Photo Reports

In mid-May, Ääniwalli became a vortex of technical brutality and progressive intensity as Born of Osiris brought their tour to Helsinki. With support from death metal and deathcore juggernauts Ingested, the genre-bending Entheos, and Portugal’s The Voynich Code, the night unfolded as a showcase of modern metal’s most forward-pushing acts. From polyrhythmic breakdowns to atmospheric interludes, each band carved their own sonic space into the venue’s concrete walls.

Luna Kills: A Band Poised for the Big Leagues

Already quite popular in Finland, but still relatively unknown outside of Finland, Luna Kills has quickly become one of the most promising acts in the European metal scene. With their newly released debut physical album Deathmatch, the four-piece has taken a bold step forward, evolving their sound into a gripping mix of alt-metal, electronic textures, and raw emotion. We attended their show at Club Hell in Diest, their very first show in Belgium, part of their first ever headlining European tour, and it confirmed what early fans already suspected: Luna Kills is ready for much bigger stages.

After gaining attention last year while supporting Dear Mother in the Netherlands, this headlining run shows how much the band has grown in both confidence and intensity. Frontwoman Lotta Ruutiainen’s dynamic presence and striking vocals command attention, and the band’s new material hits hard with a sound that feels both modern and unique. If they continue on this trajectory, Luna Kills won’t be under the radar for long—this is a band well worth keeping an eye on.

Support came from Tilburg’s fresh newcomers Pacemaker, who impressed with a tight, modern alt-metal set.

Full Moon Metal & Rock Pop-up Delivers Belgian Powerhouse Line-Up

The 13th edition of the Full Moon Metal & Rock Pop-up bar lit up the night with three explosive Belgian bands.

Starters were Promise Down, the heavy rock and rollers from Antwerp, known for their powerful stage presence and gritty sound. Fans can also catch them live this summer on Sunday, August 10th at the Alcatraz Festival.

Second in line was Toxicity, Belgium’s own tribute to System of a Down, who fired up the crowd with a set full of energy and nostalgia.

Closing the night was Torhout’s very own Crazy Copy Cats, a pop-rock cover band that brought familiar tunes.

The event blended genres, generations, and good vibes into one unforgettable evening. With strong performances from local talent, Full Moon once again delivered.

In the last week of April, Aborted kicked off their “Slashing Europe”-tour with guests Crypta, The Zenith Passage and Organectomy. As one of the first stops, on the 26th of April, the tour dropped by in Ghent to perform at Club Wintercircus, a fantastic new venue with an immersive sound system, hosted by us and our trusted booking partners Return Bookings and BE-sounds! With Organectomy’s sheer brutality, the technicality of The Zenith Passage, the venomous Crypta and of course veterans Aborted, the night turned into a showcase of proper death metal, showing off the diversity the genre holds at this time!

In anticipation of the new album of Rivers of Nihil getting unleashed upon the world, the progressive death outfit were trekking through the world to blow people away everywhere. For the European leg of “The Aggressive Progressive Tour”, they brought along Cynic, Beyond Creation and label mates Dååth, putting together a package that would blow anyone away who is into aggressive, progressive or both! Not wanting to miss out, we made sure we got to Tavastia in Helsinki for a Sunday night show that would round off our weekend perfectly!

Just about a week ago, Ääniwalli in Helsinki was shaken to its foundations as Caliban stormed through with their “Back From Hell Tour 2025.” The German metalcore veterans delivered a blistering set that fused raw aggression with melodic precision, proving they’re far from done raising hell. Joining them were Australia’s In Heart’s Wake, Denmark’s Cabal, and local powerhouse Assemble the Chariots, each act adding their own flavor to a night that pulsed with catharsis and chaos.

The highly popular US band Motionless In White played for the very first time during their 2 decade long existence in Finland when they hit the mainstage at Tuska festival in 2023, and clearly they liked the response from the crowd. Because they came back to Helsinki for the very last stop of their extensive “Touring The End Of The World Tour” that took them almost everywhere in Europe to arena sized venues. Their show in Finland was in so much demand, that they ended up expanding from the smaller black box setup to the full Ice Hall capacity! With much anticipation we went to the show, hoping to see an even more impressive performance since at the festival they were playing in the middle of the day with a minimal stage production. And while the atmosphere was definitely on another level with them being able to set the mood properly with stage lights and an arena filled with their fans, those who were hoping to see the full US production they had been toting around Europe with dancers, pyro and the lot, would return home rather disappointed. Seems they decided to strip down their production for this last stop in Finland. A pity, since I was really hoping to get a taste of the theatricality they are known for live. Here’s hoping that third time will be the charm and we’ll get a proper MiW the next time they drop by! Their countrymates of Fit For A King who came over with them did warm us up nicely with a killer show, perfect choice for a support act!

We definitely weren’t Alone In a Room at the Clyde Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Tuesday evening April 29th, 2025! It was a packed House on Fire to see Asking Alexandria, From Ashes to New, Royale Lynn and What Lies Below!!

Kicking things was the progressive metalcore band What Lies Below hailing from Harrisburg, PA. They brought the energy and they brought a heavy hitting sound to the room with face melting vocals. They brought the room to life and were a perfect band to get this party started!

Next up was Royale Lynn, bringing alt-metal influenced, hard rock vibes to the stage! They did a cover of Flyleaf’s All Around Me, which was a special treat. They also performed their new song Deathwish with Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop!

From Ashes to New hit the stage next, another PA rock band! They always put on a fantastic, face melting show with their rap/metal, nu metal vibe. They are performers to a T and always connect with their fans on a deep level. FATN have produced hit after hit that has the entire crowd singing along!

Bringing us home was the ever powerful Asking Alexandria, metalcore/rock band based out of England. They have been on the scene for going on 20 years and played many hits including Alone Again, Into the Fire(featuring Royale Lynn this tour), The Violence, Dark Void, House On Fire and Alone in a Room! Current lineup of the band is Danny Worsnop[vocals], James Cassells[drums], Cameron Liddell[guitar], and Sam Bettley[bass]. They had the crowd singing, dancing, crowd surfing and moshing for every single song. Danny can go from melodic to crushing vocals and the lyrics pull you in. From beginning to end, they put on a great show that I would absolutely love to see again!

New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal organised a Vappu after party at Tampere’s Maanalainen on May 2nd. Originally the line-up was supposed to include Scars of Solitude, but they unfortunately had to cancel last minute due to illness. So because of that, I unexpectedly got to know three new bands that evening.

The event started with the locals from Crimson Day, who brought some solid heavy metal to the stage, including a fun metal cover of Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding Out for a Hero‘. Next up was Everlore which I enjoyed a lot, actually even more than on record. Unfortunately, Neverfade started a good half an hour late so I sadly had to miss most of their set.

All in all a fun evening.

To celebrate their brand-new statement towards the world in the form of the new album ‘DEATHMATCH’, Luna Kills put together a release party show at On The Rocks in the beginning of April, playing most of their new songs live, many for the very first time! The venue filled up pretty nicely and the crowd went wild! As support, they brought the promising outfit Lastout all the way from Tampere to Helsinki as a great warm-up for the night…