Sotajumala puts out an energetic show and the crowd responds nicely with fists in the air, circle pits and other shenanigans. There’s some monkey business going on on-stage as well, being the last show of the tour and all, with the other bands and other people crowding the stage among other things. Hell, even the Cthulhu makes an appearance. Vocalist Mynni Luukkainen seems to be doing a good job at feeding the audience with violence and with very Finnish jocularity (“We’ve got better guitarists than Manowar!”). Sotajumala pummels through songs from pretty much all of their albums, giving a well deserved bias to 2007’s Teloitus.

The technical issues that slaughtered Deathchain off the DVD manifest themselves on the disc as well. For example, during a particular Sotajumala frenetic attack, the sound is muted and the image makes the transition from a test screen to a “One Moment Please” screen before cutting back to the action as the band is wrapping up a song and thanking the audience for the participation. It’s said that Sotajumala had to cut one song completely from the DVD as well, which makes me wonder if the whore, that is Lady Luck, took out “Oikeutus” as I can’t think of any other reason for the fan-favorite to be missing. One might wonder why the whole moratorium is left on disc, but to me it defends its place, for it tells about the moment―there and then―and also keeps the timeline intact. Leave Quantum Leaps to Scott Bakula. Things happen on stage, some are planned, some are not but it’s all definitely real and live ― and here, it’s on tape.

There are a handful of cameras in use, covering most of the action in a purposeful way. The editing does a decent job presenting the big picture, avoiding the pitfalls of strobe-cuts and other confusing high jinks that trigger epilepsy. While the action and narration remain clear throughout, the directing doesn’t go the extra mile to flesh out a truly religious experience. A shame, considering Sotajumala is playing on their home turf and they seem to be doing a good job at it, so it might have been quite a magical moment. With extra planning, I’m quite certain they could have captured the action in a slightly more artistic, and definitely more intimate way that would have left the viewers in sweat and muscle pains.

Thankfully, there aren’t any stupid special effects, unless you count the few cameras that are shooting in black and white. One minor gripe I have is that the songs haven’t been divided into chapters, so watching a certain song can be a bit of a drag with your basic DVD-player. The image quality varies from crisp to soft as it’s quite clear the crew had to scavenge and utilize a bunch of different cameras, but that doesn’t bother me one bit.

The sound is unfortunately the weakest link of the release. The mix should pack more punch and feature better clarity. Sotajumala skinsman Timo Häkkinen is quite upfront, his double bass drums going from slightly overpowering to dominating. The mix of Survivors Zero’s 30-minute set is a bit more balanced for reason or another, but in general the sound will leave Hi-Fi aficionados teary eyed. Sure, the nature of the beast is a raw, unedited night of death metal (spiced with technical difficulties related to sound) but goshdarnit, it still should have been better, bigger, clearer. Death metal or not.

Extras are quite basic, with a couple of music videos thrown in next to a photo gallery. The biggest bonus for drummers and roadies is in the form of two Timo Häkkinen drumcams that showcase the man’s talent up close and personal. Not only did he arm wrestle a good portion of the mix for himself, he also called dibs to the most interesting bonus features and, on top of that, happens to sport the mightiest of beards. Cue to Andrew Dice Clay saying “That fucking guy!”

Slaughter at Lutakko is an honest, no-bullshit live DVD. It gets the job done: portraying two bands playing death metal live. It’s bound to entertain the fans of the bands but everyone else will most likely be left slightly cold. Quite possibly even a few fans will feel the wrong kind of chills, due to the sound being what it is. Compared to the other DVD that just came out, namely Primordial’s All Empires Fall, the differences are night and day — but so were the budgets and modus operandi.

Slaughter at Lutakko is what it is: a live show caught on tape, presented in an uncensored manner. It’s a DVD that would have had a bigger impact as a bonus disc to the bands’ latest releases — then it would’ve been an outstanding bang for the buck. Fortunately, it’s not the priciest of DVDs either, so for those that crave to see Sotajumala live (and, of course, Survivors Zero) but can’t, it’s worth checking out. Just don’t expect Slaughter at Lutakko to leave a lasting impression.

