Concert Reviews - Ensiferum w/Tarujen Saari

What an unexpected night.

Juho and I went in (too early) for the Ensiferum show. After the last time I saw them, back in September, I was expecting sort of a similar thing - to run into lots of people I know, hear some awesome music, and have an awesome time. I can't say that's what happened.

I am sure there are a lot of things I could say about Tarujen Saari. Not many of them would be positive. But, I am a fan of talking, so I'll tell you anyways.

Tarujen Saari

For starters... stage attire? We have an undead bride playing violin that looks like she had an Evanescence music video puke all over her, and not in a good way (I have been known to like Amy Lee's style). Then there is the old-school rocker (with a terrible voice) who was in leather pants and a Tarujen Saari shirt. The singer had a goth/Morticia Adams thing going on in her too-tight fake corsetted dress with her hair shaped like boobs. Then there was a guy who looked like he wanted to be a pirate but just settled for whatever he had in his closet that was too big and full of bling, and an affeminate guy in a kilt. What the bloody hell? No symmetry at all.

Musically, the singer sounded like she might be able to sing but wasn't trying very hard to do it successfully. Musically, the only one of the musicians who had any style was the violinist, and I couldn't hear her half the time.

And then there was the random weird stuff that kept happening. Most of it was vocal, like weird laughter or vocal parts that either made us laugh hysterically, or cry. Here is a picture that pretty much says everything you need to know about Tarujen Saari.

Juho doesn't know whether to laugh or cry...

As for good old Enska... I don't know what it was. Maybe it was just me and the fact that I wasn't really in the mood for going out, or the fact that there wasn't a massive crowd of my friends like last time, or the fact that the crowd did consist of shirtless pasty 18-year-old dipshits... well, whatever it was, I didn't enjoy it that much.

The setlist was actually better than during the From Afar tour, because they didn't play either of the Heathen Throne songs and played more older favorites. I finally got to hear Lai Lai Hei live, for example. There were also some older favorites, like Victory Song, Token of Time, and more. They skipped Smoking Ruins, which I was a bit disappointed by, since it was on their setlist. The orchestral intro version of By the Dividing Stream was pretty wicked, I must say.

Ensiferum

As for live shows... I've yet to see them in their sexy Finnish flag kilts, but their stage set was really cool - Emmi had the shield and swords on the front of her keyboards, like always, and they were wearing their usual kilts (Pete's Ensiferum kilt is pretty awesome). What was unusual, was the addition of a viking-like guy on the left, carrying a sword and ale horn, and a mostly-naked "viking" in a fur diaper on the right. The purpose of these two were to do backing vocals and chants, and in the fur diaper guy's case, vocals on a couple songs (because Pete can't sing, I guess).

Now, viking-guy was fine and I had no problem, but I really had to question Aleksi Parviainen's attire (cuz that's his name - you may recall me making fun of his suck factor back in May of last year because he is the singer for Soulcage). The guy sets off my gaydar seriously, sticking his chest and gut out like he's completely overconfident in the most odd way possible. His hairy diaper and his fur "boots" (that looked more like someone strapped a dead animal around his feet than boots) were ridiculous. He looked like he had been wearing fur pants at some point but someone came up behind him, ripping the legs off, so there was nothing but underwear and hairy pantlegs bunched around his ankles. He did not look viking.

Aleksi (Soulcage) on vocals

And the things they had to do were a bit stupid. I was hoping to see them have some sort of small sword-fight during one of the songs, but I was not so fortunate. They just touched their blades together and walked away from each other. Booooring!

Aleksi did a good enough job on vocals for the song Vandraren (a cover of a Nordman song that appeared on the From Afar album. A sort of 50-50 moment for me was when they invited him back to do another cover, Battle Hymn. What I didn't initially realize was that it was a Manowar cover! I was torn between joy and amusement. Joy, because I love Manowar and think they are the funniest thing ever (though this is far from their best or most amusing song) and amusement because Aleksi couldn't sing it very well. He's got a bit of the Eric Adams going on, sure, but his voice was cracking in the big wails and his stage presence still annoys the hell out of me.

The only other thing I can think to mention is just that I am convinced Sami Hinkka (bass) was drunk out of his mind. He seemed unnaturally energetic and was running around and making faces like a complete madman. It was hilarious to watch but I wondered if it was a bit too much for Pete and Markus.

Sami looking insane

Overall, it's hard to see a bad Ensiferum show, but this was nowhere near as nice as the last one. I think a lot of it was just me, and the show itself was really good. Crappy crowds do a lot to ruin a show for me (even though I was watching from the balcony) and the opening band put me in a rather unforgiving mood - we even bailed out before the encore. I've seen Iron before and didn't care about the other songs. Still, gotta love Enska!

Setlist:

By The Dividing Stream (orchestral intro)
From Afar
Token Of Time
Deathbringer From The Sky
Elusive Reaches
Dragonheads
Into Battle
Smoking Ruins ~ not performed
Windrider
Old Man
Vandraren (Aleksi vocals)
Stone Cold Metal
Lai Lai Hei
Ahti
Battle Hymn (Aleksi vocals)
Blood Is The Price For Glory
Victory Song + outro
EC Tears (Kaisu vocals)
EC Twilight Tavern
EC Iron

Ensiferum ft Aleksi on vocals

Year: Mar 2010
Opening bands: Tarujen Saari
Who I went with: Juho
Location: Nosturi, Helsinki

Concert Reviews - Finntroll & FME

Trying out something a little different this time, since last weekend was a whole pile of concerts.

