Review: Höyry-kone – Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa (1995)

Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa on is Höyry-kone’s debut album.

As I write this in 2025, the Finnish progressive rock scene is going through some pretty rough times. While prog bands in France and Norway, for example, are boldly trying new things, a significant number of Finnish bands have gotten stuck in a very regressive mood. It feels like bands such as Sammale, Malady, and Vesilinja draw their entire musical vocabulary from a handful of Finnish prog albums released before 1972.

In 2025, the Finnish prog scene needs something as explosive as Höyry-kone was in the nineties.

Höyry-kone, founded in 1991 by guitarist Jussi Kärkkäinen and drummer Teemu Hänninen, took its final shape in 1994 when opera singer/violinist Topi Lehtipuu and bass guitarist Jarno Sarkula joined the band. Recorded in early 1995, the debut album also features cellist Marko Manninen, keyboardist and occasional vocalist Jukka Hannukainen, and oboist Nina Lehos.

Höyry-kone’s music does not simply bow down to Finnish 70s prog, even though influences from that direction are occasionally sought. Instead, the band’s music jumps quite eclectically from one genre and era to another. Alongside clear prog influences, there are references to art music, metal, jazz, and even pop and samba. The band often jumps from one genre to another as abruptly as John Zorn or Mr. Bungle. A slightly mischievous sense of humor also connects Höyry-kone to the aforementioned artists. At times, the band’s music reveals their admiration for Magma, but King Crimson shines through clearly. King Crimson’s influences range from the rough riffs of 70s rock-goes-Bartók to the precisely intricate gamelan rock of the 80s.

The music of Höyry-kone also differs from mainstream rock and even prog in terms of instrumentation. Alongside the typical rock arsenal, the cello, oboe, violin, and harmonium play significant roles. These instruments contribute to the avant-prog atmosphere, especially since the band’s music is more dissonant than is typical for prog. Univers Zero at its rockiest is probably a good point of comparison.

One of the band’s strengths and distinguishing features is Lehtipuu’s vocals. In avant-garde progressive rock, vocals are often a bit of a chore (well, Höyry-kone’s role model Magma is of course one clear exception that proves the rule), but this is not a problem with Höyry-kone. Lehtipuu, who studied choral conducting at the Sibelius Academy, is a powerful and skilled vocalist who has since made an international career as an opera tenor.

Höyry-kone does not engage in any massive prog epics; instead, Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa (”You Can Love Insects”) offers short, concise songs that often squeeze their multiple twists and turns into just three or four minutes. Only three of the ten songs on the album exceed the five-minute mark, and even the longest track lasts just over seven minutes.

Read also: Review: Wigwam – Being (1974)

Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa starts with a fierce riff backed by a tuba-like rumbling bass line… As far as I know, there is no tuba on the album, so perhaps the powerful rumble comes from the harmonium, which plays a fairly prominent role on the album? Or maybe it really is a bass guitar. After all, Chris Squire also made his bass guitar sound like a tuba on Close To The Edge… Either way, alongside the tuba-like bass riff, there are Magma-esque operatic aaa-aaa-aaa vocals and harsh King Crimson-esque broken chords. The violin Of Lehtipuu also makes a small cameo appearance in ”Örn.” It’s a really great song that caused some amusement when I played it to my army buddies among their normal techno pop repertoire.

Oi Örn, minkä nyt teit
Sä menninkäisen lapsen veit

The second song, ”Raskaana,” starts off in a completely different mood than the frenzied ”Örn.” The drunken, sluggish atmosphere of the first half of the song brings to mind Tuomari Nurmio’s rowdy blues or, on the other hand, Tom Waits’ experimental lounge jazz. Soon, however, we jump through dissonant broken chords into an avant-garde section that jerks forward with complex broken rhythms, accompanied by manic shouting vocals and ghostly organ harmonies that pierce the soundscape.

”Hämärän joutomaa” begins with an intro reminiscent of King Crimson’s 1980s rock gamelan. Lehtipuu sings with a strong voice full of pathos, reminiscent of Finnish political songs of the 1970s. In the middle of the song, there is a rumbling section where the drummer plays with a very strange accent, as if playing a different song, especially when compared to the guitar, which spits out a sharp, cyclical riff. At the end, the hypnotic ostinato formed by broken chords reaches almost Philip Glass-like levels.

The fourth track, ”Pannuhuoneesta,” is a miniature lasting only two minutes. For many listeners, that’s probably two minutes too long, but I think it’s a damn fun romp with techno beats and rough guitar riffs pumping alongside speech and strange sound effects. It’s absolutely brilliant factory music. If Sonic The Hedgehog made industrial music, it would probably sound like this.

