FARMAKON - FINLAND

A Warm Glimpse - 2003 - Elitist
Robin - 2007 - Four Seasons

Farmakon image
  
 
Members
Vocals
Planar Gallery, Thales, Älymystö, All Dreams Dying>>MARKO ESKOLA>>Thales, Älymystö, Crystalic, All Dreams Dying

Guitar
Exapathy, Screamchain>>TONI SALMINEN>>Exapathy, Screamchain, Ruinside - Lassi Paunonen>>Humming Whale

Bass
All Dreams Dying>>Marko Eskola>>All Dreams Dying

Drums
Planar Gallery, Airhead>>Riku Airisto>>Airhead - Crimson Lotus, Before The Dawn, Soulfallen, Screamchain>>Matti Auerkallio>>Crimson Lotus, Existence Depraved, Four Hoarsemen, Before The Dawn, Soulfallen, Manzana, Screamchain, Ultimatium, Auerkallio, Avenie, House Of Fury, Sangreal, Existence Depraved, Souldriller




History & Biography
The multi-layered Finns formed in April of 2001 and immediately issued a demo containing three songs. Another demo followed a year later before the band signed with Elitist label - a sub-label for Earache Records. When the label went bankrupt, the group went into hiatus before returning in 2007 with a new demo and thus signing with FS Records. Disk Union in Japan issued the new album in September of 2007. The sophomore effort appeared in April of 2008 in the USA through Candlelight. Pekka Kauppila joined on bass just before Robin’s release. The band went bust in 2010.


Reviews

FARMAKON - ROBIN - CANDLELIGHT  
Question: how do you say 'Opeth' in Finnish?
Answer: Farmakon.
Quite frankly, Farmakon does offer more elements in its music than just a rehashed and rebaked version of Opeth, but the Swedish progenitors’ sound comes up again and again on Robin. Moreover, the rest of Farmakon’s repertoire, while not badly executed, is of dubious value to metal fans.
The album begins well enough. Time-Tables is a respectable extreme metal track in the vein of Edge Of Sanity that holds its own very well. Apparently, even the band knows where things are at and has placed its most purely metal song upfront. The bait and switch begins next however. Rock music and rock guitars abound. The saxophone alternates its show-and-tell with progressive rock which then gives way to clean singing and crooning. The light snare sound throughout is distracting. Progressive rock is fine for its fans. Jamming to a mishmash of styles in the midst of metal is traitorous and unlikely to attract the attention anyone outside the usual group of turncoats in the media. Unfortunately, the press doesn’t buy music, which is what the band’s old label Elitist/Earache soon found out.
Guys, please at least copy a real metal band next time if (and only if) you wish to be reviewed favourably in the heavy metal press or market yourself to the metal community. - Ali “The Metallian”


Interviews







Farmakon