ALOTUS

This Circle album is produced by Hans Joachim Irmler from Faust. It was recorded already in 2001, but released 2002 after heavystyle Sunrise. I haven´t heard Prospekt or Taantumus, but because the recording time and the reviews I have read, I think this album reminds much more those two than Sunrise. This album has released only in germany and are not available as new at the moment (really hope they will release this as vinyl someday). Mika Rättö wasn´t a full member in this album, he joined to record it as a quest.

This album includes four little over ten minutes songs and one short song. The beginning song "Työläisten Laulu" (=Workingmen´s song) is krautrock as the most depressive. It repeats one chord and other guitars play gloomy melodies into it. The moment you are starting to get bored of this song Mika starts to sing very howling way and song lasts interesting in the end. The next "Alotus" (= a start) is the highlight of this album. Right when it starts you can easily imagine it to be some great Can of Amon Düül 2 song if you don´t know the performer. It starts very powerful, but changes soon softer and guitars starts to create interesting soundscapes. In the end Mika sings shamanistic voices and the song become back to powerful. There is really great drum working in this piece! "Northern Sky" is a short beautiful guitar sound piece. "Lopetus" (= a stop) is a very dark and quiet song. Mika is singing something in Finnish. There are rage under the song, but the drums stay calm the whole time, only in the end there comes bizarre and aggressive guitars, also the whole song changes really haunting. The last "Potto" (no idea what this means) is really boring, the album would have been better without it. There are only one chord and Mika singing something with very delayd vocals and in the end song changes to boring heavy rock (maybe this song foreshadowed the future style of Circle).

Like the other Circle albums of that time I think this album is not for the proglisteners that don´t like music based only in sounds and changes in atmosphere. But I think this is quite essential album for the krautrock fans. Also if you have become familiar with Circle´s Leviatan, Rautatie and Miljard, then I will recommend this album next. If there hadn´t been that boring final song, I would have given this album five stars.