While Mat-core and DemonDust just went to the nice and cozy Effenaar venue, I faced the bloody cold in Helsinki, to go to Tavastia, where the exact same bands as in Einhoven would perform on stage. So, the doom fans have it good these days here at Metalrage. My purpose for tonight was to get an impression about the doom metal scene in Finland. What do the fans look like? How will the response be? And will there be a lot of people to show up?

 

I arrived a little late at the venue. The reason: homework!! So, when I entered, Grand Magus was already playing. I must say that this band really pleased me with songs from their latest record including ‘Kingslayer’ and ‘Blood Oath’. JB’s vocals were tremendously and they really give the music another dimension on stage. I was almost overwhelmed, although I personally would prefer the music playing a little bit faster. It was also great to see that a lot of people were familiar with the songs, which resulted into a great atmosphere, already with the first band. Great performance and I think I will keep an eye on Grand Magus for the future.

 

This band was actually the reason for me to come to the venue tonight. DemonDust gave me an advice and because I don’t doubt his musical view, I thought to just check it out. The stage was rebuilt in no time so the band could start after fifteen minutes. Well, the first problem was the sound. I think the intro was already playing for ten minutes, repeating for three times, before the band eventually entered the stage and even then it wasn’t good. I’ll make it simple; Electric Wizard is not my band. I like the riffs, the variation and the complexity of the songs, but the performance of the band is just bad. There were a lot of people inside that were dying to see this band but the interaction was bad. The bass player was just hiding himself in the corner and the two guitar players just faced towards the ground. I liked the songs ‘We live’ and ‘Come my Fanatics’ but this was the worst performance of tonight, although the fans (especially the ones in the front) seemed like they didn’t give a damn.

 

Respect, that’s the first word that comes in my mind when I think of this band. There are very few (doom) bands that seemed to be able to cope with only one guitar player (well, I just dislike the other ones) but still have a great sound. And right after they entered the stage I knew that they were about to give a great show. 



Lee Dorian knows how to play with the crowd and leaves the instruments to the others. The set contained songs from the beginning and the latest record ‘The Garden Of Uneartly’ with songs like ‘Soul Sacrifice’ ‘Autumn Twilight’ and ‘Witchfinder’. The musicians had a really good time according to their behaviour on stage. 



Especially the performance of drummer Brian Dixon was amazing and I think his work is underestimated. It all seems so easy when he lets the drum sticks rolling between his hands and the combination of that with his incredible drum kit were a must to see. After an hour or so, Cathedral left the stage, leaving the crowd busy with nothing but drinking expansive beer.

 

Besides the performance of these bands, I had a great time watching the audience. Most of the fans were ‘typical’ metal fans, with black leather jackets, shirts and a lot of the men had a beard. But what surprised me most was the fact that also a lot of the people looked pretty descent. I mean, not that metal fans look angry or so, but I noticed a lot of polo-shirts, blouses and those tiny stretch shirts. A funny thing is that the dancing manoeuvres really fitted with their clothes, and that does not only include a fist in the air.

So, after almost three hours of heavy riffs and really expensive beers, I went home again with a pleasant smile on my face thinking what a weird and special country this is.