Estonian Death Metal

by an_altar_of_plagues

Welcome to the second installment of the Baltic Metal Primers. The first one explored Lithuanian black metal from 1993 to 2002, focusing particularly on black metal's relationship with Lithuanian history and musical traditions. This installment centers on a scene underground even by the standards of Baltic metal - that of Estonian Death Metal.

While all three of the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) had active death metal scenes throughout the 1990s and beyond, that of Estonia stands out for three reasons. First, Estonia had the earliest death metal scene of the Baltics and thus laid the blueprint for the other Baltic States. Second, Estonia's cultural and geographical relationship with Finland led to a scene that was directly influenced by Finnish death metal. Third, Estonian death metal was sonically fragmented.

This primer is divided into four sections. The first is a brief discussion on Estonian geography and the two major cities of Tallinn and Tartu. The second describes significant aspects of Estonian death metal with emphasis on the scene's fragmentation. The third describes the impact of Estonia's relationship to Finland on the development of Estonian extreme music. The fourth and final section describes Estonian death metal bands and albums divided into distinct musical categories

Estonian Geography

Situated just south of Finland across the Gulf of Finland, modern Estonia is the northernmost of the Baltic States and is geographically and culturally related to Scandinavia. Estonia proper includes the northernmost former territory of Livonia, which historically included Latvia, northern Lithuania, and the strip of Russian land on both states' eastern borders. In addition to a central landmass, Estonia is unique among the Baltic States in its incorporation of several major islands that are historical trading areas and hold cultural significance to Estonia's Viking history. Its eastern border includes Lake Pskov and Lake Peipus

There are two major cities worth discussing in context of Estonian death metal. The first is Tallinn - the largest and most populous city in the region, and it is also Estonia's capital. Tallinn is located on Estonia's northern coast and was a member of the Hanseatic League, a historical multi-national trading route throughout the major coastal cities of northern Europe. Tallinn has existed since at least the early 11th century, and its Old Town was even added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites. It is considered Estonia's cultural, economic, and political center; and the city proper holds almost one-third of the country's entire population - which, unsurprisingly, also makes it the center of Estonian extreme metal.

The second city is Tartu, Estonia's second-largest city (although less than one-fourth the size of Tallinn), which lies in southeastern Estonia. If Tallinn is considered Estonia's political, cultural, and financial capital, then Tartu is the area's intellectual and education capital. Tartu's place in the cultural framework of northern Europe lies in the University of Tartu, which was established by Sweden in the 17th century and is recognized as the Baltics' most prestigious university.

Characteristics of Estonian Death Metal

Death metal is the largest subgenre in Estonia by number of bands, which contrasts with the folk/black hybrids and pagan metal of Lithuania and Latvia. Despite its geographical concentration in cities like Tallinn and Tartu, Estonian death metal is characterized by a fragmented scene with few universally-defined characteristics. Most bands with any compositional similarities are so because they share the same members rather than there being a truly Estonian sound - influence from Finland notwithstanding. Estonian death metal was (and still mostly is) a true DIY scene as almost all but very few full-lengths were self-released, which adds to the scene's individualism. Estonian death metal was also highly insular and restricted to its own region with the exception of death/thrash bands like Aggressor and Rattler, which were far more commercially successful than Estonian brutal death metal and death/doom.

Estonian metal as a whole started becoming popular in the early 80s when bootleg recordings of heavy metal were made through contact with Finland and some very limited interactions with Western countries. According to Ventsel Aimar, this was little more than just "copying" Western musical trends. Estonian black metal often adopted pagan themes and identity as with its Baltic cousins, but Estonian death metal had little in the way of unifying imagery other than themes of death, existential decay, and gore - even within death/thrash. It could be argued that death metal in Estonia was seen as cultural resistance toward both USSR and Western cultural hegemony, as does Mark Deeks in chapter two of his dissertation "National Identity in Northern and Eastern European Heavy Metal". According to Estonica, rock music was seen as "outside the law" in the Soviet Period. This is certainly seen in metal scenes worldwide, but it gains new context per the Baltic/Estonian history.

