Hexenhaus: pure post-punk, the Finnish way

   The industrial town of Pori gave birth to one of Finland's most original and influential post-punk bands. Hexenhaus was active between 1983 and 1987, and while their only release was a 1984 single, the band's unofficial, live, and demo recordings have made their way into various compilations. 

    Their music style varies between songs, from the softer, gloomy "Suutele minua, Kate!" ("Kiss me, Kate!") to the punk punch of "Jumalan Kosto" ("God's Revenge"). 

 

   As long as official releases are concerned, the band's one and only release came in 1984 on Zoo Records. The single Ikiyö / Katakombi is most well known and widely distributed songs of the band, being easy to find on the web and thus available for international audiences. However Finnish audiences, especially older ones, would be most acquainted with the band, since as mentioned earlier, despite their short lifespan and their very limited official releases, the band has

been prominent in goth, deathrock, and post-punk compilation records, mixes, and radio. Prominent example of this would be the song "Suutela Minua, Kate!" which was included in one of the largest compilation records of the kind, "Kostoiksu no.1: Antakke leippä", in 1987. 

   Hexenhaus combine the classic elements of early post-punk and goth music, carrying vibes of the Batcave to wrap their most soft and humanly sensitive side in a shell of ominous punk anger and dark nihilism. Inducing memories of The Virgin Prunes, Bauhaus, and The Cramps, they embody the true spirit of post-punk in its purest form.


   For those who want more, they are in luck: there is no more need to scour the bins in half-forgotten finnish record stores for one of those compilation albums. Pori-based Full Contact Records (Ektro's vinyl label) released a compilation LP named "Jumalan Kosto 1984-1987" in 2013 containing 15 songs, including the four linked songs above.

   NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE SWEDISH METAL BAND OF THE SAME NAME FORMED IN 1987. For fuck's sake.