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Mansion Reissue We Shall Live on CD through Nine Records

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 2nd, 2014 by JJ Koczan

Finnish cult rockers — or is that rocking cult? — Mansion were pretty high on my Roadburn 2014 gotta-see list. It’s always interesting to go to that fest an an American dying to see the European bands and see the Europeans eager to check out the American acts. Call it a reminder of how much of novelty depends on point of view. Either way, Mansion delivered thoroughly on my hopes and expectations from digging on 2013’s We Shall Live EP (review here), and while one of my biggest regrets from the weekend was not picking up a copy of their The Mansion Congregation Hymns Vol. 1 7″, limited to 100 copies and I’m sure gone by now, at least I can drown my sorrows in knowing that We Shall Live is still gaining traction and a following. Polish imprint Nine Records — you might recall they did the CD of Vestal Claret‘s Bloodbath — has the EP out now on glorious, futuristic compact disc, complete with a 16-page liner.

The following comes translated from the Nine Records page:

MANSION – We Shall Live out now on CD!

Mansion is a band from Finland. The band’s name comes from the local Christian apocalyptic cult – Kartanoism, which had its glory days in the 1920s-50s. Kartano is the Finnish word for the Mansion and the name of the leader of the sect Alma Kartano. Mansion is a six-piece creating music that reflects the life of former followers of the sect.

Their music is a perfect blend of doom, psychedelic rock, and cult rock straight out of the 70s style: Jess And The Ancient Ones, Sabbath Assembly, The Devil’s Blood, Jex Thoth.

This is a compact edition reissue of the classic EP recorded in 2013. The package is embellished with a 16-page booklet with lyrics and many previously-unpublished photographs.

http://www.nine-records.com/
http://weshalllive.bandcamp.com/album/we-shall-live
https://www.facebook.com/mansionalma

Mansion, We Shall Live (2013)

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Mansion’s We Shall Live to See Vinyl Release on Jan. 24

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

After selling completely through a run of limited CD-R copies of their We Shall Live debut EP (review here), Finnish conceptual cult rockers — that is, they’re not just a cult, but they’re a specific, historical cult; look it up, it’s fun — Mansion have announced that Streaks Records has picked up the four-songer for a vinyl edition that’s set to release on Jan. 24. Once again, the theorem is proved that religion is very, very creepy.

Mansion are set to play Roadburn this year as well, and are reportedly preparing their first long-player for release in time to mark the occasion. More on that as it comes, but before the vinyl sells out, here’s this:

Mansion / We Shall Live EP to be reissued on vinyl by Streaks Records.

(STREAK#21), release date 24.1.2014

The sold out, sought for and self- released debut of the Finnish cult rockers Mansion, i.e. the We Shall Live EP, is now resurrected in the form of a second pressing by Streaks Records. The second coming arrives with an insert of the lyrics to the song We Shall Live for chanting lessons to the new cult followers.

”After my copy of their limited private released debut vinyl showed signs of wear from playing it over and over again, I had to ask the band to rerelease their “We shall live” 12″ EP to make this outstanding piece of art available to a wider audience. Their historically realistic, somehow creepy yet morally righteous concept of Cult Rock that is based around the austere christian cult Kartanoism that existed in Finland between the twenties and fifties, hit me instantly and impressed me deeply. The music perfectly mirrors this atmosphere, presenting the songs like sermons that hem oneself in but beguile as well with its catchy melodies. The arrangements are elaborate and the voice of the frontwoman, named Alma after the original mother that founded the cult, creates a lot of dramatic tension. A totally focused and cohesive debut that crucially needed a vinyl repress.” -Matthias Wittwer / Streaks Records

Mansion: We Shall Live
Side A: Mother´s Burden / We Shall Live
Side B: Sorrowless / Slumber Sermon

Mansion:
Alma: Vocals, keyboards
Aleksanteri: Keyboards, vocals
Immanuel: Bass
Jaakob: Guitar
Mikael: Drums
Veikko-Tapio: Guitar

www.facebook.com/mansionalma
http://weshalllive.bandcamp.com/
www.streaksrecords.de

Mansion, We Shall Live (2013)

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Mansion, We Shall Live: Wake the Sleeping Preacher

