Special report by Mark Gromen

It’s 9:30 AM. There’s no gin on the plane, so people are reduced to wine and beer. Can you guess where I’m headed? Helsinki, for the fifth installment of an international gathering meant to highlight Finnish metal through conferences, trade shows and nightly performances at various clubs. However, after several successful years, the ’09 version showed some cracks. The number of foreign delegates was down. Many familiar faces went missing. Perhaps they felt they’d seen me and others too many times already. Is it the result of the tough economy? In part, but unlike past events, the lack of a big name (outside) headliner certainly diminished the draw - OPETH and ENTOMBED came to town the next night, with kids undoubtedly saving their Euro cents for that separate gig.

The homegrown ENSIFERUM headlined Friday and neither Andre Matos (ex-ANGRA/ex-SHAAMAN) nor Alestorm (both listed as Saturday’s final acts) seem “big” enough. Compounding the situation were new after-hours options at Tavastia and Dante’s. Both nights, these separate (admission) shows began BEFORE the roster had ended at Cable Factory. The club idea might work, offering more diverse sounds, with less overlap (start later, or end the main show earlier), but certainly not when it’s an exclusive gig. Easily could have had some “local” favourites keep the party vibe going by switching Ensiferum or even BEFORE THE DAWN to the clubs and have DEATHSTARS and SABATON on the main stage, for all to see. It’s not like Deathstars necessarily cut into Ensiferum’s crowd, but the sold-out show certainly siphoned off the curious, the backbone of these multi-day events. Since it’s impossible to know/like EVERY entity, being exposed to new/unknown outfits (while not paying anything extra) is important for sustaining the growth of this program and the bands themselves. While Matos finished his show 30 minutes before (stylistically similar) Sabaton took the stage across town, there might have only been 100 people watching the Brazilian at midnight, on a Saturday!

So after amusing anecdotes about the perils of touring South America and a bull session about the decaying state of the music biz (concerns raised from around the globe), it was on to the music. That’s what drew us all there to begin with. Both Amoral and former Finnish Idol winner Ari Koivunen had been on the bill, separately, a few years back. In a move that smacks of desperation, on both sides, the two have joined forces. It certainly has brought more young women to Amoral’s cause, if that was the plan. Koivunen has let his hair grow, long enough that an onstage wind machine can be employed, to blow his mane seductively for the ladies. In addition to the A and B sides of the new ‘Year Of The Sucker Punch’ single (backed with tonight’s set closer, ‘Dig Up Her Bones’), the crowd heard predominately material off Reptile Ride, but also (apparently) forthcoming newbies ‘Perfection Design’ and ‘Gave Up Easy’. The band remains an aggressive thrash/death hybrid, but now a bit more melodic, thanks to the Idol’s delivery. OMNIUM GATHERUM followed, increasing the intensity, especially frontman Jukka Pelkonen. About half the set was lifted from last year’s The Redshift, including the opening ‘Nail’ (the position where it also resides on album), ‘No Breaking Point’, ‘Shapes And Shades’, ‘The Second Flame’ and the ‘Chameleon Skin’ finale.

Friday wisely didn’t begin until 5pm, giving the working public a chance to take things in too (that’s how mainstream the music’s appeal is, not just for kids or unemployed/underemployed losers, as the stereotype goes). Grendel had the “pleasure” of kicking things off. Delivered by a long-haired, bearded frontman, the growled vocals belie the melodic, highly infectious brand of death (utilizing keyboards, yet retaining two guitarists), which the band have been plying since 2000. In addition to ‘One Desire’, which leads off their new platter, there was also the more straight-ahead heaviness of ‘Propaganda’. The short set proved they’re a band to watch, apparently getting quite the promotional push too, as the next day I saw a bin of at least one hundred A Change Through Destruction digipaks on sale at the local food market (which didn’t offer any other CDs). There’s that Finnish mainstream angle again!

In addition to the main Cable Factory stage, half the room devoted to over-21 bar area, there’s the main industry expo hawking musical equipment and labels giving away goodies while unsigned bands try to hustle a buck. There’s a second, smaller display area propagated by magazines, clothing companies and the odd peddler of used CDs. This second room contains the Musamaailma stage, under-utilized in ’09 with just sporadic instrumental showcased (STRATOVARIUS’ bassist Lauri Porra displayed his jazz solo work) and the odd band. Sadly, the amazing DARK THE SUNS played a virtually unannounced (under-publicized - shame on you Firebox!) spot prior to MISERY INDEX. Featuring females on keyboards and a barefooted bassist, the fivesome should have found their way onto the main stage (only six bands overall on Friday!) or one of the club after-shows. The atmospheric dreariness of the as then unreleased It Ends In Silence material was offered up as a teaser, as well as songs from the also mesmerizing In Darkness Comes Beauty. I look forward to our next meeting, under more band-friendly circumstances.