Finntroll

Let's start with Finntroll. This was the third time I've seen them now, and each time I've been to Finntroll, I've watched from a different place. The first time was in Calgary and I was on a small rise that keeps people out of the mosh pit but is still on the main floor. The second time was at the Virgin Oil Co. and I was front-row. This time I ended up being relatively directly in the mosh pit.

It is impossible not to be involved in the insanity when you are bordering the mosh pit at a Finntroll concert. You are either pushing the moshers back, or you are being pushed aside by people entering and exiting the pit. It can be irritating if you want to just watch the show but once you have accepted the fact that unless you move, that's how it's going to stay, it opens up worlds of fun for you.

The pit at this show was quite big. It took up almost the entire floor of Nosturi with sweaty shirtless men and crazy metal girls, all in there going insane. The music was upbeat and fast, with Finntroll all being drunk and high and having a good time on stage. They played the usual favorites, like Korpens Saga and Trollhammaren, but also played some new stuff, like Under Bergens Rot and Solsagan to make up for taking out some others. I was actually a bit disappointed that they removed Forsvinn Du Som Lyser and En Mäktig Har from the repertoire because they were some of my favorites and were awesome live.

As far as release parties go, this was a great show though. Everyone was having a blast, the crowd was insane, and the music was awesome. You can't ask for much more than that at a folk metal show.

Fintroll again

Year: Feb 2010
Opening bands: Armour, Barren Earth
Who I went with: Juho, Marc, Garance, Jari, Ilkka, and anyone else who was there!
Location: Nosturi, Helsinki



As for the Finnish Metal Expo, that was an interesting thing indeed. I've never been to a metal expo before. Promotional stuff everywhere, free/cheap CDs and singles, signing sessions, band members walking around everywhere signing and taking pictures with people who recognise them, interviews, and more. It's general madness and you can want to be in about three different places at once at times.

Korpiklaani

The first show I watched was Korpiklaani. We were a bit late arriving and they had already started. Holy hell, energy. Their songs are quite fast normally and they really cranked it up a notch live. The sound quality was too loud and rather poor as a result, which was unfortunate, and I felt like Vodka was actually too fast, truth be told. However, I also thought that some of their other songs were better at a faster pace, such as Saunas & Cottages. And they played all the obvious favorites, like Wooden Pints, and finished off with Happy Little Boozer.

They're a ton of fun to watch, too. Jonne Järvelä is the cutest man in the world with a great voice and his awesome dimples. Whenever he sings "here comes the womanizer" in Vodka I can't help but smile. The guitarist likes to shuffle around happily on stage and Jonne joins in with him sometimes. Their bass player has such a friendly smile as well; they all look so happy on stage (except the violinist, he looks very dutiful). It was a fun show and I'd like to see them play a real show sometime now!

I didn't watch much of anyone else on Friday but did catch a glimpse of Doom Unit. It didn't impress me so we didn't watch for long. We missed out on Satyricon and Amorphis because it was late and we were tired from Finntroll, wanting to save energy for Saturday.

Due to a late start, we missed Insomnium and the Finnish Metal Awards, but the winners were as follows:

Leverage

Band of the year: Insomnium
Record of the year: Insomnium
Vocalist of the year: Tomi Joutsen, Amorphis
Musician of the year: Alexi Laiho
Cover art of the year: Skyforger, Amorphis (Travis Smith)
Newcomer of the year: FM2000
Demo band of the year: Ghoul Patrol

Insomnium only played for 30 minutes, so it wasn't a huge loss. I've seen them about four times now anyways.

Juho and I checked out Leverage's 30-minute show (though I ducked out for a signing session for a bit of it). Leverage is just a ton of fun to watch live. They're so silly that it's awesome and I can never get over their singer's hair. It's too much. He must spend so much time getting it to look like that beforehand! It was fun though, as it always is.

Swallow the Sun

We caught the end of Swallow the Sun, which was about the same as always. Good music, good live show, but doom metal really has a hard time drawing me in live because it doesn't have a lot of energy. It's not the fault of the musicians - it's just the style. It doesn't mesh well with an active crowd and for me, it's the kind of music I listen to before I go to sleep.

The big ones of the weekend, of course, were Apocalyptica and Swallow the Sun. Apocalyptica was awesome. They played all sorts of favorites, like Bittersweet (instrumental) and had a guest vocalist whom I have so far been identify to name singing I'm Not Jesus and I Don't Care. They had Mikko come down from the drums and play the stand-up bass for the first time ever too, which was really something else. They played a slow instrumental that might have been a new song too. Their live performance is always so exciting, especially since they play such big instruments that require such immense control to keep a good sound. Phenomenal, as always. Something cool that I noted was the lighting in their show - it sometimes flashes back and forth so you can't see the drummer, and then switches so you can only see the drummer, and goes back and forth, creating a really cool effect with the music.