The industrial nightmare of the ”Pannuhuone” gives way abruptly to an unholy mixture of lounge jazz and chamber music. Lehtisalo’s vocals take our thoughts in the direction of Tabula Rasa’s spiritual prog. In the background, an oboe plays a beautiful melody. Occasionally, the relaxed atmosphere is interrupted by strange noises and the clattering of dishes, after which the music continues as if nothing had happened. After all, this is not meant to be a hit!

The sixth track, ”Kaivoonkatsoja,” strongly evokes King Crimson’s Larks’ Tongues In Aspic era. The rough, complex riffs and the wistful violin reminiscent of David Cross channel King Crimson so strongly that my plagiarism meter is flashing red, just like the gauge on the back cover of Red. In the end, however, I don’t really care, because Höyry-Kone makes such tasty use of its influences.

With cello plucking, Lehtipuu’s vocals, and oboe, ”Kosto” begins as an acoustic art song but then grows into a viciously dissonant rumble. Soon, however, the music quiets down again and the lead role is taken by a plump, roundly plucked bass guitar and its counterpart, a rough, prickly-sounding violin. The rising melody lifts the music to another frenzied climax, from which it returns to a low-sounding, threatening violin melody. A magnificent song.

”Hätä” continues in the avant-prog vein. The nearly four-minute instrumental starts with an alarmingly beeping electric guitar and then moves into a slightly slower section powered by a tasty pumping bass guitar and noisy guitars. Occasionally, the mood is interrupted by truly rusty, rough electric guitar riffs.

”Myrskynmusiikkia” starts with pounding guitar riffs, which then transition into a beautifully accompanied vocal section sung by Lehtipuu with a truly impressive, powerful voice. Then the music explodes to the next level and is propelled forward in a truly magnificent way by a complex bass riff, punctuated by discordant strikes on both the electric guitar and the violin. The vocal parts turn into complete chaos, and in the background you can also hear wordless vocals utilizing Middle Eastern scales, until the music returns to the original vocal section and, through it, to heavy riffing once again.

The album concludes with perhaps its most straightforward track. Or at least the easiest to listen to. Carried by a catchy rhythm, ”Hyönteiset” sounds a bit like old-time dance music, with irregular time signatures, buzzing guitars, and a cello riffing with a wonderfully rusty sound adding its own avant-garde flavor. For some reason that is difficult to explain, the song, sung by Jukka Hannukainen, also takes my imagination in the direction of Mexican folk music.

“Hyönteiset” is officially the last track on the album, but after a short pause, we hear a chaotic and atonal short instrumental storm with no name.

Hyönteisten laulu
Värisyttää
Hyönteisten nauru
Häkellyttää

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It is unfortunate that Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa has received relatively little attention in the long run. This may be due to the fact that the original, rather small print run of the album sold out quickly and the reissue was not available until 2014. The reissue has probably already disappeared from store shelves, and the album is still not available on streaming services. I got to know the band and this excellent debut album through their live performances. Höyry-kone, who always performed in dark suits, were also a force to be reckoned with live, as I witnessed several times in the late 1990s.

A couple of years later, Höyry-kone released another studio album. Many seem to prefer the more consistent and metal-sounding Huono parturi, but I think the band’s bold and surprisingly diverse debut is the most delicious album by this unique band. In fact, I think it’s one of the highlights of Finnish progressive rock.

Best tracks: ”Örn”, ”Kosto”, ”Kaivonkatsoja”, ”Myrskynmusiikkia”, ”Hyönteiset”

Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Lue myös: Levyarvio: King Crimson – Discipline (1981)

Tracks

  1. Örn (3:58)
  2. Raskaana (3:10)
  3. Hämärän joutomaa (7:07)
  4. Pannuhuoneesta (2:08)
  5. Luottamus (4:30)
  6. Kaivoonkatsoja (4:00)
  7. Kosto (5:57)
  8. Hätä (3:42)
  9. Myrskynmusiikkia (6:46)
  10. Hyönteiset (3:13)

Musicians:

Tuomas Hänninen: guitars Jussi Kärkkäinen: guitars, organ harmonium Jukka Hannukainen: synthesizers, programming, vocals (2,10) Topi Lehtipuu: violin, vocals Marko Manninen: cello Nina Lehos: oboe Jarno Sarkula: bass guitars, organ Teemu Hänninen: drums

Producer: Höyry-kone, Joonas Pirttilä
Label: AMP

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