Few sensations rival the rush of a ferocious punk anthem sung in a language you don’t understand — not grasping every syllable, yet completely feeling the message. Helsinki’s Kohti Tuhoa has delivered that rush again and again. The band sits within the rich Finnish D-beat tradition and they sing exclusively in their mother tongue, yet I’ve never found their records opaque, because the rallying cry against oppressors lands as a universal sentiment. (For context, Kohti Tuhoa translates to “towards destruction” in Finnish.)
Since forming in 2014, Kohti Tuhoa has been crafting beastly records, and they now announce plans to follow their blistering 2021 EP Väkivaltaa with Paratiisi, the group’s fourth full-length and their first since 2019’s Ihmisen Kasvot. Paratiisi, meaning Paradise in Finnish — not, as I initially thought, Parasite — reportedly includes a free jazz experiment, which should be intriguing. Yet the lead single “Valmistaudu Sotaan” (Finnish for “Prepare For War”) remains anything but experimental. It’s a two-minute, fists-aloft anthem that makes me want to spark chaos. Listen below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Lahoaa”
02 “Valmistaudu Sotaan”
03 “Ei Se Toimi”
04 “Rikottu Luottamus”
05 “Kuka Heitä Kuulee?”
06 “Paratiisi”
07 “Myrkkyä”
08 “Onko Sinusta Menestyjäksi?”
09 “Ikuinen Syöveri”
10 “Eliitin Psykopatia/ Älä Luovuta”
Paratiisi is out 10/23 on La Vida Es Un Mus Discos.