It would be incorrect to consider Estonian death metal "volkisch" in any sense, despite national identity being a significant part of Baltic black/pagan metal (as seen in the Lithuanian black metal primer). All three Baltic states experienced significant repression of their national languages during Russian domination throughout the 19th and 20th centuries; as soon as independence was achieved, many Baltic bands began releasing music in the lyrics of their nation. Estonian death metal, however, featured almost no lyrics sung in Estonian and were almost exclusively in English. If - as Peter A. Marjenin argues - "cultural identity is defined and determined by language", then Estonian death metal cannot be said to be an expression of national identity.

Estonian death/doom does have folk influences, which is something usually seen in black metal rather than death. Estonia has an "aural tradition of folk songs" that shows itself through Estonian death/doom acts utilizing harmonies even with growled vocals, as heard in releases by Whispering Forest and Forgotten Sunrise. However, even these bands featured exclusively English lyrics. This is no different than many other international death metal scenes from non-Anglophone countries, but it is worth considering given Estonia's cultural history.

There are two festivals of note that celebrate(d) Estonian music and have featured Estonian death metal acts. The Tartu Music Festival has run for a couple decades, and typically takes place during the July months. The Hard Rock Laager is a similarly long-running festival, taking place for a weekend in June.

Finnish Influence in Estonian Death Metal

One of the defining characteristics of the Estonian death metal scene is its artistic diversity, even if geographical diversity is lacking. One may argue that this is a result of Estonia's place as a crossroads of history between northern, eastern, and central Europe - especially seen in the influence of Finnish death metal. Note that a complete treatment of Estonian history would be outside the scope of a death metal primer. Additionally, in comparison to the Lithuanian black metal scene, the volkisch/nationalist influence within Estonian death metal is not nearly as strong.

Estonian history is characterized by political rule from abroad the clashing of various ethnic groups. Since the 13th century, Estonia has been dominated by German, Danish, Swedish, and Russian governments, with the country's "national awakening" not occurring until the mid-19th century. De facto a Danish province since the early 13th century, German gentry in the 14th and 15th centuries acquired land throughout Estonia in a disproportionately large amount until as late as the early 19th century - where 40 to 50 percent of the urban population was German, despite overwhelming preponderance of ethnic Estonians throughout the region proper. Upon the decline of Danish and Teutonic influence in the area, geographical Estonia was successively ruled as a part of the Livonian Order and under Swedish kingdom and Russian empire, which resulted in a brief period of independence during the interwar period until further political domination by the Nazi regime and then the USSR until Estonia achieved independence in 1991.

Of these myriad of cultural influences, the strongest was not actually a kingdom, but Estonia's northern neighbor of Finland. Finland and Estonia have always held deep cultural and historical ties, and Estonians are historically a part of the Finnic peoples unlike the other Baltic States. Estonia has sought to join the Nordic Council with mixed success except for the jokes. The Estonian language is also closely related to Finnish and share the same language roots, which is notable since Finnish ~~sounds like nothing else and was invented by aliens~~ is linguistically unique among the major northern European languages. Both countries traded with each other as far back as 1800 BC, have similar Viking history, and were both under Swedish rule. As recent as the beginning of the 18th century, over 20 percent of northern Estonia was Finnish. Additionally, Finnish television provided Estonia the main source of contact with non-Soviet countries throughout USSR domination.

Finnish influence demonstrates itself throughout Estonian death metal. Bands as sonically and thematically diverse as Misdeed, Mortified, and Forfeit are notable for paunchy low-end production, somewhat technical basswork, and idiosyncratic melodies that may be found in Convulse or Abhorrence. Estonian death/thrash often incorporated bizarre, lengthy riffs and melodic death metal influence that hark back to Phlegethon and is found in modern Skeletal. The awkward riffs of bands like Demilich show up in more experimental acts such as Vigilia Mortum - although don't expect any burping vocals.

(As a side note, death metal isn't the only musical tradition shared between Estonia and Finland. Both have a tradition of runic songs stretching as far back as the Viking era, with the regivärss poetic tradition bearing special mention.)

Estonian Death Metal Bands and Albums (1989-1999)

There are two primary periods in Estonian death metal history that are distinguished by time and sound: old-school death metal (OSDM) and contemporary death metal. The first period of Estonian death metal lasted from 1989 through 1999, with the majority of releases occurring between 1993 and 1997 - fairly late in comparison to other OSDM scenes. The second, contemporary period began in approximately 2003 and roughly ended in 2008. There has since been an increase in activity from Estonian death metal bands since 2014, and it remains to be seen how this period will define and refine itself.

