19 March 2024

04-11-2022 Hellsinki Industrial Festival

Location: Ääniwalli, Helsinki (Finland)

The main festival took place in a different venue. It is called Ääniwalli and it has two halls available for the festival.

The night starts in the smaller stage, bringing us the first act under het name of Div Mod. Armed with a nintendo we are getting an aggressive and energetic chiptune experience. With a fluorescent background and a group of people watching it with care it seems that this act is succeeding their attention and get the party started. What we liked from Div Mod compared to other nintendo-based acts we have come across through the year is the energy he puts into it himself. To diverge from a static act and to live the sound alive it makes it

Moving towards the larger hall we meet Siva Six in a colorful surrounding. The venue is well decorated in style which gives the whole a nice dynamic. The Dark Electro formation has their background in Greece. We are getting told we must be seen dancing and with that being said the set brakes in. A heavy but quite clear voice on the backing of melodic tunes that increasingly intensify is bringing us to a decent start here as well. Siva Six has released their album “Black Will” about a month ago and certainly has something to show us here tonight. It is a re-release so the long time fans are familiar with these tracks.

Back to the smaller area, King Satan is awaiting us. When we saw the band earlier this summer at Tuska we noticed how packed the venue was so we knew what we were awaiting. The band has some dedicated group of fans, some of them camping in the front early to catch them from closeby. For those who don’t know them, the band says to make Industrial Metal and with some well-thought stage presence they certainly capture the attention of many.

Earlier this year their album “Occult Spiritual Anarchy came out and it seems the band has good success with it. With their energetic show we may see them get abroad any time soon. What we liked specifically that not only their charismatic frontman is in the spotlight but even their keyboardist comes out and claim her moment in the center of attention. Well done!

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The flamboyant Freakangel has not the least of trouble to reel people into their show. The band has their base in Estonia and most recent they released an EP called “The Last White Dance”. Their music is highly danceable but does not cease any vehemence either. Industrial Metal with a certain theatrical edge is we are seeing here today and when the venue fills up even more the band plays their songs with flair. Their front man kicks round every once in a while letting the energy be channeled in a defined way. It speak for them that throughout the set they still manage to bring some variation, which we feared at first could be a thing that let us become more idle in our live experience, but nothing of such, a good show!

Mechanical Vein is hitting the smaller stage with their drum and bass influenced sound. The British duo is catching the eye with their equipment but for the music it takes a bit before we catch the vibe. It seems a bit chaotic, going back and forth. The guys bring in some guest which makes it more interesting and somehow even more complete. As we did not feel this one too much we left after about half their set was played.

Faderhead we have seen some times around, mainly our reporter Nina was writing upon them but today it is upon me, Sabine, to photograph and look at this act. The band says to have their first show in Finland but the band is certainly not unknown with the audience here. We are now going a bit more heavier into the electro side here and that makes the people more in the mood to take a little dance. Classics as “Fistful of Fuck You” are hitting well here today. The latest Faderhead full length got out in December 2021 but with a Halloween single out recently there is still something new to be found for the fans.

While it is getting a bit crowdy out there we deciced to stick around at the mainstage to make sure we could properly see Suicide Commando. Now, we have photographed and seen this band for many years, probably since 2006 for this magazine even. Yet to see a full set is rare thing for a photographer so happy to camp a bit. The Belgian Johan is eager as always and with the first rows dancing from the beginning of the set it promises to be a good one tonight. We are witnessing a wild energetic show. Mic stand flying all over, coming up close to the audience and grabbing some hands here and there. Eventually Johan jumps over to join the audience in some dancing pit in front of the stage. Full blown energy. Suicide Commando has decades of live experience on their name and shows how it is done here tonight!

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