Location: Suvilahti, Helsinki (Finand)
A new year of Tuska was ahead in Suvilahti and a surprising set of bands were brought to Helsinki to play one of the four stages this year.
Lord of the Lost
Opener of this year was Lord of The Lost, which is no stranger to Tempelores as we have been reporting of them since the beginning. Through the years the band got their name out there and played several times at the Trashfest events in town. As the band reached great audiences while joining Iron Maiden for some shows they surely got some more fame by playing the Eurovision in 2023. Now they are at Tuska and besides playing all these songs we know from them, frontman Chris Harms also takes time to bring up some of the memories they have here in Finland such as the recording of their album and the previously mentioned shows. Of course we could not miss out of some “Blood and Glitter” to hype up the day and it shows exactly why these guys were perfect to open this edition. A bit of glam is perfectly welcome with your metal here in Helsinki so it is simply a great match.
I Am The Night
This year we asked our followers whether they wanted to vote for our schedule again or that they trusted us. It turns out you readers gave us full trust but still enjoyed indicating their favorites (which was an option also). I Am The Night was chosen with over 70% over Annisok which is would have been our choice as well so off we went to see some Black Metal on the bright afternoon. Now, a pre-party learned us that the dark hours are between 1am and 2am this time of year so we are seeing them at the brightest of time. Luckily they played in the tentstage, to add a bit more atmosphere to it. A bonus regardless the statement the name of this band makes. The band had a debut out in 2022 called “While the Gods Are Sleeping” and so the audience surely had some time to listen to their material and get familiar with it. A good amount of people chose to come and see these guys which bring in a good dose of evil from their performance. A theatrical lookout makes the band an instant win with the audience and combined with a confident sound they did well so early on the day.
Kollectivist
We make our way to the indoor stage where mainly smaller, local bands hit the stage. Kollectivist is the first we would see in there. The guys come from Lahti and have been founded in 2017. A few years ago they come to the band they are now and they have released a selftitled EP. They stated to be working on new material as we speak. The style of Metal the band makes tends to the Modern side with a strong melodic feel to it. An energetic dose of enthusiasm was shown as soon as the guys started playing. They were taking a few songs to have people engage with it, but eventually they found ground here. Perhaps we’ll hear more from them soon.
Alestorm
Now in many parts of Europe Alestorm split the visitors of festivals in direct haters and lovers. The Finnish audience seems rather mellow in the discussion and let the whole thing come to them calmly. The party metal that the guys, known from the big ‘rubber’ duckies onstage make is certainly making people happy, but we have to acknowledge that we have seen wilder crowds for this band. With songs like “Uzbekistan” and “Mexico” the guys take us on a trip around the world in their pirate ship, but the sea is not to rough, a smooth sail so to say. It’s an act that entertained people well, but did not set things in motion too much.
Infected Rain
After our interview with Infected Rain recently, where spoke in depth about their latest release it was a no-brainer to go see them. Luckily the Tempelores readers agreed to this and voted Infected Rain with 84% over Bloodred Hourglass to be covered by us. We are glad we did for the energetic performance of these four turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. Where vocalist Lena goes from a small and intimate sound to full on brutality in a split second, the rest of the band lays in their vehemence just as well, maybe on a more supportive role but never without effect to the sound. Tracks like “The Realm of Chaos “ were played at the beginning of their set and helped a lot to set things in motion. At some point the band asked everyone to get down and jump up, which was done throughout the whole tent. Newer tracks like “Because I Let You” are played also and seem to be welcomed equally to the audience here today. Infected Rain performs in full balance, music and energy but also the atmosphere are in good harmony. A great show.
Kerry King
Kerry King coming to the seen after Slayer quit surely was the talk of the year so far. The new album and more even, the artwork of it was a topic of discussion all over. Now he is on the road under his own name, bringing some good names from the scene along to support him. Surely a name to check out. Next to the songs of the beforementioned album, the guys also brought some Slayer tracks along to keep the audience happy, but must be said, they are towards the end of the set. Kerry King is the focus here. Now, with many experienced musicians on board you altready know you are not going to get a bad performance today. Question is, does Kerry King surprise us? The answer to that is not so simple. Performance wise: no. The movements and acting on stage is not really any different than what we saw with Slayer. The songs self are also quite in line with expectations and of course its brought with passion so yes we saw a good show. But it is not really something new whatsoever. That’s ok, just manage your expectations.
Suburban Tribe
Now Suburban Tribe lay much on the basis of this website, whilst no reader may be aware of that, a story we elaborated in our podcast already thus we’ll leave it for there, but it did make us excited to see the band getting on the stage. It is a comeback for the guys and also their original vocalist would join today for some songs. People were surely looking forward to seeing them as the tent was quite filled. The band started off quite calm. Not the wildest performance, making it somewhat static besides the pacing back and forth over the stage. The band is taking their time to built up a bit of a tension. A bit too slow for our liking as we kind of drift off a bit. Halfway they introduce their previous vocalsit to perform two tracks which seem a bit more intense. At the end the band plays their most known and most catchy tracks, but for us it was a bit too late. This performance is not really what we expected from it.
Dimmu Borgir
Earlier this year we saw Dimmu Borgir do an excellent set at the Inferno Festival, so we were eager to see them going at it again. The Symphonic Black Metal giants have something to celebrate, more than 30 years of existence by now. So for their set we were getting a good variance of their discography presented here today. The band is much more toned-down in their looks than previously but the they kept the focus more towards the music rather than the look the are bringing along. Not that this is completely gone, but just a different approach. It suits them well when you are aware of this and are putting your focus on the fine details that the guys are putting into their sound. Tracks that stood out in their set today are “Stormblåst” and the “Blessings Upon the Throne of Tyranny” for the way they were spiking up the energy here today. A good set of these Norwegians.
Zeal and Ardor
Zeal & Ardor acknowledge themselves that they are not the most stereotypical Metal formation and they are simply gonna do as they are used to. Going as avant-grade Metal they surely have a bit different sound along, but their popularity has been rising significantly in the past couple of years so it makes sense to have them here in the tent on Tuska. The guys have a diverse set here today, picking songs from the various albums they did through the years. The “Devil is Fine” release as well as their “Zeal & Ardor” album got perhaps a little more coverage which seems exactly what the audience was hoping for. Performance-wise these guys have a well thought thing going on here. Some pretty lightning enhances the show significantly and the guys have an enthusiastic stage presence to add to that. A show that turned out pretty well!
Pendulum
All the way from Australia, Pendulum came to close the first evening here in Suvilahti. Quite electronic for a festival previously known for its Metal. But well, Pendulum is bringing a mix of genres so in a way there is still some touch to that. Not too far for it appeared to be quite pop tonight. Nice to see the whole come alive though, for this musician does not always perform in this way. Some of the songs are being sung along by the audience, a lot of dancing going on but also some people who were not the biggest fan of this kind of sound. Maybe it was a bit daring having them headlining this night. The band self has it all under control. Visuals, lights, some explosives… they do everything to make it a spectacle here tonight. Not a bad show, but it feels somewhat out of place and maybe in the mix with the other bands on this day it was a bit too off. Can’t blame it on Pendulum though, but we have seen it significantly more crowded for a headliner at Tuska.
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