Apocalyptica - Mikko on bass

Apocalyptica - guest vocalist

And then there's Sonata Arctica. This was my third time seeing them live and I never get sick of it. Tony Kakko is always so engergetic and he was really talkative (though I had no idea what he was saying). They played the obvious favorites, like Don't Say A Word and Fullmoon, but threw in a whole lot of new stuff, like The Last Amazing Grays, Flag in the Ground, As If The World Wasn't Ending, and Juliet. It was awesome to hear some new stuff and the sound was great. The stage show was really exciting too, with fire and sparks and all that good stuff designed for the sole purpose of pumping you up (and totally suceeding).

Sonata Arctica

All in all, the whole thing was a blast. I met a ton of musicians, like the guys from Sonata, Apocalyptica, and Amorphis, got a ton of autographs and pictures, got to meet some of my heroes, like Tony Kakko and Marco Hietala, and got to see a couple of the guys from Swallow the Sun get really excited over my moth tattoo (which is their design). It was definitely a good time and I'd recommend it to any metal fan; especially those who are into the Finnish brand of metal!



Year: Feb 2010
Bands Seen: Korpiklaani, Leverage,
Who I went with: Marc
Location: Nosturi, Helsinki

Concert Reviews - Lacuna Coil

I've been waiting for this show for a very long time. I originally planned to go to Ontario to see it someday with my friend Chris, but since then I moved to Finland and he didn't want to come all the way here for one show (shocking).

Cristina Scabbia

Marc, however, was awesome enough to come with me. We were having a lazy night so we skipped the opening bands, got lost trying to find Nosturi and walked somewhere between 2-3 km out of our way (total) and ended up on the docks with no accessible easy way, so we had to go back. We still arrived with a good 15-20 minutes before LC went onstage, fortunately.

The show was really excellent. One of the first things we noticed was that the bassist was missing. In the end they mentioned that he had messed up his shoulder, which was a bit odd, considering that Andrea Ferro also had some stuff going on with his shoulder from an incident in Oslo, apparently. He had his arm in a LC scarf for a sling and seemed quite oblivious to it and didn't let it hold him back.

Andrea Ferro

However, as a result of the bassist being gone, they had to have a track play and therefore, the musicians weren't really able to let loose and have as much fun as I think they could have. So the show was a lot more focused on the vocals, which was okei because both Cristina and Andrea did quite well. I liked the fact that they didn't try to sound exactly like the do on the albums and had a bit of fun with it. They had a lot of stage charisma too, talking to the crowd, introducing the songs, that sort of thing.

I have to say one thing about Cristina Scabbia on stage. There are different ways a girl can act as a singer and sometimes it just doesn't work for a metal band. If you compare Nightwish's singers - Tarja Turunen was always rather still, raising her arms and looking sort of epic. Anette, contrastingly, dances around and looks sort of popstarish. Cristina is the happy medium between these two. She doesn't look like a popstar at all but she still moves around and has fun and rocks out a bit on stage. She was fun to watch and didn't annoy me in the slightest by the way she was acting.

The set was excellent too. I heard pretty much everything I was dying to hear, from as far back as they have good songs (Unleashed Memories). They had quite a long setlist, considering they only played for about an hour and a half. They had a change in the middle where Cristina came out in a lovely dress to sing my favorite of their slow songs - Wide Awake (you may remember as a song of the day from around when I moved here, and my general life anthem for a while). Then she changed again and they brought it back to life for the rest of the show, with four more songs and then three encores.

Cristina Scabbia - Wide Awake

Another fun moment was the "karaoke contest", where they stated that every night they play Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence and see which city sings the loudest. I think Marc won "loudest city" all on his own, heh.

Set List:
I'll Survive
Underdog
Closer
I'm Not Afraid
Fragments
Tight Rope
Senzafine
I Won't Tell You
Heaven's A Lie
Fragile
Wide Awake
To the Edge
The Maze
Swamped
Enjoy the Silence
EC - Not Enough
EC - Spellbound
EC - Our Truth


Overall, really excellent show. It would've been a bit better if they had maybe been able to loosen up a bit and have some more fun (if the bassist had been there) but otherwise everything was really solid. There was a lot of focus on the vocals and the singers were outstanding. Definitely a show I'd recommend checking out!

Lacuna Coil - whole band

Year: Feb 2010
Opening bands: Dommin, Blackstar Halo
Who I went with: Marc
Location: Nosturi, Helsinki

Concert Reviews - Tarja Turunen (joulukonsertti)

Tarja Turunen's Christmas concert... what an experience.

I had no idea what to expect from this show. To be completely honest, I didn't actually know it was a joulukonsertti when I bought my ticket; I thought it was her solo band. I was a bit disappointed when I found out I spent quite a lot of money on that sort of thing, considering I am notorious for HATING Christmas music. But hei, I never do anything festive and I've never seen Tarja perform before (not even with Nightwish, to break my heart), so I figured it would be something interesting, and I was not let down.

Tarja was performing her Christmas show with a percussionist, a guitarist, and an organist (is that a word?). The music was ridiculously well done, and I was really pleased by the Finnish Christmas songs. Maybe it's because I didn't know any of them, but the music was brilliant, the songs didn't annoy me like every Christmas song in North America does, and Tarja was unreal.

