Photo Reports

It has been proven many times before that classical music and metal can work perfectly together, and The Rock Orchestra is no exception. Their songs have been well selected and arranged, and on top of that the musicians are not only skilled but also clearly enjoy taking part in this project. The show in Tampere-Talo, like many others on the tour, is pretty full, even though it’s on a weekday. We got to enjoy songs like ‘Toxicity‘, ‘Run to the Hills‘, ‘Nothing Else Matters‘, ‘Chop Suey‘ and so much more, all in a classical setting.

Recently a new rock entity from Finland rose to our attention: Ginger Evil started to release their first singles, and we really liked what we were hearing. They released their debut full-length album, on renown rock label Frontiers Music, and while they had planned to have an official release show in Helsinki quite soon after, an illness in the band threw a wrench into that plan. But they didn’t want to let the plan to properly introduce Ginger Evil to Helsinki, so they moved it to the next month, and we were all too happy to get to see these talented people into action on the stage at the KULT Club, in the basement of Helsinki’s house of culture!

When a line-up like this one comes to your neighborhood, you have to make sure you don’t miss out. With Swedish melodic death metal legends Dark Tranquillity and special guests the Portuguese masters of gothic metal Moonspell and German melodic death metallers on the rise Hiraes to open the night, you just know it’s going to be a good one. And clearly we weren’t the only ones since the show was completely sold out well in advance. And we definitely were not disappointed! Every single band absolutely killed it on stage and were a pleasure to see!

Even though I’ve walked passed Telakka many times I’ve never been inside before. The place is rustic and cosy, although a bit crowded. The fans are gathered around a couple dozen tiny tables, from the kitchen an outrageously good smell keeps creeping out and the whole places kinda makes me feel like I’m in a fantasy novel.

Perfectly on schedule, at ten o’clock Noora Louhimo, Jaro Väisänen and Samuli Erkkilä arrive on stage where they played “a show like a rainbow”. The setlist included all varieties of Nooras musical spectrum. From her interpretation of AC/DC‘s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long‘ or Iron Maiden‘s ‘Wasted Years‘ over to her solo works like ‘If I was your Woman‘ which she wrote over a decade ago. And of course the evening also included some songs from Battle Beast, ‘King for a Day‘, ‘Wings of Light’ and ‘Eden‘. The last of these turned out so beautiful in this more simplistic form that it got me shedding a few tears.

The trio performed for approximately one and a half hours that had time fly by in a heartbeat.

The Game is a living hip hop legend, and he has something to celebrate… his iconic album ‘The Documentary’ is celebrating 2 decades of existence, and he has to share the fun with his fans all over the world. He made a stop at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki, Finland and blew the roof off with what will go into the annals as one of the parties of the year 2025!

Enemy Inside has been on quite the rise of late. Their latest album ‘Venom‘ was released very recently and was widely received very positively. The amount of catchy bangers that are on that album, that is no surprise. And we could already imagine that live their new songs would hit pretty hard. So we were all too excited to hear that they were coming to Helsinki to play a headline show at On The Rocks! Sadly, due to circumstances we ended up missing the opener, but we had an amazing time with the guys and gal of Enemy Inside!

End of March it was time for a fantastic rock opera in Stuttgart’s Schleyerhalle, Tobias Sammet and his multi musician project AVANTASIA held court. A fantasy stage layout built the base for a 3-hour rock spectacle that was packed with a long line of guest vocalists: Adrienne Cowan, Kenny Leckremo (H.E.A.T.), Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), Eric Lee Martin (MR. BIG) and more. A light show trimmed perfectly to the individual songs, fog, pyro-effects and colourful backdrop animations added the visual background for an outstanding musical performance. The sound was just perfect at every spot in the venue. Tobias Sammet led and directed the show, connecting with the audience in German language regularly. This is his home turf, and he knows how to get the party going. A wonderful concert event for all ages, which was clearly shown by the large number of young fans in the crowd.

Last year, we got to experience Silent Planet live a first time as support for the Polaris tour in Europe and we were pretty impressed. So when it was announced that they were coming back, this time as headliners and bringing metalcore and alternative metal tastemakers Like Moths To Flames, VEXED and Avoid with them, we knew we had to make some time free in our schedule. The venue was pretty much packed and the night’s atmosphere was through the roof!

Ankor… Critics have sometimes accused them of not having their own style, but maybe that is precisely their style (Jessie Williams).

Ankor knows how to sell their product. They bring it in such a way that you get carried away, whether you like it or not. Happy dance moves in between grunts and flirting with each other create entertaining vibes, and as if that wasn’t enough, the entire band rolled around on their flight cases among the crowd, right into the middle of the mosh pit!

We previously reported on this tour from Helsinki, Finland (here), but we also wanted to share this last show of the tour with you as well.

Support acts were Conquer Divide (USA) and also from Spain: A Dark Reborn.

Our favorite monster squad Lordi brought their hard rock theater to a sold out Tavastia club celebrating their newest album ‘Limited Deadition’. New costumes, new setlist and whole new stageprops. Check the photos down below!