When one of the most interesting black metal line-ups of this year was announced some time back (not including some of the amazing festivals), I just knew I had to be there to witness this event. 3 much loved bands from the Finnish black metal scene gathered on one night called “The Death of Man”, that just is something you can’t miss. Throw on top of that the fact that 2 of those bands haven’t played live in over a decade or even released material and my black metal heart starts pounding of excitement…

First band of the night was a familiar sight on the stage for me. I caught Thyrane (***1/2) a year and a half back at Steelfest 2017 and to be honest wasn’t completely convinced then. They did play some quality black metal, but next to some of the mind-blowing bands I got to see that weekend their performance fell a bit short. I wasn’t at Nosturi this night to necessarily see this band, but was curious to see if they could convince me this time and if playing indoors instead of an outdoor stage made any difference at all. And I have to say that they actually rose a few steps up the ladder in my appreciation. The atmosphere was right, the music sounded tight and Blastmor‘s vocals were evil as hell. The addition of the big goat’s head on his mic definitely added to the vibe of the gig.

For me personally the band I was looking forward to the most was Trollheims Grott (*****) and man, did they deliver! These industrial black metal legends have a certain cult status and haven’t performed or released anything for over a decade. During all that time they managed to accumulate enough hatred to get back into action. They’re back on stage and are releasing their first new work in 15 years! Straight from the start it was clear that these guys haven’t lost any of their power, on the contrary. A relentless and aggressive bunch took over the stage and obliterated everyone present. Besides of course some of the new track of the upcoming release, we got served a nice selection of their older songs. Those older songs stuck out in the setlist with their more industrial infused sound, making me think of the pounding industrial of bands like Rammstein mixed into misanthropic and evil black metal. An absolute murderous sight and sound to behold!

Lastly we got honored by the first show in a long time from one of the most legendary and unpredictable bands in the Finnish black metal scene. The experimental outfit …and Oceans (****) has planned a couple of shows again and will always be a special occasion when you get the chance to behold this band. Not knowing what exactly to expect, I was eagerly awaiting to see what kind of craziness we’d get to witness. To be honest, they didn’t really went nuts in their performance, but vocalist Kenny was definitely a sight to behold in his bare-chested, blue painted mental performance. Like a menacing blue Hulk he was looming over the stage with a presence that felt somehow dangerous and was screaming his lungs out until the veins in his thick neck looked like they were going to pop at any time. An impressive show and vibe that makes me want to dig into the past of this unique band.

For more pictures go to our photo coverage here.