Gig Reports
Suicide, the New York duo of Alan Vega and Martin Rev, provoke intense emotions within the listener, you either love ‘em or hate ‘em, nothing in-between.
Rev produced electronic music using a synthesiser and primitive drum machine for Vega to perform his sometimes terrifying vocals which ranged from guttural grunts to rockabilly Elvis.
Both the music they performed and the way they performed it was somewhat confrontational and they were billing themselves as “punk music” in the early 1970’s. It is not unkind to say that they were not widely popular and tended to alienate audiences wherever they played.
It must also be said though, that they were so far ahead of their time it was untrue. The band’s first album Suicide (1977) received many poor reviews upon release but is now regarded as a classic containing such songs as Ghost Rider, Rocket U.S.A., Cheree and the truly frightening intensity of Frankie Teardrop.
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When it’s 40 degrees outside, and I’m in Albany, NY there’s nothing I’d rather do than to spend 3 hours outside waiting to get into the MVP Arena to see the Trinity Of Terror Tour III. With a line up this stacked, and my first press pass, I couldn’t help but be excited! Aside from the initial nerves and running on limited sleep, this was an EPIC show! It was packed full of an electrifying atmosphere, unforgettable stage set ups and some laughter in between. All while letting us forget about the outside world for a little while, and let loose with some cathartic music.
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If you are into melodic metalcore with progressive metal and hardcore influences, this was the place to be on November 5th, 2022. Headliner August Burns Red, co-headliner Bury Tomorrow and last minute support Novelists were ready to blow the roof of the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium. Let’s check them out!
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Hellsinki Industrial Festival is back in town, and as usual, that means that on the Thursday night there is a club show with a couple artists of the industrial/EBM/goth music scene to warm up people for the festival the next days. This time, we didn’t get to go to the usual On The Rocks in center Helsinki, but rather the charming Kuudes Linja venue where we’ve seen Elektrik Products bring Nachtmahr earlier this year in April. With Carnal Machinery, Jessi Frey and ESA (Electronic Substance Abuse) on this year’s bill, it was promising to be a quite exciting first little taste of what this weekend was going to hold for us.
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As good as this night was, although I love the early Damned, I must admit I am only here because I managed to get discounted tickets. A punk band, no matter who they are, asking £73 a ticket for a single show, need to take a good look at themselves and what they stand (or stood) for. At a time when people are frightened to turn on their heating this is a luxury that the vast majority could probably not afford.
That said, what about the gig?
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There were many reasons to be excited for this; whether it’s seeing musicians in a small venue and getting the chance to talk to them in person, hearing new music played live for the first time or simply being part of a first show ever of a new band. Or maybe all of the above. This night was set up to be a blast no matter what.
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At last, the day finally came that I got to see Sum 41. I bought tickets for a show in 2020, but since the whole corona thing happened, I never got to see them. Looking forward to see the band since then, I entered the venue with high expectations.
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Finally, after the cancellation of the original tour to support their 2021 released album ‘Excape of the Phoenix’ due to the all known reasons, Evergrey was finally able to give once more the best of themselves. Meanwhile, they released this year the finest ‘A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)’ so in fact this tour was supporting two albums, we were in for a treat. For this, they came back to the Biebob, the first time since 2009, time flies. Evergrey is an excellent band although not recognized enough by the big audience, but as I arrived at the Biebob the club was packed, an omen to a hot and satisfying evening.
Unfortunately with the heavy traffic on the road I missed the first band. Better luck next time and apologies to the Swiss Italian combination of Virtual Symmetry for missing out on you!
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The popular Swedish metalcore outfit Dead By April is always a very welcome guest in Finland. With a small tour through Finland, they made a lot of people pretty happy, we’re sure. With them, they brought the UK hardcore band Blood Youth to Finland for the very first time and enlisted the Finnish electro metal band Ember Falls to kick some serious ass throughout the country. We had to catch one of their shows and ended up at the Helsinki stop at Vanha Ylioppilastalo…
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Last time we caught Amon Amarth in Finland was when they brought their fiery show to the exact same venue before the pandemic, so having them come back there finally after all those year AND with a brand new album was already a big reason for us to not want to miss out on this night. But then added to that, they got into an arrangement for a co-headline show with no one less than Machine Head! They’ve tried to get to Helsinki several times the past years but now finally made it and it’s been way way too long! And if that was not enough, the brand new melodeath supergroup The Halo Effect came along to warm up the crowd as the opening act. A very exciting night that we had been looking forward to for quite a while…
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