FIVE FIFTEEN - "Six Dimensions Of The Electric Camembert" 2CD, 1998 (Blastic Heaven, Finland)
The story of this album begins, as all stories regarding Finnish hard rock albums should, in Finland, shortly before the turn of the '90's. Enter the presence of a wonderful character named Mika Jarvinen. Here's a guy who not only has a wonderfully Finnish name but also picked up on the same vibe so many Scandinavians have over the years: hard rock is cool.
Getting a bunch of other like-minded individuals together, he embarked upon the formation of a band who would take their name after the WHO song, "5:15" and they proceeded to issue a few singles & an EP on the Bluelight label before committing themselves to a mental institution…oops…committing their first disc, "Progressive Hard Rock Beyond The Mainstream," to the same imprint in 1994. The title was pretty damn descriptive, besides being long and it would foretell the habit of the band to come up with interesting album names. Coming next, on the Blastic Heaven label, were "Armageddon Jam Session Number Four" ('95), "Psychedelic Singalongs For Stadiums" ('97) and the disc where the band, in this writer's humble opinion, truly came together in epic proportions for the first time, "Six Dimensions Of The Electric Camembert" ('98). Read on to see why.
THE MEMBERS: Mika Jarvinen - vocals and guitar; Maikki Liuski - vocals and percussion; Pekka Laine - guitar; Pate Kivinen - keyboards; Repe Lumikumpu - bass; Jan-Erik Suni - drums.
THE RIFFS: "The riffs" are an interesting subject when it comes to FIVE FIFTEEN, and this album is a study in what I mean by that. Whereas a lot of bands employ a distinct riff or a couple of such that dominate an entire song, this crew has a sound that while rocking like nobody's business, is a lot more layered. The band will employ rhythms that hang balanced between open guitar chords and keyboard backing and then suddenly, out of the ether, a riff will come crashing in that is as heavy as anything Sabbath has ever done, only then slither out of the limelight and become something much more subtle. Think about the way Blackmore & Lord would often work together. It's an ingenious way of making titanic riffs seem even that much more so, and it's used to great effect throughout "Six Dimensions….."
THE LEADS: While Mika Jarvinen is clearly the leader of FIVE FIFTEEN per se, he's more of the rhythm guy when it comes to guitars, leaving the lead axe chores on this record to Pekka Laine. And, Pekka comes up with flying colours from beginning to end on "Six Dimensions…." First off, this guy is not some sort of super-fingered flash god. He often employs a very cool, stately Gilmour tone in which he nicely mirrors the song composition referred to above. What I mean is, he'll dwell in the background for awhile, inserting tasteful little fills here & there and then suddenly drop a series of notes on you that won't dazzle you with their quickness but'll sear you with their passion.
THE VOCALS: Here's one of the things I love the most about this band and album. The 2-headed vocal prowess called Mika/Maikki. First you have Mika Jarvinen, who's mid-ranged vox might as well spell the word "ROCK" out in capital letters (well, I just did that, anyway). Mika has a voice that commands without being overly theatrical. He just belts it. Add to that stuff that Maikki Liuski lays down on "Six Dimensions…."
Rhythms hang balanced between open chords and keyboard backing and then suddenly, out of the ether, a riff will come crashing in as heavy as anything Sabbath has ever done.
I know that some people who listen to hard rock tend to steer away from female vocals but please, PLEASE listen to me on this one. Maikki has a voice that you need to hear now! Not as overtly pretty or fragile as an Anne Wilson, nor as whiskey-soaked as Janis, she brings a power to the feminine vocal vehicle that is simply superb on this record. And, when you get the combination of Mika and Maikki on a cut like "Innocence Is No Excuse," you'll see why this band is truly special.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO JELLO BIAFRA? Well, it goes like this. FIVE FIFTEEN has been known to recently have done some shows with former one-time URIAH HEEP frontman, John Lawton. Lawton's HEEPSTERS had, as one of their cornerstone members, keyboard wizard Ken Hensley. Hensley has spent some time in the recent past in the company of WASP main man Blackie Lawless and Lawless contributed his services awhile back to Ronnie Dio's Hear 'N' Aid Project. Now, of course, we know that even though they can't call it that now, Dio has found employment once again in an act called HEAVEN & HELL, and one time rubbed shoulders with Messrs. Iommi, Butler & Appice when they were a combo that went under the moniker of BLACK SABBATH. Got that, people? Hold that thought. Mr. JELLO BIAFRA, he of DEAD KENNEDYS and Alternative Tentacles Records has appeared on some of the work of a certain metal/rap/Law-Order-SVU dude ICE-T. And, said Mr. T contributed his services to a track on the "Forbidden" album by…you guessed it, BLACK SABBATH. Jeez, you'd think some things were obvious!
SOME KEY TRACKS:
You don't have to look any further than the very opening cut to witness the magic that FIVE FIFTEEN weaves on "Six Dimensions…." Yes siree, "Innocence Is No Excuse" is a barn-burner that wastes no time utilizing the riveting vocal duo of Mika Jarvinen & Maikki Liuski. In fact, just the one line in the chorus "I'm stuck on you!" is one of those mega-rock moments where the hair stands up on my arms every time. Elsewhere in this up-tempo track, you'll be blown away by Pate Kivinen's swirling Hammond lines and the awesome ending, where the entire band locks into a chaotic groove not unlike a certain Purple's "Space Truckin'."
About halfway through this album is another highlight for me, "I Don't Remember." Here's a perfect example of the kind of riff magic I was talking about above. All through the course of the song, the guitars of Jarvinen & Laine will alternately lay back, doing their thing with thoughtful, restrained strumming and then out of nowhere will fuse into a riff that would have Ritchie Blackmore shaking his head in envy. Truly songwriting of the highest order here.
The final track on "Six Dimensions…" is called "Once I Had A Name For This One" and I think the name I'd have for it is fucking killer. Whether it's the Gary Brooker-like keys that make themselves felt throughout or the Gilmour-esque lead lain down by Pekka Laine, this is an epic hard rock tale for the ages. With all the albums and songs FIVE FIFTEEN has done, it would be hard to say any was the very best, but arguing against this one might be futile.
A BIT EXTRA: "Six Dimensions Of The Electric Camembert" was released in a 2-disc format which, if you're lucky enough to get it, will continue to blow you away with a 2nd CD of live performances. Included among some originals are also seriously rocking covers of some classic tunes like "Baba O'Riley," "I Am The Walrus" and "Pinball Wizard."
AND IN CLOSING: Finland's FIVE FIFTEEN have been around for probably 20 years now, which probably places them nearly in the grizzled veteran category. In fact, they've done 4 more albums since this one, all of which are well-worth tracking down. I'm still waiting by the mailbox for my copy of the newest one, "Alcohol," which I hear is another real monster. With all that, however, "Six Dimensions Of The Electric Camembert" is the one where this ultra-cool band totally came together for me and it's the one I'd tell anybody into great rock music to start with…it's a classic!
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