Blast(beat) from the Past: Bufo

Bufo
Moderni Ja Maailman Tuho
Addiction to War
2008
Form follows function, modern architects will tell you. That means a building's shape should be linked to its purpose. Finnish crustcore hooligans Bufo invert that axiom with their 2008 album Moderni Ja Maailman Tuho (Modernity and the End of the World) because its unique double-7-inch format dictates much of your listening experience. Dividing nine songs over four sides means you'll be flipping wax about every five minutes. That leaves you very little time to do anything else other than concentrate on their Rotten Sound meets Anti Cimex shenanigans and stare at the beautiful, Jesu-style cover art. This is one of those instances where I think any other format would take away from the presentation.
And these princes among grind and crust toads deserve your undivided attention because the trilling punk riff of album opener "Suden Hetki" is a clarion call to arms. By the time the band does that brief pause gag right before erupting into a blastbeat rager you're already thrashing around the room. It's that touch of crust to Bufo's brew that gives the songs time to breathe and flow and circle back about themselves (that awesome riff from "Suden Hekti" makes more than one appearance). It really gives the impression these guys have put some serious thought into their tuneage, and Moderni Ja Maailman Tuho is packed with those little touch moments like the bass isolation on "Silpouteneita Raajoja," the filigree flair of "!Reclama!," or the fact that the mics catch the sound of the drummer setting down his drum sticks at the end of close out anthem "Tama Vie Helvettiin." That close out song, a case of longest song of the album goes last (mitigated somewhat by getting its own side of a record) is a great exclamation point on the package as it lassos an implacably moving mid-paced riff, suddenly explodes into fretboard gymnastics and then chases the exuberance with a chill out coda that eases your way out of the album.
Not everything goes so smoothly (the two songs on side C are completely forgettable), but Bufo do enough right to warrant a listen. The cocksure swagger and cock rock solos are a helpful reminder that Anti Cimex's gutter glam posing wasn't too far removed from the same Sunset Strip style they so disdained.