Her voice is crisp and perfectly pitched and just, mind boggling. She sounds so completely unreal, and it was cool to see her without all the other stuff. I mean, I love Nightwish and they are one of my favorite bands ever, and as I said, I'm crushed that I never saw them with Tarja, but this show was focusing on just Tarja, not on a band as a whole, so it was great to see what she could do.

Her musicians were also really cool. The guitarist looked like he could be quite the rocker but was holding back for the sort of... sanctity of the event. He looked like he was having an absolute blast though and was so into the music, having fun, smiling, and being a bit silly even. The percussionist was in complete control of all of his instruments - from the drums to the chimes, and just looked so practiced and confident. And the organ guy was so Phantom of the Opera that it hurt. And I mean that in the most awesome sort of way. Epic loud phantom-music, totally excellent.

Tarja looked absolutely beautiful, in her lovely black/red dresses and still managed to look a bit metal even though she was doing a fancy show (I'm glad I had the good sense to dress nicely). What was really cool though was that she took a couple breaks and let her band play. I expected some sort of festive music, and I honestly don't know what you consider "festive" in Finland but this was like, dark, ambient music and it was weird as hell and totally brilliant. I was really shocked and absolutely thrilled about it.

Even cooler, she did a Finnish version of Silent Night as an encore, which was nice because, as I said, I hate North American Christmas music but with the Finnish lyrics it was so much better. And her last song was Walking in the Air, and they had "snow" come out to fall around her while she sang, it was beautiful and SO cool to hear with her random assortment of instruments, not a band. Magnificent.

So, while I found the show a bit short, and a lot expensive, it was totally worth the experience and I would probably even consider going again. It was great to hear her at her classical-style best and I would recommend seeing her to anyone. She really is amazing, regardless or not of what you think of her character.



Year: Dec 2009
Opening bands: n/a
Who I went with: me, myself, and I
Location: Sibeliustalo, Lahti, FI

Concert Reviews - Riverside w/Ageness

Another weekend in Helsinki, another show to check out. This weekend we changed up from the usual melodic death or power metal I've been seeing to taste something I haven't tried in a while... progressive metal!

I have seen one prog show before, and if you read my reviews, you will know that I had been very unimpressed by Dream Theater's live show. Granted, I think that was just a bad night and would be willing to give them another chance because I think they're a great band. However, I went into Riverside with some skepticism because of this former experience with these long songs performed live.

We arrived a while after Ageness started. The band seemed to have some potential, but everyone seemed to be quite old and we got the vibe that the singer (who looked like Geddy Lee and Dio had a child together) was the master behind the band and the whole thing was his special baby. Shame it wasn't better. It wasn't bad but it got old after a while. It was pretty much the quintessential opening band. Good, but not great, and a nice choice to open for a band of the same genre but you know it's nowhere near as good as what you're about to hear.

So, Riverside. I heard about these guys because Michael's brother was really into them (which is surprising because, Opeth aside, he's not really the prog metal type). I have one of their CDs and I consider it to be a good CD but after a while nothing seems to jump out. It's good to have for a listen but nothing to go crazy over anyways. They are also the only Polish band I can name.

I have to say, with very low expectations of this show (and even a tiny bit of regret because the ticket was a bit pricey), I was really pleased that I had chosen to check it out. For starters, the music was really really good. Even when they played long songs (12+ minutes) it never got boring because it always changed up and it NEVER once sounded like the musicians were just showing off. The guitarist was sort of bouncing on the spot all the time and the keyboardist looked like he was enjoying himself. I really liked the vocalist though. Remniscient of Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth, he was awesome to watch live. He had a great sense of humor, joking onstage about singing and the length of their songs, and other such things. He had a great voice too... really smooth transitions between regular and high pitch, and he was just overall really fun to watch.

We were discussing the different bands we could hear in Riverside's music. I could definitely hear Dream Theater elements, as well as some new Iron Maiden style stuff, a bit of Deep Purple, and even a hint of Smashing Pumpkins at one point. The music was diverse, and interesting. It was powerful and melodic and mystical, like good prog metal should be. You got to hear all the members of the band doing their thing and enjoying it and having fun (including the keyboardist and a theramin, haha)!

I really have to conclude that I didn't have much or anything to complain about during this show. It took a while for the band to get the crowd into it but after a few songs, they really started to feel it and got more into it, rocking out and singing along (it really helped that the singer was encouraging and funny, making it easy to sing along even if you didn't know the words). The song selection was good (even though I didn't know hardly any of it) and much more diverse than the Rapid Eye Movement album alone... I even decided I'd look up more of their music because they had one song that they played acoustically that I really loved.

I would completely recommend this band, if you're a fan of progressive metal at all. It was really solid, really well done, and really impressive. Definitely a band to check out if you ever get a chance!

