Now the omnipresent reunion wave has reached Finnish (all-round) squad WALTARI too. In general it’s not the worst idea ever, since WALTARI were known for disrespectful and unconventional crossing every musical boundary, mixing up all kind of styles to brew a very hot and spicy crossover cocktail. The guys could even claimed to be the Scandinavian precursors in this sector, since they scored some chart positions in the early 90’s. At the end of the last century it seemed the guys lost their enthusiasm and their sense for innovations and eventually disbanded for lack of success.

Now back as an almost original line-up, they try to tie up to earlier achievements with Rare Species. And that’s exactly the way this CD sound. Unfortunately. Instead of recalling their early strength, that led to success at that time, this release seems to be created under the aspect of safety. Most of the songs range in similar traces, fluffy Rock songs with a few Crossover influences but without any surprises. The versatility that made earlier WALTARI releases to an adventure (and sometimes a roller-coaster ride too) I miss completely. Instead they too often get lost in similar stylistics and moods, missing variety.

There are just a few exceptions, e.g. Megacity Rain with some crispy guitars, My Pain, with interesting piano parts, that’s really off the beaten track and the last two compositions Live This! and Waste My Mind. Other songs like Life Without Love (first single), Dreamworld or Alone are just as boring as hell, while the last track will probably polarize a lot, because songs like No Limit (from 2 Unlimited – co-founder of the Techno/ Dancefloor scene), Megadeth’s Symphony Of Destruction and Your Funky Rhythm (I don’t know exactly, but it sounds like that) get thrown together to a medley! That’s a really odd mix, close to the bone…

If at all, it is the limited edition that’s worthwhile with the ultra rare bonus EP Back To Persepolis (2001), which has only be released on vinyl up to now. Guardian Angel sounds like one of the worse composition on Rare Species, while Living Then Living Now sounds like one of the better ones. I think New Church is a cover version and reminds me of bygone Gothic Rock times in the 80’s, while I at least recognized the beginning of There’s No Tomorrow: Elvis Presley! But just for a moment, afterwards rit is followed by Punk Rock (that’s the way it has to be). All things considered it is not enough for what WALTARI stood for in the past. That’s the reason why I give just 6 points, by the skin of my teeth…