Posted in Reviews on September 2nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Finnish six-piece Mansion base their work around concepts taken from the mid-20th Century Christian cult Kartanoism, which branched off the Lutheran church and was founded by and named for Alma Kartano, was noted for things like having heavily-abused child preachers, speaking in tongues, denial of sex even in marriage, and so on. “Kartano” is “mansion” in Finnish, and so the band Mansion make their debut with the We Shall Live EP on Svart with a strong sense of background in the history of this movement that at one point contained hundreds of people. I had doubts as to whether or not Kartanoism existed — there’s a Wikipedia page about it, it’s mentioned in the description of a book and namedropped on an ex-pentecostal forum — but even if not, that only makes the band more creative. Their frontwoman has also taken the name Alma, and joined by guitarists Jaakob and Veikko-Tapoi, keyboardist Aleksanteri, bassist Immanuel and drummer Mikael, Mansion proffers complex and memorable end-time heavy rock the perspective of which might best be summed up in the extension of its title: “We shall live/You will die/Lost in time.” The historical realism of the concept notwithstanding, it’s this point of view that really separates Mansion and We Shall Live from the slew of modern cult heavy rockers. Where a band like The Devil’s Blood preached Satanism during their time, and Uncle Acid are more bent on drugged-out murder idolatry, Hexvessel offer folksy nature worship on a vehement environmentalist scale and American groups like Castle, Satan’s Satyrs and Venomous Maximus run themselves somewhere between all of the above, Alma and Mansion are just as quick to damn their audience as to project an air of superiority. Some of that is vocal inflection, but I’ll argue it’s in the music as well and certainly in lyrics like the above-quoted or “Give is the names/Give is the guilty/So we may cure/Those that are filthy” from “Slumber Sermon,” the final of the four cuts on the half-hour-long EP. To the very core of what they bring to their first release (some Bandcamp digital singles seem to have preceded), Mansion remain loyal to their aesthetic and to their concept.

Where that might lead one to expect some element of the Kartanoist era’s music to make its way into Mansion‘s repertoire — some brass instrument or upright piano or such — that’s not how the songs play out. There is some organ to be heard from the synth and opener “Mother’s Burden” begins with a kind of humming drone over which Alma slips into resolute and dramatic tension, but We Shall Live remains a work of heavy cult rock. Those who had experience with The Devil’s Blood will find a few superficial sonic similarities, though Mansion are far less psychedelic than that Dutch outfit wound up. Still, Alma‘s powerful vocals on top of driving, chugging riffs like that which takes hold on “Mother’s Burden” are effective if true to (sub)genre at this point. By the time the release is finished, Mansion have developed a personality of their own within it, but especially with the underlying swirl the synth creates and the metallic hooks that stand out from “Mother’s Burden,” there will be those for whom We Shall Live rings familiar. Fortunately, as much energy as the band dedicates to sticking to their founding concept, they match that with the fortitude of their songwriting. Each of the four tracks on the EP — “Mother’s Burden,” “We Shall Live,” “Sorrowless” and “Slumber Sermon” — has both a standout feel and something that ties it to the others, making We Shall Live both an engaging first installment from Mansion and a satisfying front-to-back listen. “Mother’s Burden” breaks in its second half to choral layering and ringing bells, building back to a slower refrain of the chorus, and rides that rhythm for a while as a guitar solo takes hold, but draws back to the faster chug to round out symmetrically before giving over to “We Shall Live,” the shuffle of which proves worthy of the aforementioned Uncle Acid but becomes fleshed out with organ sounds and Alma‘s vocal drama as it works its way toward another slowdown and well-structured apex.

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Mansion Join Lineup for Roadburn 2014

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

I’m not at all going to claim to have heard Finnish cult rockers Mansion prior to seeing the news that they’ve been added to the Roadburn 2014 lineup, but listening to their debut EP, We Shall Live, they seem to be picking up some of the chaotic swirl left behind in the wake of The Devil’s Blood‘s demise, mixing in elements of classic heavy progressive rock and driving riffs alongside an otherworldly sense of dark spiritualism.

The band (for lack of a better word) will reportedly have We Shall Live out on vinyl at some point, presumably before their slot at Roadburn, which is set for Saturday, April 12. The official announcement and EP stream follow:

Finland’s Mansion To Bring End-Time Cult To Roadburn 2014

There are artists that exude sheer attitude, others lunacy, but a select few have a distinct aura of mystery about them. We at Roadburn are delighted to have been given the chance to lift the shroud of ambiguity surrounding Finland’s Mansion. Seemingly arising out of the blue earlier this year, their four-song EP We Shall Live made an instant impression on us, with its perfect balance of crystal-clear guitar and melodic, ethereal vocals.

The quartet of songs so far released all revolve around a real-life End Time cult, and we have no doubt that these musicians will entrance all who attend their performance on Saturday 12th April at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

We predict an experience of spellbinding, morbid hymns to enthrall and delight! If Coven had a bastard child with Caravan, the result might be something akin to Mansion, but the only way to truly know their power is to experience it – we can’t wait!

Mansion, We Shall Live (2013)

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