Gig Reports
Tonight is the night that comedy and rock music come together and become one. It’s a first time for me to see the D, and the rumors are that it’s going to be a night to remember. Let’s see if that’s the case.
Read More >
Grave Pleasures is a band that takes up a rather unique space within the Finnish scene. With a very post-punk and Goth rock sound, they appeal to a wide range of music lovers while not really fitting the mold of any specific subgenre completely. About a week after the release of their new album ‘Plagueboys’, they played 2 release shows, and we made sure to be at the Helsinki one since there don’t seem to be any set plans to play more shows than this in 2023. Much to our surprise, we first got a destructive set by Tampere natives Dome Runner to get us loosened up somewhat…
Read More >
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…
Read More >
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!
Read More >
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.
Read More >
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!
Read More >
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!
Read More >
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.
Read More >
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.
Read More >
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!
Read More >
