03-07-2016 Tuska Festival

[schema type=”event” evtype=”MusicEvent” name=”Tuska Open Air” sdate=”2016-07-01″ edate=”2016-07-03″ street=”Suvilahti” city=”Helsinki” country=”FI” ]

The last day of Tuska already and we are facing a day that seems short on paper but had a whole bunch of quality bands waiting.

Block Buster may not have attracted too big a crowd in kicking off the main stage of day three, but they did generate a big cheer. Possibly one of the lighter bands playing at the festival, they oozed out their rock ‘n’ roll with gusto and were lots of fun to observe. Nothing too crazy happened during their time spent in front of us, they were good musicians and played a solid mix of modern and classic style tunes, but the enthusiasm kind of ends there! Honestly I would go see them again if they were playing their own show, but maybe in the early hours of the metal festival environment, they got a bit swallowed up. The only problem with this is that, being from Kuopio, the opportunity might not come up for many European followers to see them outside Finland, even though all of their songs are sung in English. Get out there lads!

The term “omnicide”, for those not aware, refers to the extinction of the human race as a result of the human race. So I was expecting to be beaten, bruised and terrified on entering the set for the underground thrash-meets-death metal sound of this Finnish band. And yes, they flailed on stage to the beat of their own drum, aggressively playing their instruments with every bone in their bodies and forging circle pits in their dedicated audience. Bassist Simo Perkiömäki in particular dominated their small space allowed to them and so much so even had his lead come out within minutes.

But the funny part? They did it all with beaming smiles on their faces and instead of putting on some gloomy serious façade, they didn’t hide that they were having the time of their lives and loved playing to a live audience. Afterwards the crowd departed happily grunting and and growling to themselves, which I presume is their fans’ equivalent of bro high fives.

So after the photowork is done for a band people can often see us reporters sitting around listening, watching… or playing with the phone. Most of the time it is about live reporting, or taking notes, but in the case of Myrkur it was something else. During the concert I really had to urge to check if the local recordstore had any vinyls of this as we knew the merch stand doesn’t have music. Bad luck, takes a few weeks, but it is the best way of saying that this lady and her band convinced very well.

The contrast between the gorgeous clean singing and the deeper dark vocals that come from her as well is a rare thing and with the white dress she is wearing she could be seen as an angel or the seduction the devil has send you. An nice addition that fulfils the atmosphere that is created by the music they make. All around us people watched it in awe, so the best advice we give: August 19. Mark it in your calendar… pre-order… sleep in front of your localmusicstore… but DON’T FORGET TO GET THE NEW MYRKUR!!!! Black Metal with class!

Complete with fake blood and body paint, Morbid Vomit came on to the Inferno stage with a mission – to start a mosh pit and rock it. Their fans genuinely seemed to have their own brand of dancing and moving to the in-your-face death metal maniacally, and it was pretty entertaining too! Almost more so than the band who might have lacked a little stage presence, but overall their songs were engrossing and I enjoyed the show. The last song was particularly my favourite; “Another One To Die”, but they also played “Engulfed by the Plague”, “Demented Collector of Severed Heads”, “Necrotic Revelation” and “The Seed of Human Scum”. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?! Perfectly suited to their surroundings, I thought they held their own quite well and maybe just have a little more refining to do on stage.

Some bands have bad luck. Hatebreed being one of them as the rain was pooring down seriously when the guys were entering the stage. Resulting in a rather empty field, but some die hards were still there to see them. And the band did not seem to care too much. Good they were staying a bit further away from the edge, the energy was there. A big smile on their faces and the joy they had was certainly making it worth watching.

Hatebreed is one of the bands you have seen somewhere and then you know what they are up to. Always giving good shows, but not really changing radically through the years, so what we got to see from them was maybe not something new. But kudos for being so enthusiastically, because that combined with some tight played songs will convince those in doubt and give the fans worth for their time in rain!

Another surprise for today. Nervosa, the lady Thrash trio is hitting the stage today and although it too us to the release of the second album “Agony” recently to have heard from them, the band stirred some curiosity. And a wise decision it was to put these ladies on my schedule, because I have respect for them ladies knowing their game. Playing some steady and solid set with this vehement edge in their sound the ladies builder over their audience, but with touch of their own.

