Photo Reports

“Nordic Power Metal Titans” is definitely a well fitting name for this tour, as with Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius it combines two of Finland’s most well known Power Metal bands. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of co-headlining tours thought as I feel it just leaves too little stage time for both headliners. All in all though, this evening proved to be quite a lot of fun.

Already during Arion‘s show, Tavara-Asema started filling up nicely. Unfortunately, the sound throughout all bands had a bit too much bass in the mix which resulted in parts of the music being lost underneath it. During Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius the place was absolutely packed with fans of all ages obviously having a great time.

In the beginning of the year, Eluveitie embarked on the first leg of their “ÀNV Rising” tour in Europe, taking with them their friends of Infected Rain as direct support and Ad Infinitum as the openers. A pretty exciting package of 3 popular, but also quite different bands with what felt like a bit of something for everyone. We were all too excited about joining this evening of modern metal excellence, and travelled down to the Culture House of Helsinki to catch one of the first stops of the tour!

TOTO recently played a gig at a full Nokia Arena in Tampere together with Christopher Cross. The gig marked the end of their ‘The Dogz Of Oz’ European Tour. With great sound and light execution, the gig delivered a feeling of nostalgia to me, even though I knew way less of the songs then usually when I’m on a gig. Both bands had a good vibe and that made for a good time for probably all the 8500 visitors of the gig.

The Convalescence had a ‘Feast of Flesh’ at Piere’s in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Sunday March 2nd, 2025! Who doesn’t love a little deathcore on a Sunday?! 

First up for dishing out a little death and destruction for the evening was the horror metal band Discard the Body, hailing from Muncie, Indiana. Their grueling sounds got the crowd warmed up and ready to bang their heads!

Next to hit the stage was a young band from right here in Fort Wayne, the hardcore outfit Nailed Casket! It is always great to see the younger generation involved in the music scene. I hope to see more from these guys!

Mantra of Morta hailing from East Central Indiana, always brings the energy along with their loyal fans! Vocalist Jessie Cochran brings an enchanting aggressiveness to the stage along with her powerful vocals. They are a hard-hitting band that I have had the pleasure of seeing live twice now! 

And closing out the night at this ‘House of Suffering’ (aka, Piere’s), the mighty The Convalescence! The band was formed in Toledo, OH in 2011, they have really got to see a lot of the country and world in their 14 years in the scene. I saw them live one other time in 2023, and I was definitely drawn to their powerful stage presence and tonight was my opportunity to capture the experience! The way they interact and connect with their fans is cool to see and speaks to the popularity they have here in the Midwest. The star of the show though was Timmy, the dismembered body (fake of course) who is a menace on the tour bus and his body parts get tossed to the fans at the end of show! I really love their intensity and their breakdowns, of course! I look forward to catching these guys again. If you get the chance to catch one of their shows, it will be worth your time!

Long-standing Swedish rock band Thundermother released their new album ‘Dirty & Divine’ recently, and kicked off an extensive tour to celebrate and bring the release to their fans all over Europe! The first leg of the tour brought them to Im Wizemann in Stuttgart, Germany for a night of great rockin’ out. The ladies of Thundermother gathered some of the best of the feminine side of the heavy metal and hard rock scene with Cobra Spell and Vulvarine for support, and we saw it was good!

Funeral Dress, a Belgian punk band formed in 1985, celebrating their 40th anniversary with a final tour after releasing their last album, ‘Goodbye?’. The album release concert featured two opening acts: Luna en De Maanstenen, a promising young punk band, and Belgian Asociality, another established punk band known for their humorous and energetic performances. Belgian Asociality had a setlist that included songs like “Bompa Punk”, “Boerderie” and “Morregen”. Funeral Dress delivered a high-energy set, including songs like “Punk’s back in Town”, “Death and Glory”, and “Party On”. The band’s performance was emotional, ending with “Goodbye,” marking the beginning of the end of their 40-year career.

If you’re in search for a good time, you can never go wrong with Turmion Kätilöt. Together with King Satan they turned Tampere’s Tavara-Asema into a sold-out, steaming hot party last Saturday.

The set list included several songs with additional vocals from Netta Turunen as well as one song in English, ‘Faster Than God‘. And of course also some of their most famous songs like ‘Vihko‘ and ‘Sikiö‘.

There were no shortcomings on that gig, if anything some fans might have had a little too much fun.

A couple of weekends ago it was heavy/power metal night in De Kreun, Kortrijk.

The Canadian power metal band Unleash the Archers is travelling through Europe with their “Phantoma tour”, and they are supported by compatriots Striker and Seven Kingdoms from Florida! A very nice lineup that resulted in a very successful evening for fans of the genre!

Tampere got an extra special Valentine’s Day gift in the form of Marko Hietala who played in front of an absolutely packed Olympia-Kortelli. As a special guest he brought along Noora Louhimo from Battle Beast who joined on several songs and exclusively on the Tampere show JP Leppäluoto also with a guest appearance during the song ‘Two Soldiers‘.

In addition to songs both from Marko‘s recent album ‘Roses from the Deep‘ and his previous album, there was also a medley of Nightwish songs as well as a medley of Tarot songs. These medleys were especially well received by the fans and brought on a lot of nostalgia.

On a cold February day with a lot of rain, there were long lines in front of the LKA Longhorn. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE were guests on their ‘Touring the End of the World’ tour in Stuttgart. They brought along the Toronto based Canadian deathcore band BRAND OF SACRIFICE and the ensemble FIT FOR A KING from Texas.

BRAND OF SACRIFICE started the show, and with their deathcore, they were significantly harder and rougher than the other two bands. This did not dampen the mood at the LKA. The venue was almost completely filled right from the start. Singer KYLE ANDERSON had an easy time engaging the audience, even though the performance had to take place in rather dark conditions. The lighting engineer either didn’t feel like working or missed the bus and arrived late. However, the sound made up for it.

The heavily made-up and conspicuously dressed audience then enjoyed the performance of FIT FOR A KING. FFAK‘s long-standing stage experience was evident. Synchronized jumps by the bassist and guitarist, a well-prepared singer with a fabulous voice, and his screams gave everyone goosebumps. The transitions between growls and melodic singing passages were seamless. It was a successful performance that the audience enthusiastically appreciated.

The headliner, surely the reason this concert sold out within a few hours, then showed what a perfect show is. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE brought their US stage production to Germany for the first time, according to singer CHRIS MOTIONLESS. The venue was almost too small for the three huge LED screens at the back and the number of light towers on the stage’s right and left sides. Additionally, there were four dancers who repeatedly performed fitting dance routines on stage in changing outfits, ranging from werewolf to steampunk to classic evening dress. CHRIS, in a long dark coat, was the conductor, and the audience followed him willingly and confidently in every passage. Each of the 17 songs, from a set list covering the whole span of their 20-year-long band history, was celebrated frenetically. It was an absolutely perfectly choreographed US stage production in a club location. It was probably one of the last times to see the five guys from Pennsylvania so close and in this special club atmosphere.

They skipped the obligatory break before encores and performed the concert in one go. Thus, a candidate for the concert of the year was delivered early in the year.