Title: Six Feet Down (CD, vinyl and digital)
Band: Flatline Rockers
Released: 2024
Label: Jungle Records (TCB-9797)
Reviewed: 23rd Jan 2025
Genre: Psychobilly/Punk
Produced by: Samu Oittinen
Band members: Drums: Jani Parkkali, Guitar/b vox: Timi Hankimaa, Guitar/b vox: Jere Lähteenmäki, Upright Bass/b vox: Arto Råberg, Vox: A-V Nauha
Track by track…
And on the subject of Finish second album outings, (See my last review of the Messed Up Trio) we take you Six Feet Down with the Flatline Rockers…
All but the last two tracks are total originals from the caustic pen of vocalist A-V Nauha, and first off the script is ’Ghost Story’ which swings along in a happy-go-lucky fashion that belies its ethereal subject matter with its almost Siouxsie and the Banshees ooooh ahhh sing-along refrain.
‘Evil in Her Eyes’ is a hard-rockin’ rollock, brandishing ‘Rumble in Brighton’ riffage with attitude to burn, as does the title track, ‘Six Feet Down,’ which puts me in mind of St. Albans’ Zipheads, with all the vox/guitar ferocity that might imply.
‘Never Again’ ignores its own advice and goes full punk with some yell-along Oi chants of those early 80s yesteryears, while ‘Parasite Hill’ gives us some sweet ‘Ace of Spades’ drumming, enabling a Cramps-style ‘What’s Inside a Girl’ solo.
The (probably) autobiographical ‘Oldschool Psychos’ takes us on the road for a UK Subs-esque high-speed chase. Outta the way, squares! Mid-lane hoggers be damned!
‘No Regrets’ offers an almost Ozzy/Sabbath chord sequence, complete with a sweet solo; strangely, I can imagine this as an acoustic Irish rebel knees-up. Quick, give The BibleCode Sundays a call!
And for our sins we have… ‘For Our Sin’. You just know this slow guitar crawl is gonna bite you on the ass, and so it does when it goes into hyperspace with an inevitable barrage when the whole band jumps in to kick it. It’s short, it’s sweet, and I now have whiplash having heard it.
That second wave of British punk acts, such as the aforementioned UK-Subs, along with the likes of Vice Squad and The Addicts, et al., appear to fuel the next on our list, ‘Alcohol’: a drinkin’ swig-a-long of a tune. Please listen responsibly.
‘Bloodsucker Blues’ vibes ominous and is certainly something to get your teeth into when it unexpectedly takes off at the outro. I can already see Jenna Ortega’s new Wednesday Adams dance, in which she does herself some serious mischief by the end of the third act.
For the penultimate tune, we come to the album’s money shot with ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya’. This cover has quite the history, being as it is, based on the old 1863 American Civil War song ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home’. Some of you may remember The Clash’s ‘English Civil War,’ which also hijacked this song’s melody to devastating effect. Well, the Flatliners’ 1867 reimagining does not let the side down with their incendiary take on this legendary whistler.
Finally, this short but perfectly formed album is rounded off nicely with the 1967 Art Guy garage-punk classic ‘Where You Gonna Go?’ Answer? Straight back to the A-side, I would imagine.
Dig deep!
Go deeper!
Go Six Feet Down!
In summary…
Six Feet Deep by Finland’s Flatline Rockers: brought to you by Jungle Records, straight outta Merikarvia, baby!
Whereas the pre-Stray Cats rockabilly scene of the late 70s was a complete rejection of punk, the coming decade positively embraced it, resulting in one of the 80s’ most surprising and offbeat hybrids to grace the grand pantheon of the rockin’ scene—Psychobilly—an embrace that has transcended the decades and has only gotten wilder over time, resulting in the likes of The Flatline Rockers’ new offering, Six Feet Down.
Hailing from Pori on Finland’s west coast, The Flatliners’ Psychobilly/Punk/potpourri is a tsunami of nosebleed ferocity. Like many bands of this ilk, I suspect Six Feet Down really comes into its own in a live situation, being as it is such a short, sharp shock of an album, and, let’s face it, the best gigs tend to be short, sharp shocks. (“Jazz is for the stay-at-homes.” – Buddy Holly)
Their old-school credentials are present and correct, but a tincture of second-generation punk and, dare I say it, Heavy Metal, dominate the proceedings, and some cut-above songwriting from A-V Nauha does much to bolster their case.
Their brave and interesting use of ‘Johnny, I Hardly Knew You’ promises a progression that may astound and, perhaps, transcend those old-school roots. Yes, the Flatline Rockers reside, unashamedly, at the punk end of the rockin’ spectrum, but I sense an almost Trad-Irish folk element pervading these guys’ music, which they might do well to explore.
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Reviewed by: A D Stranik
Track List:
1. Ghost Story
2. Evil In Her Eyes
3. Six Feet Down
4. Never Again
5. Parasite Hill
6. Oldschool Psychos
7. No Regrets
8. For Our Sin
9. Alcohol
10. Bloodsucker Blues
11. Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya
12. Where You Gonna Go
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