To kick off the night in style, Dååth took over the stage for a short, but powerful set. Last year they made their long-awaited return with new album ‘The Deceivers‘, yet again a mind-blowingly near perfect record. And most of the setlist came from that album, so for the old time fans it might have been slightly disappointing. But clearly a lot of people were really excited that they came all the way to Finland, because it’s quite rare to see a venue this full for an opener and barely a few songs in, Dååth was greeted by an almost packed venue. The rejuvenated line-up hit us with groovy track after track where brand-new tracks fitted perfectly with the few oldies like ‘Sharpen the Blades‘, ‘Day of Endless Light‘ and fan favorite ‘Subterfuge‘, and vocalist Sean is simply a pleasure to see at work on stage! Here’s hoping that they come back to Europe some time soon on a tour that allows them to play a longer set, because we need more of this heavy goodiness!

Continuing the intensity from the openers, the Canadians of Beyond Creation hit the stage. And I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised by their show. There was a certain level of excitement and infectious energy that radiated from these guys that really rubbed off on the crowd (and me), and it lifted their music to a whole other level. Somehow I could enjoy their music way more live than I had listening in preparation for tonight’s gig. Which is definitely not a bad thing, I love it when a band can convince and surprise me when seeing them do their thing on a stage! It’s been since 2018 that they last released a new album, maybe it’s about time for some new stuff so we can see them on a stage near us again soon!

With Cynic taking over the stage, a whole different kind of intensity took over the venue. A bit of the black sheep on the line-up they brought more of the “progressive” and less so the “aggressive” that was advertised by the tour, but captivating and mind-blowing nonetheless. The progressive rock/metal from these talented individuals, lead by mastermind Paul Masvidal, really brought us to a different stratosphere, absolutely mesmerizing. And the pure passion that especially Paul has for the music was simply undeniable. A nice little refresher for tonight before we continued with the metal onslaught!

And then back to dialing up the heaviness and intensity to 11 with Rivers Of Nihil. Even after some reorganization within the line-up, they have still very much been on a roll and impressed last year as support for the massive Lorna Shore tour in Europe. So it wasn’t too surprising that the venue was absolutely packed to the brim for them, and as soon as the band took over the stage, you could feel the excitement and energy pulsating from the crowd. They’re releasing a new album later this year, but since they already unveiled quite a few single, we could enjoy some new work live already, like ‘The Sub-Orbital Blues’, ‘Criminals’ and ‘House of Light’, perfectly fitting in the rest of the set. Since ‘Where Owls Know My Name’, they’ve been known to regularly add some tasteful sax into their otherwise really heavy music, and the whole venue blew up when they brought a live saxophonist with them on stage for those parts. It just adds such a special energy and vibe to the show, lifting it to an even higher level of awesome. Part of the set was done without harsh vocals, I assume that this far in the tour there has been some strain on the voice, which is a pity, but I’d rather have this than absolutely nothing. All in all, it was yet again an impressive show, even better than when we saw them as support for that Lorna Shore tour. Seeing how it gets better every time we see them live, we’re already looking forward to what next time will give…