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Tuska Open Air 2011 - Day 2 - 7/23/2011 - Suvilahti - Helsinki

It can’t be that at the beginning of the second day I’m already tired! But not getting to sleep plays a big role into that. Thanking the existance of energy drinks, I get in when MyGrain is about to throw their finishing blows at the early, not-hangovered audience of the Inferno tent.
Fortunately, at the same time Witchery is about to start.
Legion didn’t last much at the vocals of the swedish band, and just about a week before this show has been replaced by the former Dark Funeral, Emperor Magus Caligula, which is always kind of amusing to see, in his traditional stage costume and face-paint. The band doesn’t really seem to capture much the audience, but the early time is the main factor in this. It’s actually interesting to see for once this band live, even though I didn’t quite like much the latest record. Still a good way to spend time while having lunch.
One of the most awaited show of the day for the male audience (and it seems also on the female part for the other band members) is the show of Epica, which comes back to Finland after the tour of last September.
Simone looks as beautiful as ever, and it’s easy to get captured by the movements of her flowing hair, even before her amazing voice reaches you. The two guitar player having also their hair up in the air thanks to the fans placed in front of the microphone stands, and the keyboard player with his rotating platform, contribute to animate the show, even if most of the eyes are all for the red-haired singer.
“Samahdi” and “Resign To Surrender” open the gig with energy, the stage charisma of the band does the rest. Even the weather is at the moment more pleasant since there’s more wind and clouds coming. This is indeed a pretty good start for the day, and I manage to follow until one of my favourite from the last record, the song “Unleashed”, before I must head to the club stage for Medeia.
The funnier band of the Rotten Sound vocalist Keijo Niinimaa has just released this year their third record, “Abandon All”, and has a really nice following in their home country, as suggested by the amount of people watching, and cheering the band.
The guys up there reply starting with a blast of energy and uncovering in the very beginning two of their best songs: “Cold Embrace” and “Descension”. Furious headbanging in the front and some mosh-pit are the obvious consequence. Other highlights of the gig are “Abandon All” itself and the conclusive “We All Fail”. But Medeia proves to be once again a nice live act, who knows how to entertain its fans, and that clearly shows on stage!
Time for a quick run, and here I am for the 4th time this year to see the Sorvali cousins with Moonsorrow. It’s quite an unusual set the one that the band performs today, starting with the opener “Köyliönjärven Jäällä” (“On the ice of lake Köyliö”), followed by two new songs from the latest record. At the guitar one of the usually rare appearances of Henri Sorvali instead of the Rytmihäiriö guitarist Janne Perttilä, which makes it always one more reason to be here at this show.
The effects with the lights contribute to the atmosphere, so that if you don’t look to the open side of the tent, it almost seems to be indoor. The guys are though a bit static on their play, but the songs are nonetheless well performed, and the audience is hypnotized by their music. More traditional is the ending, entrusted to two wonderful songs such as “Kivenkantaja” and “Aurinko Ja Kuu”. Another good show, as expected from Moonsorrow!
I now have the luxury of 15 minutes of free time before Katatonia starts on the biggest stage, although I can follow only the very beginning of their concert, and so I can’t really say much about it. Epica’s interview calls behind the scenes.
But I’m back in business for Wintersun, and I’m so glad I was there! Judging from today’s show the guys can’t wait to get back on track and play more live show, or at least that’s what it appears from the ever-smiling face of its leader Jari Mäenpää, who seems to be the first to truly enjoy this home gig. On their side, the audience goes ape-shit-crazy, you just have to look at the enthusiastic faces of some hardcore fans in the front, who are releasing all their wait piled up in these years for seeing the now-maybe-closer return of their heroes.
The intro is taken from the upcoming “Time”, and as Kai Hahto greets the fans from behind the drums, fades into “Beyond The Dark Sun”. For the energy released and the awesomeness of the music, this is truly one of the most involving and among the best concerts of the whole weekend. Virtuosisms both at the guitars and drums no-stop for one hour of excellent plays!
“Sleeping Stars” and “Winter Madness” prove themselves once again to be awesome to hear live, something that I didn’t have the chance to do from at least 5 years, and prepare the ground for the new “The Way Of The Fire”. Pure magic!
This fantastic show ends (too soon) with “Starchild”, in a general extasy of the fans, who now look forward even more to the release of the (too) long-awaited second record!
