretty badass grindcore acts. As for hardcore I must mention Kohti Tuhoa and Tryer, they are both insane!
Joel: Yep, it’s hard to say since we’ve never been “scene people”. We’ve just played the music we like and played with awesome bands over the years. Some of those might be scene bands but I don’t really care about the status myself. I’d definitely suggest Tunkio and Tolerance both from same city as us, Jyväskylä.
Tell us about the Foul Foundations compilation in your own words. What can metal heads expect to hear?
Jussi: First of all, I never would have guessed that someone wanted to do a proper release of DIY-demos from such a small band. So huge appreciation towards Hannes and Dismal fate records. The new compilation is called Foul Foundations and the name describes the content pretty well in my opinion, since the CD includes all our early material in all its ugliness and rawness. Joel has recorded, mixed mastered everything on this compilation. In terms of music, it is hugely riff based d-beat/grindcore that flirts with some melodies.
I noticed your lyrics seem a lot more personal. What inspires you when you write song lyrics?
Jussi: I don’t consider myself a lyricist but you’ve got to sing about something right? During practice we usually discuss different topics and sometimes those dialogues spawn an idea for lyrics (maybe we should start a podcast, they are cool right, haha). There is a lot of social commentary but personal issues play a huge part also. Sometimes we add some gore or humoristic stuff there too, depending on the song. Because I’m not very good at expressing myself through lyrics (as stated in the song Storm of Words) the message is usually pretty straight forward. Ï must say though that our core message is that you should not let any authority or scene or whatever to tell you what to think about things… And that sometimes we get pretty fucking depressed, haha!
Joel: When I write lyrics it usually goes towards the personal stuff somehow. I think there’s enough political stuff for us to write about other things too.
If you could play in a festival with any band of your choosing, what band would you play with?
Jussi: There is so many bands to choose from but at the moment I would pick our fellow countrymen Tryer or Galvanizer.
Joel: Seksihullut!
You've had a busy 2019, with two releases on your bandcamp, and the upcoming comp. What does the future hold, this winter and into 2020?
Jussi: This summer we finally started playing gigs and that is going to be our main focus for the winter 2019. We also try to spread the new compilation like a plague. As for new material we have actually a split 7’’ already recorded and waiting for release. We will probably also do a new EP or a demo this year since we’ve got a bunch of fresh tunes ready. It’s going to be interesting since Oskari has also started writing and he has a very different approach compared to me and Joel who just want to blast almost aimlessly, haha! Anyway, we will not run out of song ideas for a while that is for sure.
Joel: Yep. The sound is evolving to the next step but we still have blasting and growling there. I don’t know how it’s gonna sound in the end we’re all very excited about the new stuff.
What's your favorite "old school" Finnish band, metal or otherwise?
Jussi: My all time favorite band ever is Stone, a Finnish thrash metal legend from the 80s. Their entire discography is almost flawless, the production and guitar tone is perfect and they had the biggest impact on me when I was a teenager. Back then I knew that my uncle had some Judas Priest and Iron Maiden tapes somewhere but instead of those I found the first two STONE tapes and they blew my mind.
Joel: STONE! Those riffs are perfect! No Anaesthesia is just flawless album and the other three are diamonds as well. For punk I must say Terveet Kädet with Ääretön Joulu EP. God I love those lyrics. Also I have to mention Shitter Limited. There’s a lot of bands I’d like to mention but these guys are the very foundation that the grand exploring of underground music started. That seems to be an endless journey.
Jussi: Yes Shitter Limited is awesome. Super talented musician singing about super anti-PC subjects. They still piss people off and they quit like 20 years ago? Finnish Anal Cunt maybe.
How does the Grindcore scene in Finnland compare with death metal, black metal, other extreme music? Is there any overlap between genres?
Jussi: At least back in the good old days (when I wasn’t even born) the Death metal scene in Finland was crazy. So many great bands with a very distinctive and evil sound that would later branch into different genres of metal. Amorphis rode with Kalevala and Finnish folklore theme and became one of the most successful Finnish metal bands, Sentenced started to play melodic and gothic metal, Xysma did one of the first (if not the first actually) death n roll album and Demilich’s Nespithe is considered one-of-a-kind worldwide.
I think today Grindcore, old school death metal and “true” black metal scenes are pretty underground things here in Finland. Metal as a genre is pretty popular but it is mainly this radio friendly stuff. I think grindcore bands might play more with hardcore bands here. As Joel mentioned we are not so called scene people and rather cooperate with any band that just wants to do a shows with us.
What would you like to say to your new fans?
Jussi: We are glad that you enjoy our nonsense! Stay tuned for new material later this year!
Jussi: We are glad that you enjoy our nonsense! Stay tuned for new material later this year!
Joel: Definitely the one above! Give us feedback too if you feel like it. We are really eager to hear what you think about our music.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Jussi: Thanks for having us, this was fun! Good luck with your blog!
Jussi: Thanks for having us, this was fun! Good luck with your blog!
Joel: Thanks a lot for the interview and send my love to Uli Behringer. Without him we would’ve never gone anywhere.
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