The grass is always greener on the other side motto played itself out when it came to Misery Index. Finns packed the room to see the American outfit. They were followed by the doomy Swedish trio GRAND MAGUS. Iron Will took the #2 spot in my Best of 2008 poll, so needless to say this live debut was highly anticipated. Like the descendants of BLUE CHEER (three guys, simplistic drum set making a racket), the Swedes alternated between Iron Will’s opening ‘Like The Oar Strikes The Water’, ‘Shadow Knows’ and the title track around the back catalog. ‘Wolf’s Return’ and ‘Ulvaskall’ play up the heavier/doom aspect of the band’s repertoire, as opposed to the NWOBHM elements on the new disc. Couldn’t mistake Janne (JB) Christoffersson’s loyalties, in bullet belt, Flying V guitar and vintage VENOM t-shirt. He even joked about taking requests. “’Stairway To Heaven’ anyone?” Good stuff.

Blake’s likeminded, bass-heavy stoner vibe paled in comparison to the Grand predecessors and CHAOSWEAVER appears to be the province of a Christ-like figure replete in studded hockey goalie mask right out of Mad Max. Not much in the way of stage presence, posing for photographers as he tilts his head from side-to-side and stuck his tongue from the protective plastic. Ensiferum once more energized the crowd, if only because so many school kids were obviously there solely to see Petri Lindroos’ bunch. Sporting similar war paint on cheeks and Xs on foreheads, they sang along with a luster often reserved for non-homegrown talent. Sadly, I had to leave early, to catch the shuttle, hoping to get a glimpse of the phenomenon call Deathstars, at Tavastia.

Already packed to the gills, my only sightline was from the upstairs walkways that ring the tiny club. Entering with the preconceived notion I’d be hating the music, I decided to give them a try nevertheless (already here, doesn’t cost anything and everyone’s got a story about some band they loved/hated on record that ultimately pulled a 180 degree turn onstage). The bastard child of club-era MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEPECHE MODE, if early ‘80s Crüe had gone for pancake make-up and goth/dance machine rhythms, it might look/sound something like this. The low-slung guitars, synchronized stage movements and asymmetrical mops of hair are all here. The room filled with bubbly girly squeals (not all of them feminine) at the conclusion of each song. Seen enough, tomorrow’s a long day!

The last day of any multi-day event is similar, plowing through the vendor tables for the umpteenth time, vainly hoping you (and everyone else doing the same) bypassed some low-priced gem repeatedly. For that reason, the festival needs to offer “more” and by starting at 3pm, with eight bands (many of them from overseas and in Finland for the first time), the organizers accomplished that. There were also more signing sessions with stars like Tuomas Holopainen (NIGHTWISH mastermind) and members of Korpiklaani, as well as attendance by the likes of AMORPHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen (no relation) and THUNDERSTONE guitarist/producer extraordinaire Nino Laurenne discussing their upcoming albums (Thunderstone has newly signed to upstart Playground Music). To get fans in early (helps vendors’ pockets, as well as the bar) it’s a good idea to offer a couple of well-liked bands, rather than the usual opener that people can more easily avoid by showing up late. Enter ANCARA and BEFORE THE DAWN.

Ancara (pronounced the same as the Turkish city) were the first signee to Stratovarius singer Timo Kotipelto’s High And Loud Records. The band offer a hard rock style, with bearded and burly, suit jacket-wearing frontman Sammy Salminen looking suspiciously like a young Randy Bachman (BTO). After a rather upbeat ‘Scarred’ opener, Ancara settled into a more laidback set, including ‘Deny’. Although they struggled to connect with the young assemblage in front of them, a cover of BILLY IDOL’s ‘Rebel Yell’ (also on their ’06 debut, The Down) perked ears up.

Before The Dawn write amazingly catchy tunes encased in aggressive guitar-heavy context and utilizing death and clean vocals, simultaneously. Sounds impossible, but the creative vision of guitarist/vocalist Tuomas Saukkonen (he of the boyish smile, despite facial tattoos), as heard on the introductory ‘Faithless’, ‘Dying Sun’, ‘The Black’, ‘Disappear’, ‘Exile’ and the set-closing ‘Deadsong’, which resonate with heavy heads as well as those with only mainstream sensibilities. Everyone should own a copy of Deadlight, or the most recent release, Soundscape Of Silence.