Riverside

Year: Nov 2009
Opening bands: Ageness
Who I went with: Marc
Location: Nosturi, Helsinki, FI

Concert Reviews - Swallow the Sun w/Insomnium

I finally made up for that missed show back in Calgary. STS was the last show I missed before moving to Europe. I pretty much didn't want to pay to see them open for a band I had never heard of, since I would have been paying $35 or so and STS isn't one of my ultimate favorites. So, I was pretty stoked to hear about STS playing at Tavastia for only 9 eu. My elation was increased when I discovered that Insomnium was opening (and if you read these reviews, you know that I love Insomnium).

Niilo, looking a bit like he's in pain

I was actually a bit late for the Insomnium show but I did manage to wander right up to the front and see one of my favorite live melodic death metal bands. I've reviewed them twice in the last month or two and I ensure you that the show was equally as impressive as it was each other time. The only difference is that Jules Näveri from Profane Omen was not at this show, so when they played the new songs, one of the guitarists was doing the clean vocals. He wasn't very good and I don't think he was feeling very confident singing them. However, you must make due with what you have. It was still awesome and would've been worth the 9 eu alone.

The girls in front of me left, leaving me right at the front for Swallow the Sun. I really didn't know what to expect from this show because I am not really big into doom metal and had no idea what a doom metal show would be like. I was pleasantly surprised.

Mikko looking dramatic

For starters, I sort of expected a really... boring show. Like, I expected everyone to be really dreary. I was shocked to see that not only were they all really into it, but they were VERY active and the two in front of me (Juha on guitars and Markus on keyboards) were particularly into it. Juha has a lot of style and Markus looks like he is angrily destroying his keyboard at all times. Mikko (singer) sort of passionately clutches his mic and growls and he's pretty excellent. The man has a great voice. The drummer from Wintersun is playing with them at the moment too and he's pretty darn good.

The music itself was not bad. Their playing was really clean and good. The sound was great but the vocals I found to be too quiet (though I'm not sure if that was due to me having earplugs or not) and they had a girl come in to do guest vocals on one song, which was really nice, but again, couldn't hear her well enough. I have no idea what her name was though. The song was 50% nice and 50% thrashy, so I was on the fence on it.

The set was nice, they didn't play anything too long, which was good, and they played a couple songs I did know, including Don't Fall Asleep. However, most of the stuff was off the new album (which has the most unfortnate name based on the fact that the new Twilight movie just came out). If you want to hear a fun story about my aquisition of a setlist, check out the latest post in Amy's Barbaric Adventures. Here are the tracks:

These Woods Breathe Evil
Falling World
Out of this Gloomy Light
Plague of Butterflies
Sleepless Swans
Lights on the Lake (Horror pt III)
Don't Fall Asleep
Servant of Sorrow
New Moon
EC The Giant
EC Swallow (Horror pt I)

Overall, I liked it. I'd probably go again if you asked me. I'd like to know the music better next time though.

Mikko and the guest singer

Year: Nov 2009
Opening bands: Insomnium
Who I went with: me, myself, and I; encountering Ilkka, Daniel, Jaakko, Valtsu, and Marko in the process
Location: Tavastia, Helsinki, FI

Concert Reviews - Stratovarius + Bonus

Yep... I saw Stratovarius. Are you as surprised as I am?

I made an evening trip into Helsinki to check out this show. I've had Stratovarius floating around on my iPod since I was 17 but I can't say I've ever really gotten seriously into the music. Something about Kotipelto just reeks of cheese and as much as I think he's a good singer, I get sick of them pretty fast.

Kotipelto

Stratovarius has had enough drama since its birth to pretty much qualify it as a soap opera. The most recent news involves Timo Tolkki's leaving of the band. Tolkki wrote pretty much all the music and there was some messy business over the name Stratovarius but it seems that the remaining members of the band hold no real negative feelings. They brought in a young guy by the name of Matias Kupiainen to fill in on guitars and are now writing their own music without Tolkki as the God and Overlord of the music.

I was really thrilled to see Kupiainen live. I've seen him in interviews and he seems like a really interesting guy. He was so happy and lively on stage. Everyone was, really. They all just seemed spot on with the performance, no stress, everyone happy... a far cry from what they might've looked like a year or two ago with the longevity of the band so threatened. I sensed a lot of freedom amongst them and fellowship though. They all looked comfortable playing together, like everyone was having a good time.

The song selection was also really nice. I'm not so fluent in Stratovarius-nese but I recognised Destiny, Hunting High and Low, A Million Light Years Away, and a few more. Actually, quite a few considering how very seldomly I listen to their music. And they threw in a bass solo and a guitar/bass duel too, which was pretty darn excellent, if I do say so. Mathias and Jens passed off beers and riffs to each other, and they were both all smiles! Somewhere in the night the keyboardist began to mess around too, and whatever the setting he plays on is, I love it and he's really phenomenal. I love his playing, it always sounds so sharp and reminds me of King's Quest games (which is a good thing).

Kupiainen

My complaint? Only that Kotipelto's voice wears me thin after a while. I think he's brilliant, it's just not so much my thing. I was also situated for the first while behind the most retarded couple in the room who were waaaaay too into it. Painfully so. Shamefully so. It made me a bit ill. But hei, whatever makes you happy right?

Overall, good performance, good music, good everything. If it's a bad you like, you'd probably love it live. I don't think I'd go again but that's because it's not really my type of music.

