Spiha - "Tooth and Helmet" (META 2000, 020CDEP)
From Aural Innovations #10 (June 2000)
This is one of the best releases of the year 2000. Heavy like Spiritual Beggars at times but very psychedelic and freaked out as well. Unfortunately, this is the last release on the great Finnish record label, Metamorphosis. The band has three guitar players, organ, drums, bass and a singer and have an incredibly addictive flavor to their tunes. The EP starts with "Sheaster", which is the song that in a way reminds me of Spiritual Beggars. "New Beginning" is the song that really gets me going and is addictive and gets pretty psychedelic at times. "For Rest" has a great riff as well with a deep bass groove, sort of Pearl Jam like vocals at the beginning of the song. "Heaven Demon" ends the EP in Spiha psychedelic rock style, which means doing something totally off the wall by starting the song with slide guitar and jews harp, before taking off. Oh yeah, tracks 1 and 4 are recorded live but it would be difficult to tell as the production is very similar to the studio songs and the sound and energy impressive.
Reviewed by Scott Heller