Photo Reports

Every year when the festival summer has just been wrapped up, local punk label Fast Decade Records and supporters put together HKI SKEPU FEST, a festival in Helsinki that celebrates all that is (skate) punk. They always manage to gather a really cool and interesting line-up with both Finnish talents and bands from abroad, enriched with some fun different activities, including for instance a skate bash where you get to experience a real life Tony Hawk Pro Skater moment with skaters showing their best tricks while some cool bands provide a fitting soundtrack. On the first day of the event, we managed to capture some cool images of the Finnish bands Critical Low and Glass Wipe, the first ever Finnish show from the Brazilian punkers Malvina and old school UK punk legends Snuff!

Time to celebrate 35 years of psychedelic stoner rock: a very special anniversary for MONSTER MAGNET. 

Before the heavyweight, historic combo takes the stage, DAILY THOMPSON kicks off the musical proceedings on the boards of the LKA Longhorn in Stuttgart. The Dortmund trio, which released their 7th album in 2024, is a fitting ensemble. Guitar-heavy rock with elements of Noise-, Psychedelic-, and Stoner-Rock is the perfect introduction. The usual ballad insert in their set wasn’t necessary because the trio otherwise pushes forward powerfully. You can especially see the joy on bassist Mercedes Lalakakis’ face during their live performance. The first signs of movement spread through the well-filled venue.

Then Dave Wyndorf and his men take the stage. Unfortunately, the years of rock ‘n’ roll with drug (ab)use and a severe motorcycle accident have taken a physical toll on the band leader’s body: Dave, now 67 years old, performs sitting in the middle on a barstool, or rather, throning with his presence. This doesn’t detract from the experience at all – it becomes a great gig. What can’t be done with stage action is more than compensated by the light show. All the musicians harmonize incredibly together.  Sound was awesome, too. The set-list is short, but the songs are arranged in longer, extensive versions and are presented in a way that really makes the live performance unique. You’d wish such a design for many other bands, whose idea of a rock concert consists of mechanically reproducing the album tracks as faithfully as possible. Happily, one can say that neither drug use (almost to the point of death) nor other issues have done much damage to the leader’s voice. Even though Dave himself mentioned that his voice was slightly affected, you couldn’t tell. And no one in the audience would have regretted catching this gig.

After the demise of the original location, cult metal bar De Verlichte Geest was reborn in Kortrijk as DVG Club and has been hosting high quality club (small) shows for a while now. Very recently, a second, bigger room opened up to the venue. Our first visit coincided with the second stop on Septicflesh‘s “Modern Primitive” tour and turned into an epic Friday night. The raw industrial architecture meshed perfectly with the gothic undertones in the symphonic death metal of Septicflesh, amplifying the vampyric and underground cult feel present in many of their songs.

Opening up the night were the guys from Scar of the Sun, countrymen of the headliner that bring a catchy style of modern metal with melodic guitars and harsh vocals. Next up was the German/Austrian band Oceans, who describe themselves as a “nu death metal band from Berlin”, though there are some bits that almost remind of black metal in their mix too…offset with quite catchy parts.

The crowd all warmed up, Equilibrium, took to the stage. Personally, it had been years since seeing the band perform. Since way back when they played Paganfest shows. But they’ve evolved over the years to the point where you wouldn’t think that’s how they rose to fame. The band was clearly having fun on stage and the crowd was definitely there for it and the energy kept rising.

Septicflesh already graced us with a visit over the summer at Alcatraz Festival (in the same region!) where they played the Swamp stage. This was a slightly smaller, but even better show. The setlist was a blend of tracks from the latest album and many fan favourites. “Modern Primitive” continues the bombastic, symphonic sound the band has built their reputation on and grows it out even more (check our review of the album). The show felt like a death metal behemoth picking up ever more momentum as it went, even with ‘Communion’ being an early peak in the set, building up to an epic closing with ‘Anubis’ and ‘Dark Art’.

It was a Rat Race to file into the Eclectic Room Saturday night to witness the genre-defying band Hed pe on their Detox Summer Tour. The band hail from the beautiful and sunny southern California! The lineup consists of Jahred Gomes[vocals], Kurt Blankenship[bass], Nathan Javier[guitar] and filling in on drums for this stop was Stephen Arango. 

Hed pe is a veteran band in the music scene with 30 years under their belt. They are well known for their eclectic (how fitting) blend of nu-metal, reggae, hip-hop and punk rock. They have really created and sustained a unique niche in the industry and it’s not surprising they continue to show up for their loyal fans. 

The crowd was a diverse one, with fans of all ages in attendance. There were 3 opening bands, including Endpass from Des Moines, IA, who are out on tour with the band. They all did a good job getting the crowd warmed up and ready for Hed pe. The band’s live shows are known for their high energy and engaging stage presence and this night was no exception! They kicked off their set with No Way Out  from their latest album Detox. The guys continued on playing hits like Killing Time, Blackout, Bartender and Renegade. When you see Hed pe live, you dance, you sing and you head bang. One thing is for sure, you vibe all night long with Jahred leading the way and pulling you into each song as you make your way through a musical journey. This was my second time seeing the band within a 9 month time frame and they are totally worth it. I was hooked the first time and that’s the reason I hopped on another opportunity! I was treated great throughout the night by the band and their merch guy Josh and even got to duck into their VIP backstage hang for a bit. All of the guys were great and down to earth. If you get the opportunity to see them live and do their VIP, I definitely recommend treating yourself to the experience!

