05-01-2017 Amoral Farewell Show

[schema type=”event” evtype=”MusicEvent” name=”05-01-2017 Amoral” sdate=”2017-01-05″ street=”Tavastia Klubi” city=”Helsinki” country=”FI” ]

Text & photos by: Juho Karila

Amoral, one of the most notorious bands when it comes to the Finnish melodeath scene was something I was introduced to among the first bands of the genre, after discovering that my heart was black during my childhood years. The walk to the venue brought memories of the first time I saw Amoral supporting the legendary Norther at Nosturi back in September 2007. The band has gone a long way in 10 years, including dramatic lineup changes but back then Niko Kalliojärvi was still the singer and they were preparing to release their third album called Reptile Ride

As clock struck 21, the band presented themselves on the stage in their most recent form. This time the gig was opened with Rude Awakening and I was fully in my photographer mode and that makes me focus on 100% at taking the best photos so the first song went past without me even fully realizing it. That happened with the second one too, but it was nothing out of ordinary, the band seemed to be playing like it was just another gig for them. Only exception seemed to be the lack of energy they packed the previous time I witnessed the band.

As the set continued, the emotional discharge oiled the gears and the initial tension broke, making the band’s playing more relaxed; I can imagine there was the thought going on everyone’s head that this was probably the final time they’d be playing these songs together. The audience clearly seemed to like what they were getting and you could notice there were fans from both pre and post Ari Koivunen era among them, but it was only irrelevant because everyone had gathered together for the one very special night.

And the special night showed us many surprises, one of the most pleasant being the original guitarist Silver Ots joining the stage for a few older songs from those three first albums; once again invoking memories from the one show 10 years back, making me sigh mentally. Other reunion was with the bassist Ville Sorvali getting up onto the stage for the song Metamorphosis off of the first demo. I had never really cared about the band’s history so this was a really nice one that totally caught me off guard, and the band seemed to like their reunion, drawing energy out of eachother and playing with a smile. At this point I felt really honored to witness the night. The rest of the show’s visitors consisted of the previous members of the band, and there wasn’t anything but signs that they all appreciated the invitation to play for the very last time.

And that energy conveyed down to the crowd as well. There was a sense of belonging that made the night even more magical as the set progressed in a mutual consensus that this was a great way to end a chapter in the history of metal. The amount of cheering and applauds sometimes covered the band and people were singing along as the band put their full effort in making a night to remember, and not only as the end. The only thing, that has been bothering me for years already, is the passiveness of the clean-singer Ari Koivunen on the stage; energetic and aggressive music needs to show up on the stage. Otherwise I can’t say a bad word against the band nor the show.

Like all great stories, there was an end to this as well and I left the venue with a grin on my face and I regret that I spend too much time with my camera so I missed the chance to enjoy as much as I could, but I couldn’t be happier to write this review and sum up that Amoral got the end they deserved.

Thank you for all the years!

Setlist: Rude Awakening, On the Other Side pt.1, No Familiar Faces, Metamorphosis, Distract, Leave Your Dead Behind, Lacrimal Gland, D-Drop Bop, Mute, Decrowning, Showdown, Release, If Not Here, Where?, Sounds of Home, Same Difference, Wrapped in Barbwire, Dig Up Her Bones (cover), Exit, Beneath, Prolong a Stay