By now, Finland's distinctive stamp on the worldwide death metal movement, particularly at the dawn of the 1990s, is well known by now. Such names as Xysma, Adramalech, Demilich, Funebre, Demigod, Abhorrence, Disgrace, and Lubricant became cult names in scene for marrying heinous amounts of filth with an oft-shocking amount of catchiness or at least weirdness...and indeed, Finnish death metal, even when it aimed long ago for more "normal" scene parameters, was still weird and wild no matter the intention.
The same can be said for Finland's sadly short-lived COPROPHILIA. Naturally, with a moniker like that, it was not unexpected that their grinding death metal contained a massive amount of filth - but root around in that filth (or feces, as it were) and one will find a surprising slew of unconventional invention: namely, twisting 'n' turning songwriting that nevertheless held a strangely catchy quality. More than that, while COPROPHILIA could grind with the best of them, they were especially adept at a more downtempo gait, stomping and slamming with an authority that belied their high-schooled age and thereby making their already swirling ruminations that much more psychedelic. The band officially released a demo in 1991, bearing a strong whiff of Xysma (who'd release their classic Yeah debut album that same year) but with a decidedly more underground air; equally fetid were the sewer-draining vocals of Marko Tyni. COPROPHILIA would record another demo during the summer of 1992, which sadly would only be posthumously released, but more or less signaled the band's end.
Going back to the beginning, in the city of Uusikaupunki, COPROPHILIA's roots lay in the preceding punk band Aivottomat ("Brainlesses"). After a few punk years, the music quickly changed its shape in the direction of grindcore and death metal. Influential bands were Napalm Death, Carcass, and all the other death metal bands of the time. These influences can be heard on the band’s first demo in 1989. That demo was still made under the name Aivottomat. The musical change caused a name change to Klaustrofobia in the beginning. Eventually, only COPROPHILIA was good enough for the boys to describe the band’s music.
Time was spent in the music room in bassist Jouni Korhonen's parents' garage. Conflicts with the parents and nearby residents simply couldn't be avoided. There was too much noise for many of the residents of that suburban area. The bassist's parents scolded the boys for the noise with this immortal line: "You are fucking drunks, all of you!" Vocalist Marko Tyni responded correctly from the window of a police car: "You fucking whore! I'm gonna kill you!"
Such encouragement didn't discourage the boys, but training gradually began to be heard in their playing, as well. Making songs was an endless stream of inventing riffs and combining them with each other. These songs very seldom returned to previously played riffs. Influences were even drawn from oriental music. In the first half of '90s, such a working method created a distinctive stamp in the Finnish death metal scene.
The first studio session under the name of COPROPHILIA was recorded in the neighboring town of Laitila in 1991. That studio weekend resulted in demo tape with four songs on it. Drummer Marko Oittinen was responsible for distributing the demo tape, and contacts began to be established with other bands in the field. The tapes quickly changed hands as far as overseas. Being deep in the scene, the boys eventually ended up organizing their own events at the local youth community center. Such death metal evenings were rare and expected in the early '90s, even nationally.
After the first demo, a young and enthusiastic guitarist named Niko Kuopila joined the band. At the same time, the band moved their rehearsal space to a cleaning company's premises at the harbor. This space allowed endless rattling in the music room. There is a fun anecdote to be told: the boys decorated one room like a brothel. One can imagine what kind of fun they and their friends had in that room.
Niko Kuopila's influence was heard in the band's songs. There were almost too many riffs for the band to arrange in all their songs; Sepultura and Entombed were Niko's favorite bands. In the summer of '92, the band's second guitarist Toni Pekkala took the reins and rented the band a four-track recorder. Produced by Pekkala, the band recorded demos and training tapes throughout the summer. Some of the tapes were finally forgotten due to the poor quality of the tapes. Seven songs from these recordings were saved to disc with varying sounds.
Despite close ties, the members of COPROPHILIA grew apart and the band ceased to exist in 1993. In 2007, the band reunited without Kuopila and recorded four more EPs under the name of the punk band Aivottomat. But now, at long last, is the entirety of COPROPHILIA's criminally short recorded oeuvre available in one place under the make-no-mistake title The Demo Collection and, for the first time ever, on vinyl. Dive into quintessentially Finnish sewers once again, or for the first time!
