Year of release: 2004
Label: Ledo Takas Records
Rating: 7 / 10
Tomorrow is the 9th of May, the celebration of the end of WWII in post-USSR, and this is a good date to talk about the third album of LOITS called "Vere kutse kohustab". If you've read my previous reviews of their records or the book "Black Metal: Into the Abyss" by Dayal Patterson, you already know that LOITS are one of the targets of blind leftist aggression. And "Vere kutse kohustab" played a big role in this issue. The fact is that this album, unlike the debut (where it was expressed only in the design), completely moved to the topic which is now firmly associated with LOITS. "Vere kutse kohustab" is dedicated to Estonian history, in particular to the soldiers from the Estonian Legion who fought on the side of the Wehrmacht in the Second World War. As is known, in the imagination of the Reds there is no position "to fight for your country against the Communists" - they all denote this by the word "fascism" or "collaborationism" - latter is used with an extremely negative connotation. Meanwhile, the brave people who fought against the red plague existed in every country (in Belarus as well) and this did not mean that they were supporters of Nazism. They just chose the lesser of evils, and now, after the defeat of the Axis, in underdeveloped (or in too "progressive") countries they are considered to be bastards, traitors, non-humans, cannibals, monsters in human guise and so on. Although all these epithets are in fact applicable to the reverse side. I think most of the readers of Bagnik Zine from post-USSR will reproach me for describing common truths, but I do this primarily for foreign readers from countries that have never really encountered communism and now feel unhealthy sympathy towards it. Don't do not sympathize communism, ladies and gentlemen. Fight and destroy it at any cost.
By the way, LOITS do not try to bow to the ideological standards of the musical market. Yes, grandfathers were at war. Yes, on the side of the Wehrmacht. So what? No condemnation, but no Nazi propaganda - healthy and correct Estonian nationalism, which makes it clear that the band (like the soldiers of the Estonian Legion) firstly and secondly interested only in the fate of it's country. If someone does not want to read the lyrics - it's his problem. In general, in terms of texts and design everything is done better than ever. Without them, the album is not perceived and half so good. The booklet of a jewel case edition is stylized as a collection of front-line letters (the wildest italics causes some problems with reading - it's very difficult to parse words) and photos, and the CD itself looks like a vinyl record. In the photos, the entire male part of LOITS appears in German uniform, and the charming, fluffy keyboardist Karje is in the form of a nurse. See more on a video.
Music is the main stumbling block for me. What you can hear on "Vere kutse kohustab", in no way reminds about the traditional pagan metal from previous records. Only the sound is similar to the first full-length. But it is immediately clear why the group positions its music as "Flak'n'Roll". In fact, there is enough of rock-n-roll drive, and in many respects it is based not so much on classical samples of the genre as on BURZUM. A good example is the song "Furor Aesticus", in which "Lost Wisdom" is easily recognized. In general, all the compositions are simple for perception, they are diverse and just cool. Some contain some extra ingredients like a sudden trombone or something. At the same time, music is not gloomy or military at all. It seems that LOITS is interested not so much in combat operations as in their consequences, as well as in the moral, ideological and spiritual side of the war. All this is understandable, and yet I do not lose the feeling that something is missing here. Hell, I don't know... Perhaps, the matter is that the mood of the music does not quite coincide with the texts - it's too positive and cheerful? Or is that "Vere kutse kohustab", based on the old templates of extreme metal, is not really an extreme metal? Strange, but the hidden track performed under the accordion is perceived perfectly without any questions. Perhaps LOITS should make some experiments with neofolk? I dunno. Whatever it is, I did not manage to understand "Vere kutse kohustab" by 100%. So far.
English (UK) 
Крыўская