Due to the fragmentation and lack of commercial success from all but a few bands, the vast majority of OSDM is characterized by demos with a few scattered full-lengths. As with the Lithuanian black metal scene, many Estonian OSDM releases came out in highly limited form due to their self-released nature, and unfortunately even fewer of them have been reissued. Listeners who seek to acquire formats other than streaming should be prepared to do some serious crate-digging. There are two resources to help with this. The website Estonian Metal has been dedicated to archiving Estonian metal since the early 2000s. It features songs available for download and streaming from each featured band, although full-album downloads are rare. Additionally, the site features old interviews and reviews. It's a solid resource for exploring the greater Estonian metal scene. The other resource is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Discogs. Estonian death metal cassettes are infrequently sold, and I have picked up not a few from that site. Additionally, Nailbomb Records has begun to reissue some older albums, and Ledo Takas often sells Aggressor and Rattler reissues.

Estonian OSDM may be characterized by three subgenres/sounds: death/thrash, brutal death metal, and death/doom. These are loose categories defined not by geographical proximity or involvement with each other, but by sound to guide to the intrepid listener.

Death/Thrash

Listeners who are expecting Merciless, Desecrator, or Morbid Saint might be surprised upon hearing Estonian death/thrash for the first time. In contrast to those bands, Estonian death/thrash was down-tuned, rhythmically-based music with a strong focus on riffs and even solos. Death/thrash was by far the most popular and commercially successful part of Estonian death metal, which bands like Aggressor, Rattler, and Postmortem touring in Western Europe during their heyday. Estonian death/thrash makes up the earliest bands in Estonian death metal, and some bands have toured or released music as late as 2015.

Aggressor - Cited by the highly influential Baltic extreme music label Ledo Takas as the "first significant Estonian death metal" band, Aggressor was founded in 1989. Their first demo Indestructible was influenced by Kreator, but by the time Procreate the Petrifactions (1993) was released, Aggressor had become a total death metal band. Aggressor released another full-length titled Of Long Duration Anguish (1994) before switching to industrial music and renaming themselves as No-Big-Silence, which broke up after only a year. Aggressor reformed in 2015 and has since toured internationally. Procreate the Petrifactions is considered by Ledo Takas and Estonian Metal as the essential Estonian death metal album, so start there and then head to Of Long Duration Anguish.
Rattler - Alongside Aggressor, Rattler is the most significant death/thrash (and death metal) band in Estonia. Rattler had somewhat more success than its cousins, including touring internationally. The band broke up in 1998, but reformed in 2015 and have since released a full-length and compilation of 1992-1996 material. Rattler played long-form death/thrash with windy passages that often stretched into the eight- or ten-minute mark, giving them a slightly progressive edge with a raw production that distinguished them even among the Scandinavians. Their first full-length Sanctum Regnum (1993) is a must-grab along with EPs Frankenstein (1994) and Tchortism (1996).
Postmortem - Postmortem was founded in 1990, and it (along with black metal groups like Enslaved and Ulver) is an excellent example of how extreme metal can be an adolescent's game with the three principle members being 11, 16, and 17 years old upon founding. Postmortem is unique in several ways. Their first demo Гнилой коммунизм featured Russian lyrics, although every subsequent release would be in English. Full-lengths Bloody Justice Comes... and The Call of the Sea were released in 1996 and 1998, respectively - well into the lifespan of Estonian OSDM. Postmortem's lyrics were themed around military conflict, with The Call of the Sea being a concept album on naval history. The band released another album titled The Victory Day! eight years later in 2006; their status is considered unknown by both Estonian Metal and the Metal Archives. The Call of the Sea is strong melodic death/thrash far removed from the Gothenburg Sound in Sweden.
Mortified - Mortified was a short-lived death metal act that began in 1992 and split up not long after the release of the Serenity. Tranquillity. Peace. (1993) full-length. Their album was far more influenced by melodic death metal than the other death-thrash groups. Mortified is significant for featuring members who would become a part of other influential Baltic extreme metal groups such as drummer Henry Hinno (Manatark, Rattler, Obscured, Skydancer), guitarist Rene Piirkop (Misdeed), and vocalist Mart Kalvet (Dawn of Gehenna, Ethalion, Whispering Forest). Serenity. Tranquillity. Peace. is worth grabbing, and demo Introitus Mortifer (1992) is great for those who like their death metal played fast and rusty. Good luck finding the latter, though (and send me a rip when you do).
Decease - Decease never took themselves seriously, and neither should you. Their releases consist of a grand total of a demo and a single. Emotions (1994) is rough, paunchy death metal with song titles like "The Meditatings of a Not So Wise Guy".
Macbeth - Consisting of three members of gothic/doom band Skydancer, the Tartu death/thrash act Macbeth featured war-themed lyrics that also focused on personal identity. As with Postmortem, Macbeth started as a bunch of teenagers who looked like they were just having a good time. Their two demos On a Desolate Strand (1993) and Lest We Forget (1994) are of similar sound and quality - the latter in no way related to the Bolt Thrower song of the same name.
Carnifex - Carnifex really doesn't fit anywhere in the Estonian death metal canon (insofar as such a thing even exists). Formed in 1993, Carnifex released three demos between 1994 and 1999 before changing their name to Kantor Voy. All three demos infuse progressive elements with death/thrash speed and brutality (Kantor Voy would be straight-up progressive metal/rock). Poison Art (1999) is both the band's best and the easiest to find.

