Last year we got to visit Tuska Open Air for the first time. The event is the biggest metal festival in THE country of metal: Finland. Taking place at a former energy plant turned event area called Suvilahti  in Helsinki, at the end of June/beginning of July the amps get plugged in and turned to 11 for one of the coolest metal and rock gatherings there are. This year things were even more special since it was Tuska’s 20th anniversary. So we geared up for what promised to be one of the biggest celebrations of the year!

Day 2

Due to a way too cosy bed and being tired already from our earlier activities, we arrived rather late, missing out on a few bands we had been looking forward to like the stoners of Alabama Kush, the Swedish doomsters of Avatarium and the Finnish black metal legends of Impaled Nazarene. I guess we’ll await their next show some time in the future to catch them.

When we actually arrived, Finnish cult band Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus (***) was just about to start. After quite awhile on a break, they decided to come back for some live shows again. It’s quite clear that the band is still enormously popular, looking at the sea of fans that gathered in front of the stage for them. It was especially impressive to see from the mainstage, that we got to go on during a little tour of the festival by Tuska CEO Eeka Mäkynen for the press.

After the guided tour through the festival, the first band we managed to catch again was the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork (***1/2). As expected the guys gave us yet again a solid show during which you couldn’t find any faults. Björn “Speed” Strid delivered on his impressive and strong vocals as usual and proved to be the sturdy center of the band. With their latest album The Ride Majestic being represented the most in combination with some of their most popular songs like Stabbing the Drama and The Chainheart Machine, they had a decent setlist that pleased any fan of their work.

Next up was an hour of 2 bands on the complete opposite side of the metal scale playing at the same time. On the smaller Inferno stage Finnish industrial metal band Fear of Domination (****) set up shop. They’ve been gaining quite the hardcore following the past years and that was very noticeable at how frigging full the room was. It was our first proper meeting with the band since we missed their gig at the Tuska afterparty last year and it quickly became one to remember. They play an infectious and dance-inducing kind of electronica-infused metal that is damn catchy and them coming onstage with the fluorescent face paint and the use of blacklight make them definitely stand out.

They sound much like their big brothers of the Finnish industrial legends Turmion Kätilöt, just a whole lot more catchy to us foreigners because of their lyric being mostly in English. Another small difference is that besides vocalist Saku (who recently was recruited as the second vocalist of Turmion), they also take use of a female vocalist under the form of Sara Strömmer. The combination of the two, with a special mention of Sara‘s flawless switching between great clean and harsh vocals, makes the whole dynamic of the band top-notch. It’s not a surprise that their popularity is growing at quite a pace! This gig they also announced that Sara is now officially part of the FoD gang as a permanent member, much to her surprise and with a big welcome by the fans… a celebration on many levels. I expect big things of these guys in the nearby future!

At the same time, on the Väkevä tent stage a whole other beast was being unleashed… the doom and gloom of the ever-impressive Electric Wizard (***1/2) was waltzing over us. With some of their classics like Funeralopolis, Black Mass and Witchcult Today, they absolutely crushed us with a wall of Black Sabbath-inspired heavy metal like no other. Wallowing in darkness and very sparse lighting (much to the frustration of the photographers), the band poured their music over us as flawlessly as always, combined with some very cool video footage. For awhile the world seemed like a less light place and all was good in this world…

One of the bigger names in the Finnish metal scene is most definitely Amorphis (****), a band that manages to evolve with every release. Starting with roots in death metal, they’ve never been shy to go completely surprising directions. Going from harsh death metal to progressive metal to even prog-rock influenced music. Heavily inspired by stories like the Finnish classic poem “Kalevala”, they’ve always had a great appeal to me. It was the first time I was able to catch them live and I wasn’t disappointed at all. Headed by the charismatic Tomi Joutsen, classic tracks like My Kantele, The Smoke and Into Hiding in combination with songs from their latest release Under the Red Cloud brought us an overview of the band’s career. After touring like a machine for the past years with their latest release, we can only hope that something new is coming our way next year!

Headliner of the Väkevä tent stage of today was Triptykon (***) for another serving of doom and darkness. The brainchild of Thomas Gabriel Fischer, one of the founding members of the legendary bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost brings you exactly the kind of music you could expect of aforementioned bands. Fischer himself sees Triptykon as the follow-up of now defunct Celtic Frost. We weren’t too surprised then that half of the setlist existed out of Celtic Frost classics like Procreation (of the Wicked), Circle of the Tyrants and Morbid Tales in combination with Triptykon tracks like Goetia and Altar of Deceit. Fischer clearly had a good day and interacted with his guitarist V. Santura and bassist Vanja Slajh with a clear pleasure in bringing their music on stage.

For a lot of the people that came to the festival and specifically this day (that was sold out) the highlight was the headliner of today. One of the most popular Finnish bands, HIM (*****) brought their Gothic-inspired love metal to the main stage. A very emotional moment for many fans, ’cause their show at Tuska might very well have been one of the last times to see Ville Vaalo and company on stage in this line-up. The much loved outfit announced earlier this year out of nowhere that after over 20 years they’re going to part ways and “His Infernal Majesty” will cease to exist. Tuska was one of the first stops of their farewell tour through the States and Europe with limited shows and a lot of fans from all over the world came to say properly goodbye in their hometown.

In the meantime the guys don’t need to be shown how to put down a good performance and that’s what we got. On the very soberly outfitted stage with only the big “Heartagram” made out of metal piping as the backdrop, the band brought an overview of their extensive career combining classics and lesser-known gems of songs. That “Heartagram” usually hangs on the ceiling of the well-known venue Nosturi in Helsinki, near the neighbourhood Ville and the band used to live, but for their tour they took it down and it’s travelling along with them.

Opening with songs like Heartache Every Moment and Your Sweet Six Six Six, there was plenty of heartache to be seen in quite some of the female part of the crowd and tears on cheeks wasn’t an uncommon thing to see.

Every one of the artists on stage showcased their musical talent besides the always impressive voice of Ville and time just flew by. Of course big hits like Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly, Chris Isaak cover Wicked Game, Join Me In Death and of course Billy Idol cover Rebel Yell all came by. With the last notes of When Love and Death Embrace still ringing in our ears, fireworks lit up the sky and we had to say goodbye to HIM. We will dearly miss you, see you in death…