The BEATSTEAKS know how to turn any event into a wild rock party. As part of their ‘Please Tour 2024′, the quintet, one of Germany’s most successful rock bands, finally made up for their postponed June performance at the Stuttgart LKA Longhorn in September.

International Music, a trio based in Essen, opened the evening. Founded in 2015, they already have three albums to their name. With their flowing, rather calm indie rock and German lyrics, they were an unobtrusive but very worthy opener. Convincing performance.

In over 25 years of band history, the BEATSTEAKS have released eleven long players, including rock masterpieces like “I Don’t Care As Long As You Sing”, “Hand In Hand,” “Hello Joe,” and “Cut Off The Top.” Simply an invitation to sing along at full volume. At this performance at the LKA Longhorn, the band impressively proved that even after countless concerts and festival appearances, they still belong to the most energetic live bands of our millennium.

The audience was in full ecstasy from the first to the last note. It didn’t need any gimmicks, just the raw and unbridled energy and joy of playing from the five band members. The sound crew deserves great praise for the fantastic sound that evening. The mix of classic hits and tracks from the current album left nothing to be desired. Except maybe that a BEATSTEAKS concert always somehow feels too short.

Bruges is not a likely location to see on the announcement for big name metal acts in the Belgian live music scene. But every once in a while, West-Flemish organiser Feed The Fire manages to bring some high quality metal acts to my corner of the country. As Nile was my personal gateway into metal beyond mainstream acts like Rammstein and Linkin Park‘s first albums back in the day, I was pleasantly surprised these death metal titans would be coming to town. This, of course, was not a gig to miss out on!

“The Underworld tour” is in support of Nile‘s latest album ‘The Underworld Awaits Us All’, just released last August. The masters of brutal technical death brought along Intrepid from Estonia and Hideous Divinity from Italy as their steady supports for the European leg of the tour, leaving the opener spot for Pestifer from Belgium. Four different variants of death metal good for a great night of deep growls, shredding riffs and unending blast beats. A veritable treat to the ear of the death-minded.

Finnish extreme metal collective Assemble The Chariots has been making some excellent music the past years, steadily building out a dedicated fan base with what you could call progressive/symphonic deathcore. Little did we know that they were actually biding their time to come out with a suckerpunch of a debut full-length on which they showcase what they are actually capable of with ‘Ephemeral Trilogy Episode 1: Unyielding Night’. An album that goes into extremes on many levels, creating an epic soundtrack to the story and world building they are trying to convey with the first part of the planned series. The release being a concept album that you should listen to from start to finish without skipping any tracks, almost begged for a special show where they played the whole damn thing in one go. And that is exactly what they were serving up on the official release show for this debut full-length: a possibly once in a lifetime chance to hear this album completely live as intended, with mesmerizing visuals and some of the extras that were featured on the record dropping by to bring their contributions live. An incredible night that got even better with supporting guest bands the pagan inspired folky progressive band IA and deathcore upstarts Lightbearer!

Elektrik Products is the booking agency in Finland that fulfills some of our musical needs that we didn’t realize needed satisfaction. They’re pretty well established as an entity that brings some of the most interesting and exciting acts to the country as part of unique and exhilarating events. Every year they bring the top of the industrial, EBM and dark elektro music to Helsinki for Hellsinki Industrial Festival, but they always have a couple of cool separate shows throughout the year as well. And this summer, amidst a busy festival calendar they hit us with “Elektrik Circus 24”. A club event for which they brought back the highly popular Swedish synth collective Priest to get a fix of those good beats. And along with them, we got an intense set of the highly volatile industrial duo Ambassador21, a special “old school electro” set of our favorite Estonians of Freakangel and an opening set from the electro/industrial version of The Hirvi: Teknohirvi! What a night! What a party!

On September 3, 2024, the Liederhalle in Stuttgart transformed into a mystical place as the Danish-Norwegian-German band HEILUNG continued their current tour. The band, known for their unique blend of archaic sounds and modern elements, captivated the audience and delivered a performance that will be remembered for sure.

An Evening Full of Magic and Mysticism.

There was a special atmosphere within the venue and the audience that was already palpable before the show started. The stage was bathed in soft light, perfectly showcasing the elaborate costumes and props of the band members. HEILUNG knows how to take their listeners on a journey to times long past. The show starts with a first ritual, beginning with a kind of blessing of the stage before all members come out and complete the ritual in a big circle. With drums, bone flutes, and throat singing, they created a soundscape reminiscent of ancient rituals and ceremonies.

The band was supported by the Swiss metal band Zeal & Ardor, who opened the evening and set the right mood for the audience.

HEILUNG is known for not only captivating musically but also visually. The elaborate costumes, reminiscent of historical warriors and shamans, and the carefully choreographed movements of the band members contributed to the magical atmosphere. The audience, consisting of all age groups and styles, there were a lot of Vikings present, was visibly fascinated and willingly immersed themselves in the show.

At the end, the whole ensemble closes the show with another ritual before leaving the stage.

The concert was an impressive experience that blurred the lines between past and present. The band once again proved that they are capable of creating a unique connection with their audience through their music and performance. An evening that will surely resonate in the minds and hearts of the spectators for a long time.