Brutal Death Metal

Estonian brutal death metal is far different from the New York scene of Baphomet and Suffocation. If anything, the country's brutal death bands bear the strongest influence from the overall Finnish death metal scene. Brutal death in Estonia is characterized by the subgenre's extremely down-tuned guitars, paunchy production, and syncopated rhythms, but also with a distinct melodic sense and wonky progressions that aren't too different from their neighbors across the Gulf. Estonian brutal death metal featured intensely anti-Christian themes, demonstrated most soundly by Misdeed and C.C.C.. Members of Estonian brutal death metal bands often played in several other acts, making it one of the most integrated scenes in what was otherwise a fairly balkanized milieu.

Misdeed - Tallinn's Misdeed lasted from 1992 to 1995. Along with Vigilia Mortum, Misdeed was the only brutal death metal band within Estonian OSDM to release an official full-length, i.e. not just demos. Diabolism (1993) is recommended alongside Aggressor's Procreate the Putrefactions as an essential Estonian death metal release.
Forfeit - Along with that of Mortified, the line-up of Forfeit demonstrates the insular nature of Estonian OSDM and how many players were in each others' bands. Forfeit's line-up includes bass player Stig (Goresoerd, Symbolic State, Scavenger, Discrucior), drummer Lauri (C.C.C.), and vocalist Ank (Tharaphita, C.C.C., Discrucior, Dawn of Gehenna) - all of which are integral parts of Estonian OSDM and contemporary death metal. The 1995 Demo is one of the better quality demos of Estonian OSDM, which often tend to be rough given financial and technological restrictions.
C.C.C. - Standing for "Conspiratio Contra Christianum", C.C.C. began in 1992 alongside Misdeed but in the much smaller town of Türi. C.C.C. is notable for being one of the only Estonian OSDM acts to be outright Satanic, with demos Seven Rites and Per Mortem ad Astra not shying away from their namesake. As with Forfeit, many members of C.C.C. played in other groups like Monument, Aghor, and Forfeit as well. Seven Rights is fairly low-quality in production of demo, but Per Mortem ad Atra (1994) is worth checking out.
Vigilia Mortum - One of Estonia's weirdest bands also turned out to be one of its most successful - and it wasn't even death/thrash. Vigilia Mortum began in 1994 as Manuscript, changing their name two years later. They have been continuously active over the last twenty years, releasing four full-lengths, three demos, and compilation of early material. As with C.C.C., lyrics often focused on Satanism and the occult. Vigilia Mortum's earlier albums feature significant Finnish influence, starting off with relatively simplistic riffing that later became more and more off-kilter and unsettling as their career progressed into the early 2000s. Full-lengths Transformation to the Dust (1997) and Invoking (1999) are well-regarded within the Estonian death metal scene.