Thrash is a genre that stumbles over the ‘sounds-likes’ so it is very refreshing to have the girls here do their thing. Giving also an energetic show in which the three of them each has an equal share they give us a well-balanced experience that will stay in memory long time. Horns up for the ladies, welcome back anytime!

After the long-awaited release of their 2015 album “Silvër Horizon”, Diablo had a crowd waiting for them that made me think Tuska is going to have to get more space somehow for next year! Creating lots of audience engagement, the Finnish melodic death metal crew were lucky to be playing under a tent as the rain came down. With their jukebox-appearing amps and nuclear mic, there stage design was simple and effective while their set list was explosive and commanded attention.

The vocals of Rainer Nygård are so varied and far-reaching that you can’t help but be impressed, and he did demand screams from his audience which reminded me of just how many people were here for them and actively engaging. As for their guitar details decorating each track, I could listen to them all day just for that, but the band collectively performed impressively and are definitely getting stronger with time.

Gojira wowed us already before at Fortarock, having an amazing lightshow to finish it with. Lightshow was a bit hard to see as Helsinki in summer is rarely dark but we were up for a great show anyway. The band recently released the album “Magma” recently but the set was not only for these songs. A good selection of their discography was made. Yet, it must be said that these knew tracks are addressing you more directly than anywhen before. The band hits you, you personally and with a dose of passion that comes from them it is easy to let yourself go and get into it.

After their successful performances for days one and two, Swallow the Sun wrapped up their three-part showcase of their “Songs from the North” release at the Inferno stage. Displaying different moods for each set, this last one had the stage littered with sixty candles and consistently low light.

Stagnant, moody and serious, the members stood at the front of the stage staring straight ahead and never broke their concentration. That is however until keyboardist Aleksi Munter almost knocked his red wine when reaching for it during a song break, reminding me that they’re actually human and not stoic doom Gods after all. Offering a completely engrossing and hypnotic experience for the audience, their onlookers stood in a trance and waved with the music. With such calm and heaviness in the air, as the tracks built and gathered momentum, their eventual climaxes were incredibly effective and almost a relief to hear. Definitely a stand-out performance at this year’s festival.

Katatonia is a band that can hardly do wrong. The Swedes have played the festival before and today they were in the tent, which benefits the show a lot. They opened with some tracks of “The Great Cold Distance” which came out a bit raspy, vocals weren’t that steady but it took only a bit to improve on that. After that some more of the latest release of the band “The Fall of Hearts” was played. Most of the songs are well known by the audience and some were singing along. Comparing this show to the previous performance at Tuska some years ago the band is definitely better on its place in the cosiness of the tent. They played a good show today.

With a bit of stage fun, jovial banter, slews of fire and that reliable Finnish metal sound, you have the ever-precise Children of Bodom welcomed back to Tuska once more. As the final performers of the weekend and occupying the main stage, they erupted confidently and energetically on to their decorated set and lapped up the screams and enthusiasm from the crowd. They played a varied set list including “Downfall”, “In Your Face”, “Hate Me” and the catchy Ramones cover “Somebody Put Something in My Drink”.

Welcoming Ensiferum’s Netta Skog on stage, who won Finland’s 2006 Golden Accordion award, we also heard the track “Lake Bodom” from their 1998 album “Something Wild”. Netta wasn’t the only guest on stage, as they wrapped up their slot by inviting die-hard fans from the crowd to join them and bring the festival to a close. Cue erratic dancing and one last push of glory for the staple band, and with that the sun had set on the festival. Of course the bill chose a group as reliable to Children of Bodom to take on the task of ending on a good note, and they certainly did.

Reviewed and photographed by Aoife DT:
Block Buster, Nuclear Omnicide, Morbit Vömit, Diablo, Swallow The Sun, Childeren of Bodom

Reviewed and photographed by Sabine van Gameren:
Myrkur, Hatebreed, Nervosa, Gojira, Katatonia

Link to day 1
Link to day 2