Profane Omen - the moniker leaves little wiggle room as to what’s on tap, driven home by a nihilistic intro meant to mimic a radio broadcast from the end of civilization. The citation ends with the Pope reportedly saying, “Go fuck yourself!” Military shorts-wearing vocalist Jules Naveri made good use of the ramparts jutting from the stage to get closer to the crowd, especially during ‘Information’, from the forthcoming Inherit The Void. A whirlwind of death/thrash onstage.

Speaking of furious activity, LEGION OF THE DAMNED and BLACK DAHLIA MURDER came and went in a blaze of speed. Alestorm followed, packing the floor for one of the few times in the weekend. A little left of sanity, curly-haired frontman Chrisy Bowes never breaks from his swashbuckling character, doubling on a Roland keyboard (to provide the accordion/concertina effects) strapped on like a guitar. He punctuated the performance with comic relief, while diminutive guitarist Dani Evans (who makes Nightwish’s six stringer Emppu Vuorinen look like Kareem Abdul Jabbar) brandished a bottle of Jack Daniels on his kilted frame. When Bowes announced they hadn’t played in a “wee while,” one of the Finns in the crowd countered, “What the Hell is a wee while?” Later, dedicating a song to the date (Valentine’s Day) to little, if any fanfare, the singer chided, “You must all be miserably single!” Delivered with almost sloppy thrash consistency (as opposed to more power metal-ish albums), the Scottish pirates (“We’re not Running Wild”) ran through ‘Terror On The High Seas’, ‘Nancy The Tavern Wench’, ‘Wenches & Mead’, ‘The Huntmaster’, ‘Set Sail And Conquer’ and ‘Keel Hauled’, which saw Evans take a detour, exiting the stage to play amongst the fans, a la AC/DC. The audience even broke out a dance pit (not moshing, but sort of mock square dancing). Fun, festival-approved act, not too far from locals KORPIKLAANI or even Ensiferum.

By contrast, the original voice of Brazilian metal, Andre Matos gave what was almost a symphonic performance. Arriving onstage in black leather pants, white dress shirt and tuxedo jacket (with tails), he looked more like one of the THREE TENORS than a rock ‘n’ roller. Actually, he bore something of a resemblance to Steve Perry (ex-JOURNEY). In addition to material from Time To Be Free, his ’07 solo CD, Matos stepped back into his lengthy career, including a 20-year-old VIPER classic, ‘Living For The Night’ (off Theatre Of Fate) and of course the initial trio of Angra full-lengths, although the title cut from the Angels Cry debut was played more orchestral than metal. Not so ‘Carry On’.

That was the end of the night for some, but the opportunity to see Swedish power metallers Sabaton, fresh off their strong, military concept disc Art Of War, on the small Tavastia club stage was not to be missed. Russian war metal? Sure. US war metal, OK, but Sweden is about as militaristic as the Swiss! Sun glasses-wearing, tattooed singer Joakim Broden bounded onstage in a cross between steel-plated military flak jacket/motocross rider’s vest, as the band opened with ‘Panzer Elite’. The Swedes played 75 minutes, to rapturous applause, but could have easily gone two hours, although the aforementioned CD (which formed the backbone of tonight’s set) isn’t nearly long enough. Even Broden’s weak attempts at humour - “Want to talk about my penis?” - didn’t dissuade the crowd. ‘Into The Fire’, ‘Rise Of Evil’, the SAVATAGE/TSO-sounding single ‘Cliffs Of Gallipoli’ (strange that a song about one of the most deadly campaigns of WW I can be so beautiful), the “terrorist song” according to Sabaton ‘In The Name Of God’, ‘Panzer Battalion’, ‘Light In The Black’ (dedicated to those in the armed forces), ‘The Price Of A Mile’, and the MAIDEN-ish twin guitars of ‘Primo Victoria’ and ‘Metal Machine’. The biggest cheer came when ‘Talvisota’ was prefaced by “60-70 years ago, some shit went down. We (Sweden) didn’t want to fight, but you (Finnish) fuckers stopped Russia in its tracks!” Cue huge ovation. Even moreso than a giant festival, you haven’t experienced metal until you witness a European club show. The band is scheduled for a North American debut at ProgPower USA, Sept. 11th. Sort of fitting, eh?

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