Death/Doom

Baltic death/doom in general is a highly diverse and active scene, with some of the entire area's most influential and commercially successful acts getting their start in death/doom. Estonian death/doom is no different, with bands like Obscured, Forgotten Sunrise, and Discrucior either going on to have considerable success or breaking up to see members go on to even more successful bands. In no small part is this due to Baltic death/doom often featuring pagan themes and folk music influences, much of which would play a part in the members' future bands. Estonian death/doom is sort of a microcosm of the greater Estonian OSDM scene, with an impressive amount of variety even within a comparatively small scene.

Whispering Forest - Hailing from Tallinn, Whispering Forest began in 1995, releasing several demos and a single full-length before breaking up in the early 2000s. Whispering Forest juxtaposed harsh death metal growls with female clean vocals. Keyboards were provided by the artist "Christ", who also played in Estonian black metal act Kalm. Forgotten Sunrise featured death/doom not too different from the Netherlands scene, albeit mixed with acoustic passages and interludes. Their full-length Of Shadows and Pale Light (1998) was re-recorded and remastered as Pale Light 2000 (2000); the former album is most recommended for those who like more raw production. Demos Last Sunset (1996) and Darkest Side (1997) are also recommended, especially the latter.
Forgotten Sunrise - Founded in Tallinn in 1992 and active ever since, Forgotten Sunrise began as a death/doom group akin to Whispering Forest and Discrucior before switching gears entirely in 1998 to play electro/industrial music, which has been their focus ever since. Thankfully, the band has not tried to erase their metal past, with demo Behind the Abysmal Sky (1993) and EP Forever Sleeping Greystones (1994) receiving several reissues compiling the two releases over the past two decades. The compilation Time Flies - Rare and Unreleased (2012) also features several metal-styled tracks. Behind the Abysmal Sky is heavy death/doom with some brutal and symphonic elements; Forever Sleeping Greystones takes the band into space. Both are worth grabbing, and with substantially good production given the dates of release.
Discrucior - Active for eight years from 1993 to 2000, Discrucior only released a single demo and an impossible-to-find promo cassette. Featuring members of Suppuration, C.C.C., Forfeit, and Dawn of Gehenna, Discrucior took the folkish influence of Whispering Forest and went hard in the direction of weird, abrasive death/doom. Vocalist Ank swapped between low death growls akin to Forgotten Sunrise and high-pitched shrieks like those found in black metal. Speaking of which, the demo Mundus Subterraneus (1994) features a cover "13 Candles" by Bathory.
Obscured - Predating Portal by almost a decade, Obscured played atmospheric death metal and death/doom with whisper-growls and experimental production. They released two demos and a full-length, all of which were compiled for the Pessimistic (2002) compilation.
Nekropol - Nekropol was founded in 1989 in Tartu, making it the earliest Baltic extreme metal band alongside Aggressor. It began as a traditional heavy metal band, switched to thrash metal, and then finally settled on a hybrid of black/death/doom in 1992. Despite the bands near-decade of existence, Nekropol released only a single demo - Messenger of Fallen Angel (1993).
Monument - Similar to Whispering Forest, Monument played death/doom metal with keyboards. Lasting only two years before dissolving, only one member played music again: guitarist Rain Pennert, who was a member of C.C.C.. Monument's discography consists of two demos: a self-titled (1992) and Inside the Inner Darkness (1993).

Closing Words

Owing to its exceptional place in history as a cultural, political, national, and economic crossroads, the Estonian death metal scene (particularly OSDM) is characterized by its variety rather than any consistent lyrical or compositional elements, although these may be distinguished into three loose categories. Estonian death metal is not tied to nationalism, self-determination, or blatant folk traditions like the Baltic black metal scenes; but it still incorporates an eccentric integration of Finnish, folk, and Western influences that make a distinctly Estonian sound precisely because it does not sound like anything else. Estonian OSDM is a scene defined by its rough, individualist approach to extreme music. One can only hope that renewed interest in the scene may facilitate the reissue of these fascinating releases that deserve recognition far beyond their homeland. BONUS: Contemporary Estonian Death Metal

I originally planned on this primer including the OSDM scene and modern Estonian death metal, but the more I researched, the more I wanted to focus on the eccentric weirdness that was Estonian OSDM. The OSDM part was also longer by virtue of it having so many strange bands that - although small and short-lived - significantly impacted the development of the scene. The contemporary Estonian death metal got crowded out, but for those who want to see what Estonia has been doing for the last fifteen years, this is for you.

