The Finnish act Rippikoulu was formed at the end of the eighties as some Punk / Death hybrid, and they were very popular back then, at least in their home country. One of the reasons was the use of their native tongue (now this isn’t that unusual anymore, but in the early years, most bands from all over the globe used the English language specifically). The band split up in 1995 after the tragic death of their guitar player Marko, but shortly before, they recorded a demo-tape, Musta Seremonia. This demonstrational recording was re-issued via Svart Records in very early 2010 on both vinyl and CD. And now the very same label will have the re-mastered version out once again, on vinyl. Main reason might be the fact that Rippikoulu reformed very recently, but since the former re-edition was limited in number of copies, and therefor sold out shortly after the release... In their new constellation, by the way, they recorded Ulvaja, and I will review this new stuff in a very near future. But first things first…
Musta Seremonia was originally recorded and mixed at the Akaan MR Studio in the band’s home country and released on cassette (which was the usual thing back then). The material brought a massive form of Doom-laden Death Metal (note: very slow passages go hand in hand with fast, aggressive ones, and everything in between passes the revue too), but in contradiction to many colleagues back then, this material did sound so dark, so abyssal. A song like Pimeys Yllä Jumalan Maan, for example, with its eerie keyboard lines and ultra-doomy tempo, is the perfect example of such funereal oppression. Besides, the whole sounds rather primitive than technical (not uncommon back then), but with a performing quality that stands way above average. Also the Punk-elements from their earliest rehearsing period have almost completely disappeared.
The production does not betray the actual roots, for being very dense, low-tuned, lo-fi and badly mixed. Nowadays it would be a shame, but since this stuff was recorded more than two decades ago, I recommend to ignore the production. And no, it certainly is not that bad at all; there are recording sessions nowadays that turn out to be much more awful, unfortunately.