Gig Reports
Due to the pandemic, it’s been years since the Australian proggers of Ne Obliviscaris have been able to play gigs, let alone tour Europe. So after having just released a pretty epic new album with ‘Exul’, them finally coming to the European territories is reason enough to make sure we don’t miss out. So off we went to catch them at the very first show of the tour at Tavastia in Helsinki. And with them they brought the Andorran prog death outfit Persefone and Italian instrumental proggers Asymmetric Universe, ensuring a night of world expanding and mind-bending music…
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Aephanemer is a French symphonic/melodic death metal band that has been living somewhat under my radar until just recently. Much to my surprise, because a lot of their pretty epic compositions is exactly the kind of music that appeals to me greatly. So I was all too happy to see them appear on the event schedule of On The Rocks in Helsinki, and didn’t want to miss out on experiencing this live! Add to that the modern extreme prog act Numento for the Finnish stop on Aephanemer‘s tour, and the night promised to be a pretty epic one!
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As some of you may know, once in a while the Fates take me on a path far from the well trodden iron clad cobblestones of metal. This night was one of those nights. As a poor wayfaring stranger, I traded my patched denim for a Stetson hat and headed down to the Dodge City of Flanders, otherwise known as Sint-Niklaas. There, I hitched my trusted steed to the local saloon, monikered De Casino, which judging by its name must for sure be a cesspool for all sorts of scum and villainy.
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Aesthetic Perfection has been around for well over 2 decades, and Daniel Graves, main man behind the project, has never really slowed down much. Because of the rising costs of touring, he has decided that this will be the very last headlining tour of Aesthetic Perfection. This could be the very last time we see him on stage with this project, unless he finds some supporting gig that is financially feasible. But since nothing is sure, we couldn’t let the possibly very last Aesthetic Perfection show on Finnish soil slip past us. So off we went to On The Rocks in Helsinki for an evening of industrial tunes!
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Last year, Imminence blew it out of the park on their tour supporting In Flames, taking over huge stages all over Europe. That this was a band we’d be seeing more of, was as good as a given. So it was no big surprise that they soon announced a headline tour for the Nordic region and were added to the Tuska 2023 line-up. Interested to see what these guys do with a much more intimate setting at a club show, and on top of that bringing along the always fun Norwegian wildlings Blood Command, brought us to On The Rocks in Helsinki on a sunny Friday night!
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The Offspring is a band close to my heart that I try to go and see almost every year. This year, they came to Vorst Nationaal in Brussels, which was my first time seeing them indoors. Let’s see what they have up their sleeves this year. Will their show be roughly the same, or will they change it up? Let’s check it out.
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Sabaton is one of the bands I’ve seen most often, yet never grow bored with their live shows. One reason for that probably is that since I first saw them back in 2015 they have continuously pushed their show to bigger and better scales. For the shows of ‘The Tour To End All Tours’ it feels almost like an insult to just call them “concerts”. What Sabaton is bringing us is a full on grand live experience, completely with props, special effects and actors. But let’s start at the beginning.
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It’s been years since I last caught Nervosa live, and since that show in Helsinki that took place shortly before the pandemic hit worldwide, a lot has changed. Sadly, they had to cancel their stop in Helsinki of the tour with Burning Witches, so I never got to see that line-up in action. But now they’re finally here, this time with a line-up that brings us dual guitars, Prika taking over the vocal duties and Hel Pyre from W.E.B. on bass duties. Plenty of exciting stuff to be looking forward to!
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After the intense show that Igorrr brought to the legendary Tavastia venue in Helsinki last year (read the report here and see the photos here), we were all too happy to see them return to Finland on their latest “Distortion European Tour”. And the fact that they brought with them a fine selection of at least equally as intense bands with Amenra, Der Weg Einer Freiheit and Hangman’s Chair, got us really excited. So off we went for a trip from the Helsinki region to the Pakkahuone venue in Tampere, probably one of the best looking, and best organized venues of the country.
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Not just headlining Graspop, but headlining it as a finishing act. Being the sub headliner for Metallica at Hellfest. These are just some recent ‘feat of arms’ Sabaton achieved in the past year. But are they satisfied? Hell no! With this Tour To End All Tours, they look to surpass all previous acts and launch their biggest shows yet. GRIMM could not miss this party, and we already went ahead of the Antwerp show to see what our Sabaton friends were up to and what we could expect. And yes, they did it, 15,000 Dutchmen in one arena, singing and jumping all together on all the goodness Sabaton has to offer. However, I am sure Belgium will rise to the task, even surpassing this heroic performance.
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