The only bad thing of this concert is that at the same time there were two other bands I would have really liked to see again: the crazy japanese Church Of Misery, and Turku’s thrashers Axegressor.
After this great show, another band I was looking forward to see again from a couple of years: Blind Guardian. The german bards are preceded by the long orchestral intro of “Sacred Worlds”, and acclaimed vigorously by the power metal fans already massed in front of the stage. This is a perfect way to start this epic journey in which we are all going to get involved. “Welcome To Dying” and “Nightfall” just add to the enthusiasm of the crowd, which never cease to sing along with an Hansi who didn’t lose even a bit vocals-wise compared to the last time.
The BG machine is a well trained combination of melodies, choruses and heavy riffs, wisely mixed into this show by the André/Marcus duo, while Hansi moves the masses with his gestures.”Valhalla” takes one long moment where the audience is asked as usual to take part in the chorus, and is then followed by two songs from the latest “At The Edge Of Time”. But when you don’t expect it, it’s already time to end this show, and an emotional moment arrive with “The Bard’s Song – In The Forest”, while last of the set is “Mirror, Mirror”. At this point I’m already at the Inferno stage waiting to take photos at Ghost. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the music right before the show of the Swedish starts.
Ghost is somehow the revelation of this Tuska 2011. Everyone I know who didn’t really dig into the band at all up till now, after their show at the festival was like “this band is amazing”. And they are damn right.
The swedish never cease to catch my interest in their live performances, even though the show is pretty much always the same over and over again. A sort of ritual, though a goddamn good one. The band lead by the Repugnant singer under the pseudonymous of Papa Emeritus I, after the usual intro makes its appearance with “Con Clavi Con Dio”, as the other “nameless ghouls” enter the stage.
From here on it’s all a studied scheme of incense-spreading and other gestures which have been practiced in the many live shows this band has done in the last year, and that made it more and more famous among the many curious people. The voice of the singer is great as ever, and capture his adepts really easily, making new ones on the way.
“Elizabeth” and “Satan Prayer”, two of my favorite, still gives me the same feeling of “amazingness” as in Hellfest, and performance-wise, the band seems to be doing a pretty good work , engulfed in all that smoke and foggy, darkened atmosphere. It’s such a shame that I have to leave at this point, missing the brilliant Beatle’s cover “Here Comes The Sun”, and the traditional ending with “The Ritual”.
At the same time as Ghost, in the second stage takes place the gig of another great band, Enslaved. Too many good stuff at the same time, where to go? What to see? That’s a problem. After following a little of the Ghost show, I then manage to reach the Norwegians for their show, right in the same day as the Oslo massacre.
“Return To Yggdrasil”, “Giants” and “Allfaðr Oðinn” are among the few songs I can catch of this show, where it seems Ice Dale is showing off both in muscles and his abilities as a guitar player, while Grutle and Ivar seems to be having quite some fun and look quite cheerful towards the crowd. This is far from the old black metal band that you’d have expected only 10 years ago. Times change. Still I would have liked to see more, but duty calls, and I’m off for other business in the backstage area.
I can finally have time to focus a little on the headliner of the day, the Devin Townsend Project, when the show it’s already far in its second half. So far it has been great, so I’ve been told. With the omni-presence of Anneke Van Giersbergen, the added value to the show is indeed worth the adjective, “By Your Command” sounds powerful and killer as usual, followed by the dreamy “Numbered!”, which suited well for the ongoing sunset.
The new “Juular” also seemed to have received quite some success, and I must say that even if it’s the 4th time in one year that Devin comes to Finland, it’s being worth to be here once again! The music works perfectly, the show is intense as usual, everything seems just fine. Pity I missed the first part. “Hyperdrive” and the wonderful “Deep Peace” from the DT period close this awesome gig, and the second day of Tuska.

For me it’s now time to move from one aftershow to another and then to an after-aftershow. Busy Saturday! The best of the day have been without doubt Wintersun, Ghost and Blind Guardian for my part, but Devin Townsend, Enslaved, Moonsorrow and Epica sure haven’t been there standing and doing nothing! By far the best and most interesting day of this year’s edition.


Photos:
Devin Townsend Project


Enslaved


Ghost


Hooded Menace


Blind Guardian


Church Of Misery


Wintersun


Katatonia


Tarot


Moonsorrow


Medeia


Epica


Fleshpress


Witchery


Report a cura di Marco Manzi