So of course I snagged a setlist, but this time I was stealthy about it and asked the soundbooth guy. He gave me the most hardcore eye-roll I've ever received, but what the hell do I care about that? Here it is:

Destiny
Hunting High and Low
Speed of Light
Kiss of Judas
Deep Unknown
Legions
A Million Light Years Away
-Jens solo
Winter Skies
Phoenix
-guitar/bass solo
Forever is Today
Twilight Symphony
Eagleheart
EC Forever
EC Father Time
EC Black Diamond

Stratovarius

Year: Nov 2009
Opening bands: nada
Who I went with: me, myself, and I
Location: Tavastia, Helsinki, FI


*BONUS REVIEW*

What? Behold! You are getting a second review in here today! Aren't you lucky!

So who is this mysterious band I am reviewing? The one and only Leverage! A cheesy old epic metal band from Finland and one of the best times I've had at a show in a while.

This is music for amusement, for laughter, for pumping your fist in the air, for holding up your lighter, and for banging your head! I listened to the music for an hour before heading to Helsinki and then headed to the show with my friends only to wait way too long for the band to come out. But we were greeted with an enthusiastic group who played rather ridiculous music in the most awesome sort of way. The singer looked like a gym teacher (which I believe I was told he actually was at some point) and probably spent an exorbitant amount of time getting the wings in his hair to look so sublime.

I won't go into detail. All I have to say was this was one of the funnest shows I've been to. The sort of show you see to get drunk and go crazy at. A good times had by all show. No one is judging because they're all laughing and having fun. If you see it, go, have a few beers, put your fist in the air, and rawk! You'll see what I mean!

Leverage!

Year: Nov 2009
Opening bands: nada
Who I went with: Jake, Juho, Jake's friends
Location: Dante's Highlight, Helsinki, FI

Concert Reviews - Insomnium w/Profane Omen & Omnium Gatherum

This may sound a little familiar... did I not just see this show a week or two ago? Yes I did, only last time it had a crappy thrash band and not Profane Omen. Also, I missed Profane Omen on Friday because my family went to Tahkovuori and I had to go with.

So, a note to all the readers out there... tonight marks a special occasion (sort of) - Omnium Gatherum now wins the prize for band I have seen the most times, sitting at thrice, and is tied with Insomnium for seen in quickest succession, since they're touring together.

Omnium Gatherum

Omnium Gatherum is always a treat to watch. I've figured out my issues with the band too. As always, the music was fantastic, Toni is growing a goatee now and I didn't recognise him at first, and Aapo looked less bored than last time.

My problem with them is that, while I love watching Jukka and his antics and ways of making the first couple rows smile, his voice isn't that great. With singers like Niilo Sevänen (Insomnium) to compare with, Jukka sounds like he's not well trained to do growls and gives off the impression that he probably has a sore throat and pukes blood after a show.

However, the show was great, as it has been the last 2 times I saw it, and I was pleased to see Jukka come down to the crowd and shake hands with everyone in the first row. He's such a personable guy. Loves the crowd, and I think that's a great thing. Shame his vocals aren't better.

Profane Omen - Jules Näveri

Profane Omen was next. What I had expected to hear was an acoustic show, but that was not the case. It was very loud. I actually got earplugs for the first time (mom should be happy) and I'm damned glad I did because something about the cement venue of Finlandia-talo (Finlandia house) is insane.

I haven't listened to much Profane Omen but I had intended to see them with Marc that one night so it was nice to get a chance to see them live. I was really really REALLY impressed with their energy; particularly Jules Näveri. He doesn't connect directly with specific people the way Jukka does, but he really gets in there and makes you want to put your fists/horns in the air and be part of it, getting everyone revved up. Oh, and they did wall of death. It was epic, but I stayed out of it.

The music was great - a bit thrashy but really solid. Jules has a great voice and his growls are pretty awesome too. He's a pretty good looking guy... got a bit of a Brad Pitt thing going on, only skinny and Finnish and metal, hah. They were all very active and put on a great show.

Profane Omen

One of the guitarists broke a string at one point so they did some little fun things to kill the time. I'm not sure what song they played to pass the time but it was fun. And the drummer got up and asked where his mom was (they're from Lahti) and then wished her happy birthday. It was pretty cute. As a side note, that happened in Finnish and I understood, so give me a few cheers too!

Insomnium - Niilo Sevänen

As for Insomnium, well, I openly welcomed another flawless performance. I spent a lot of time thinking about Niilo's vocals and wondering why I like them so much while other bands not so much. I've concluded that it is great because it sounds natural and effortless, and when you hear it, it's gentle and not overbearing. It flows perfectly with the music, and I adore it. Also, he dresses really nicely and it makes me happy - simple, but looks totally metal. Insomnium has to now be one of my favorite melodic death bands. Of course, that means that the playing was sensational as well.

What a bonus to be touring with the band that hosts your clean vocalist. Jules (Profane Omen, does the clean vocals on the tracks off the new album) and Niilo's voices just flow so beautifully together, making absolutely perfect harmony and Profane Omen's show had a lot of growls, so it's great to hear Jules with more clean vocals. The man has an unreal voice and he should use it more.