As stated earlier in this primer, the second period of Estonian death metal roughly lasted from 2001 to 2009. Only a couple acts from the OSDM period continued to make music during this period, notably Vigilia Mortem. This period is typified by brutal death metal and melodic death metal, with death/thrash and death/doom almost completely disappearing from the scene. As with the OSDM phase, many albums were still self-released, although Nailboard Records and Black Mark Productions released several albums from Estonian bands.

Scavenger/Symbolic State - Scavenger started in 1999, the end of the first period of Estonian death metal, and played a mixture of black, death, and thrash metal. They released two short demos titled The Entrance (2000) and Goattrend (2001). The band changed their name in 2002 to Symbolic State, under which they released three more demos of straightforward death metal, notably By Abstract Words (2002), which was a full-length in all but name. Pick up that one and Keeper of Knowledge (2001), which compiles both of the Scavenger demos. Those two albums are the necessary ones within this period of Estonian death metal, although they are hard to find digitally.
Goresoerd - Started by Stig Lindeberg (formerly of Forfeit, Scavenger/Symbolic State, and Discrucior), Goresoerd started off playing a mix of HM-2 death metal and grindcore before adopting a groove/death hybrid. Goresoerd shows how contemporary Estonian death metal incorporates influences outside of Finnish OSDM, with a sound reminiscent of Exhumed or even Rotten Sound at times. Check out debut full-length Goremarket Mid-Prices (2007).
Catafalc - Like Scavenger, Catafalc began in 1999. They released three demos from 2001 to 2004 before dropping debut full-length Pain Performance in 2006, after which they released a split with Nihilistikrypt in 2007 and another full-length in 2008. Despite being listed as "active" by Estonian Metal and Metal Archives, they have yet to release another album. Pain Performance is brutal death metal with Suffocation influences.
Nihilistikrypt - Featuring a member of Catafalc, Nihilistikrypt plays the closest to Estonian OSDM in the vein of Misdeed than any other contemporary act. As with Goresoerd, this band is still active in touring and releasing music, with Serial Killer Diaries (2016) featuring Meriliis Ojamäe with female screams. Start with Required Sacrifices (2005).
Mass in Comatose - This band was founded after guitarist Sorts left Nihilistikrypt. Their only release is Sempiternal Nightmare Industry (2009), which plays similar OSDM-tinged death metal as Sorts' former band but with more influence from melodic death metal.
Human Ground - This band features members of Forgotten Sunrise, Aggressor, and Dawn of Gehenna - and manages to sound like absolutely none of them. Human Ground plays melodic death metal with very clear production that sharply contrasts it with even the 2001-2009 scene. Listen to the self-titled debut (2005).
Horricane - Horricane may be seen as the death metal follow-up to two of Estonia's most important black metal acts: Assamalla and Kalm. Horricane was formed in 2002 almost immediately after the break-up of those two bands. They played melodic, chuggy death metal with synthesizers, as on The Lynch-Lawyers (2005).
Neoandertals - Describing themselves as "barbaric experimental death metal", Neoandertals is a two-piece of bass, drums, and burping death metal vocals. Defleshing the Cadaver Before Burial (2007) is surprisingly popular.

The third period of Estonian death metal started in approximately 2014, with the Bandcamp platform making it vastly easier for artists to self-produce and publish their material. Even now, many bands self-release music or are signed to small independent labels such as RoundSound, Offense Records, and New Standard Elite.

Aghor - Aghor calls themselves a "death punk" band, it's actually a fairly good description. Debut full-length Necrolivonica (2014) features simple death metal riffings with a vocal delivery fitting punk rock.
Süngehel - Black, white, and red album artworks with baphomet are usually a hint of war metal, and Süngehel kinda-sorta fits into that, although it's far less chaotic than the tag usually implies. Süngehel incorporates dueling growling/shrieking vocals on Celebration of the Black Goat (2016).
Beyond the Structure - Brutal death metal really isn't that far away from any modern Estonian death metal act, as seen in the technical death metal leanings of Beyond the Structure on their self-titled debut (2014).
Deceitome - Deceitome is HM-2 death metal with a punk rock edge. Nil Humanity (2016) features artwork from Paolo Girardi, who has created work for modern death metal acts like Vastum, Chthe'ilist, Artificial Brain, and Inquisition.

BONUS #2: Estonians Being Goobers