Despite its shortcomings, I was entertained by the handful of times I spun the disc. But, I wasn’t floored. I’m sure Sotajumala will fix that for me once the summer  arrives with its various heavy metal festivities. Meanwhile, the people seem to be digging the DVD more than I, as Slaughter at Lutakko shot itself to number one spot on the Finnish Music DVD chart, stinger-ing Iron Maiden’s Flight 666 out of the sky and manhandling Michael Jackson’s Number Ones to the third place.

It appears Death Metal is alive and kicking.

Enter Sotajumala (translation: Wargod), a band that may eschew their countrymen’s taste for wild melody, but more than make up for it with sharp, accomplished songwriting and superb musicianship. While not a redefinition of the genre by any means, it is a crystallization of everything we love about it: pummeling riffs, molten solos, growls both gruff and harsh, and syncopated, hail-of-gunfire drumming. There’s definitely melody here too, but it’s the relentless, rolling menace of classic Morbid Angel rather than anything remotely Gothenburg. And the outstanding production brings everything together beautifully – crank this one as loud as you want, and you won’t lose a thing.

Teloitus is a monster from start to finish, but standouts for me included the opener, “Tappaja Ja Tapettu (The Killer and the Killed),” its central line like a massive vortex, “Kidutus (Torture)”, with its mounting, call-and-response framework of riffs, and the martial drumming on the title track. There’s never any blasting for blasting’s sake – it seems as if every change-up and every fill is there to service the song, and not merely to ornament or overrun.

In short, if you thought you knew what Finnish metal sounded like, it’s time to widen your expectations. And if you’re a death metal band from the Sunshine State, don’t rest on your laurels – seems like great material in the classic Florida style can come from anywhere these days.

Until now. Enter Sotajumala (Finnish for “Wargod”), a Finnish death metal war machine that takes the best elements of Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower and classic Stockholm death metal and grinds them under the tracks of a down tuned tank. With the fury of a T-72’s smoke spewing, rumbling engine, Sotajumala’s native tongue filled, death metal lashing is a stout example of death metal that mixes classic stylings and pacing with a modern ferocity and fervor. With the smoky battlefield hue of Bolt Thrower, the swirling technical precision of Morbid Angel and a virtual Sunlight production, Sotajumala’s sound is hardly original, and bands like Insision and Anata spring to mind as viable comparisons that do death metal justice without tampering with the formula.

The formula is indeed simple; fierce blast beats, gruff ravenous vocals, and ample time changes that both shred with buzzing tenacity and lurch with militaristic menace. Nothing that has not been done before, but Sotajumala does it rather convincingly. After the obligatory nameless intro, “Meidän Maa” (“Our Country”), blazes the album’s opening trail , with rapid fire, tracer laced blasting, and while “Elämän Vihollinen” (“The Enemy of Life”) initially follows suite, its latter moments burst with a lumbering heave that’s as good as any of Bolt Thrower’s warmongering marches. The Bolt Thrower-ish themes of modern combat are continued for the likes of “Panssarikolonna” (“Armor Column”) “Vanki” (“Prisoner”), “Pommitus” (“Bombardment”), not just lyrically, but also in their pummeling, often controlled delivery as heard on the monstrous gait of “Kuolleet” (“The Dead”). The pacing of the album is perfect as it never lulls into either faceless blasting or Jungle Rot-like redundancy; take the jarring shift from the aforementioned “Kuolleet” to the blisteringly short sharp assault of “Rakkaudesta Sotaan” (“For the Love of War”).

The dervish blast beats reek of Morbid Angel with a certain ethereal, layered sound, especially when delivering a solo as heard on “Sisu Sinivalkoinen” (“The Strength of Blue and White”) or a sudden shift into a grinding segment like the title track displays. The Morbid Angel influence is no more apparent than on the stunning and aptly titled album closer “Pommitus”, a five minute display of shock and awe which closes Death Metal Finland with a mammoth, sludge filled sprawl of “Hatework” or “Where the Slime Live” proportions, complete with esoteric, echoing solo work and artillery-ish bass kick ins.

Death Metal Finland is a damned fine album, and a welcome break from the normally frivolous nature of metal Finland usually delivers.