Insomnium with Jules

Their stage show is more laid back than Profane Omen's, but that's fine, the result is that they just look badass. Everyone has great hair to bang around as well. The only unfortunate part was that about half to three quarters of the way through the set they started to get some reverb in some of the songs.

Overall, spectacular show (again), and I just discovered that they're playing with Swallow the Sun next month, so bonus for me! That'll bring them up to tie with OG for band I've seen most, and I couldn't be more pleased with the fact!

Insomnium

Setlist for Insomnium:
Equivalence
Down With the Sun
Drawn to Black
Last Statement
The Harrowing Years
Where the Last Wave Broke
Medeia
The Killjoy
Lay of the Autumn
The Gale
Mortal Share
Devoid of Caring
EC The Day it All Came Down
EC Weighed Down With Sorrow

Year: Oct 2009
Opening bands: Omnium Gatherum & Profane Omen were opening for Insomnium
Who I went with: me, myself, and I
Location: Lahti - Finlandia-klubi (Finlandia-club)

Concert Reviews - Insomnium w/ Omnium Gatherum

Another weekend in Helsinki, another bunch of shows.

Before I get into Insomnium, I want to mention that I happened to catch Eternal Tears of Sorrow on Friday night with Jari and Ilkka. I can't say I know many (or any) of their songs, but it was a good show, unfortunately ruined by absolutely brutal sound quality. At the stage it was so loud it made your ears bleed and at the back you could only hear the drums. It was unpleasant. Stage show was good though and so was the music. Glad we opted to check it out.

So we went earlier than I had wanted to check out the show. I didn't know anything about Axegressor but Jake had told me that they were terrible. He was right. They were just really bad thrash. Anyone who knows me knows I don't like thrash, but I can at least appreciate a band that's got some style and that sort of thing. I don't mind Stam1na, for example. But this band was just plain with a pretty awful vocalist and I found myself thinking "mennä kotiin" the whole time.

Next was Omnium Gatherum. If you're following, you know I've seen these guys before once and I liked it. My latest decision about this show is basically the same but I have some new points to add.

Omnium Gatherum

First off, it was a good show, nice performance, and their music is quite alright - nothing mind-blowing but nothing offensive to my ears at all, making for an enjoyable experience. Jukka Pelkonen is a rare type when it comes to fronting a band too. While he can look a bit ridiculous onstage, I appreciate that he is always REALLY into the show and does his utmost to connect to every person in the crowd, searches out the person who isn't smiling and MAKES them smile, and gets right in there (even literally at one point) to get the crowd going.

The rest of the performers are also great. However, we were noticing this time around that Aapo (keyboards) did not seem to be doing that much and even seemed bored at times. He was, of course, still rocking out, but I felt like every time my attention was drawn to him that he wasn't playing much.

Omnium Gatherum

OG is just one of those bands that I can watch to put me in a pleasant mood. Something about seeing a show by these guys puts a smile on my face.

Insomnium was the main attraction, of course. When I had mentioned the consideration of going to this show, my friend Valtteri told me I should listen to Insomnium because they're great. A few other people seconded his notion, so I decided to do it, and I was really pleased with what I heard. Their last album was very highly acclaimed and their newest album really captured me, so I became really enthusiastic about this show. And I was certainly not disappointed.

Insomnium

We were watching from upstairs on the balcony across from the stage, where the sound quality wasn't at its prime but wasn't too bad either. I have to give utmost praise to what was an absolutely flawless performance. The vocals were incredible, the music was well played, the performance was outstanding, and Jules Näveri (Profane Omen) stepped in to do the songs from the new album, Across the Dark, which really pleased me considering I am really loving their new album. That guy has a great voice and really flows well with Insomnium.

Insomnium w/ Jules

The set was also incredible, with some favorites, such as a recent song of the day of mine, Where the Last Wave Broke. Another cool thing was that they played two intros... Equivalence to open up but also The Gale into Mortal Share (Mortal Share being one of the songs I was dying to hear). The encore was performed after a surprisingly short wait (that's a good thing in my opinion, I hate waiting 5 minutes for an encore to start) and they performed two more songs before finishing up.

Overall, outstanding performance, with Niilo Servänen's vocals and stage presence really creating good and solid union with the rest of the band, for a spectacular show.

Insomnium's setlist:
Equivalence
Down With the Sun
Drawn To Black
The Killjoy
Daughter of the Moon
The Harrowing Years
Where the last Wave Broke
The Lay of Autumn
Medeia
The Gale
Mortal Share
Devoid of Caring
EC The Day It All Came Down
EC Weighted Down With Sorrow

Insomnium w/ Jules

Year: October 2009
Opening Bands: Axegressor and Omnium Gatherum
Who I went with: Mikael, and met up with Markus and Valtsu
Location: Helsinki - Nosturi

Concert Reviews - Amorphis

I missed Amorphis twice this year. I'm not sure why that was such a big deal to me considering I never got big into their stuff. I like them and they've got great music though, so when I was hungover and passed out and didn't wake up until their set was half over at Nummirock I was pretty bummed. And at Ankkarock my friend wasn't ready to go on time so we were too late for that performance also.

I saw that they were playing in Hel in December so I had planned on going and this weekend I was supposed to see Amon Amarth playing in Tavastia. Unfortunately for me, by the time I went to get my Amon Amarth tickets, they were sold out. I did manage to get the last available ticket for Amorphis a week later though but that meant going solo (something I am getting more comfortable doing).

So, opening bands were Amoral, whom I've seen once before and am on the fence on the whole Ari Koivunen thing, and Before the Dawn, whom I tend to enjoy and watched a bit of at Nummirock, so I was relatively pleased with the lineup for this show.

I found myself a nice spot on the rise right at the front before Amoral started playing (after having a nice visit with Ilkka at merch) and prepared for the show. What I was not prepared for was the crowd.

Amoral, first song

Before I get into this, let me explain something about myself. I go see bands for the music. I enjoy watching live shows even if the music isn't my favorite. I just like seeing performances and taking pictures and that sort of business. What I do not like are groupie poser girls who slut up the scene and make the girls who actually like the music look bad. And that's pretty much all you're gonna find at an Amoral show these days.

Ari Koivunen

Don't get me wrong, Amoral's music is quite okei, but I can't comment too much because I don't actually know any of their songs. I also don't know what their old vocalist was like. I will admit though that since my last review of them, Ari seems more comfortable with the music and he didn't seem nearly as out-of-place as before. They sound good, they look fine on stage, and whatever you may think of Ari Koivunen, the guy has a voice. But I have to wonder if he hates himself for going on Finnish Idol because the only people in their crowd were slutty 15-year-old groupie wannabe sluts and little boys who want to be like him. It made me nauseous. It made me ill. It made me never want to see them play again (regardless of how much I love their drummer and his vinyl pants). Particularly annoying were two girls right near me who were trying way too hard and took off their shirts to try and get some attention. Because they think that their bras are going to impress Koivunen. Seriously. If you're gonna be a poser slut, at least have the guts to show your boobs.

Amoral full band

After that was Before the Dawn. I know they're not everyone's favorite but I think their music is okei and I like the bassist's voice combined with the vocalist's growls. The music was really good. They played a few songs I really like, a few more that I recognised, and a few ones I didn't but it was a good show. I have to say again that I really like Lars Eikind's voice. He sings quite nicely.

Lars Eikind (clean vocals and bass)

The thing that made me the happiest about their show was the drummer though. If I recall correctly, he is just a touring drummer but he had this ridiculously huge grin on his face the entire show and every time I looked at him I just couldn't help but smile also because he just looked SO happy. A couple songs I recognised, for interest's sake, were Disappear, Faithless, and Deadsong. My biggest problem, and this was unfortunately with all the bands, was that the vocal quality of the main vocalist was not very good from where I was sitting.

Before the Dawn

Little intro to a side-story... I asked the security guy (who was very nice) if I could have the set list for the show and he asked the stage crew guy, who said no. Jerk. To be continued.

Tomi Joutsen, Amorphis

I know you really want to know what I thought of Amorphis though. I can see right through you! Okei, well, bear in mind, like I said, that I actually don't know much of their stuff (like all the bands this night). But the performance was brilliant. Really brilliant. Tomi Joutsen is a tiny little guy who is completely ripped and has a really strong and proud stage presence. Like, the guy is a massive aura of confidence, but he doesn't project himself like a douche. And what a voice. He has a really lovely singing voice combined with solid growls, making such a really wonderful overall show. And my lord that man's dreadlocks are long. Really long. Like, a few of them are down to his knees (granted, as I said, the man is very short).

The stage performance was great. The line-up is really solid, with a couple guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums. Tomi had a sort of a 50s-style mic, which was kind of cool. Everyone looked like they were having fun, playing confidently, and enjoying the sold-out crowd. I've said that I don't know that many songs by them, but they played the ones I know, including The Smoke, Silent Waters, and House of Sleep. There were a couple others I recognised too but didn't know the names of, which was nice.

Continuing my setlist tale, after the show one of the crew guys (possibly the one who shot me down before) grabbed a couple of set lists and handed them out to the crowd. The security guy was totally going to take one for me but the nasty old woman beside me snatched it first like a seedy gremlin. I am pretty sure she was actually cackling and drooling too, in the sort of Gollum "my precious" way. But when I was in the lineup to leave, he came back to the other side of the stage with two more setlists and no one noticed him but me so I went up and he gave me one. So here is the set from the show:

1. Leaves Scar
2. Towards & Against
3. On Rich and Poor
4. Sampo
5. Castaway
6. The Smoke
7. Majestic Beast
8. Alone
9. Silent Waters
10. Against Widows
11. Silver Bride
12. Sky is Mine
13. My Kantele
EC House of Sleep
EC Black Winter Day

All in all, I was really pleased with the show, I'm more interested in listening to Amorphis now, and I would definitely go back to see them again. This completely made up for the fact that I've missed them twice over the summer. Oh, and how can you go wrong playing Eläkeläset's Vaivaistalossa as your outro track? You can't!

Amorphis

Year: Oct 2009
Opening bands: Amoral and Before the Dawn opened for Amorphis
Who I went with: me, myself, and I
Location: Helsinki - Nosturi