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Hammer Open Air 2012 - Day 1 - 7/20/2012 - Mannin Navetta - Lieto (FI)

Second Hammer Open Air for me out of three, not a bad record, considering that I knew about the first edition only afterwards. Even if somehow to me the line up was more appealing back in 2011, there sure is still a wise mixture of good foreign acts and some interesting local (read Finnish) bands.
The location this year is different: the festival has been moved a few kilometers farther away from Turku, closer to the center of this small town named Lieto. Funny thing there is some kind of zoo by the camping site, and the camping itself is quite far from the actual festival, quite neat-looking and kept in order by the camping nazis (read security), being really strict in enforcing their rules - except when some guy fell asleep in one of the two toilets.

With these premises at 12:00 sharp on Friday I am ready to check out the new area. Which at a first look seems just, small. The ground also is not the best ever, but at least it didn’t rain enough to make it a real issue. The main problem in these two days - organization-wise - is that there is only one food stand, and the queue at dinner time can be annoying. But we are not here to eat or complain about every detail. Today there is bands like Deströyer 666, Urfaust, Sólstafir, Jess And The Ancient Ones… enough for some good entertainment.
Too bad instead for the guys of Devastracktor that they have the ungrateful task to open the festival in front of 20-30 people only. The thrashers from the nearby Turku are always good to see live, as when they opened last year for Angel Witch, and then again the last month when they played with Manilla Road. I think actually this time it was a bit better than that last show, even more so people shouldn’t have missed it. Shame on you! And by the way "Poser Disposer" kicks ass.
On what I have named the "lapsetlava" (kids stage, as it was like the smallest thing ever I’ve seen in an open air festival) it’s now the turn of Damngod, actually a few minutes earlier than the schedule. Somehow the band does a Kvelertak-vibe, even if their music is more death-oriented. It’s funny how the guys are all wearing some redneck/hillbilly clothes, that leaves you when you get there to see the band with a "what the…?".
As the day goes on pretty fast, again on the Kvlt stage Assaulter really leave me with a good impression. Black/thrash under the influence of their compatriots Deströyer 666, these guys show that they didn’t come all the way here from Australia for nothing. And the songs from their second album "Boundless!" do have their effect on the audience, which is now starting to warm up properly.
Cannibal Accident has some new weird addition to the show every time. Today before the gig even starts there is this one masked guy sitting on a broken wheelchair while drinking white wine and kindly showing the middle finger to various people.
The band has just released the new "Omnivorous" (review coming soon), and clearly they never seem to run out of ideas for their live gigs, as now our Kurwa Doktor has a baby doll with bloody knife and fork striped to the mic stand. The band provides to its audience fun and laughter with their music, and with different appearances on stage, their concert ends with many more random guests joining them, mostly in underwear. In one word: bizarre.
It’s now the turn of Cryptborn. I never heard these guys beforehand, and I’m not really sure yet what to make of their death metal after listening them for half hour. Curiosity, the singer is from the States, and moved here to Finland a couple of years ago. The band didn’t leave such an impression on me, but it’s one of those I would like to see better when I will have the chance. They did have their share of shouting fans in the front row after all.
I’m not a big fan of Swallowed. I can’t clearly remember where did I see the band before, and that must mean something. Their death metal with doom-ish influences just isn’t for me. The band itself behaves just like a doom band does, so nothing really much to see on stage. But hey, after all it’s a matter of personal taste, and they do know how to play their music. I think it’s about time for them to make a debut album, then we’ll see what they really have got.
One after the other the bands keep going, and so when Jess And The Ancient Ones enters the stage, we are already in the second half of the day. I recently discovered this band, and I can see it’s one of those Finnish acts people should keep an eye on. Occult rock bands like JATAO are living a good period nowadays, and their self-titled record has some pretty good stuff! Featuring members of Deathchain, they don’t lack ability, and the groove is just about right. Just listening live to songs as "Sulfur Giants", "Come Crimson Death" and "The Devil (in G minor)", is enough to be captured by the vocals of Jess and the melodies of their music.
Bestial Mockery is a band which I didn’t quite understand. They come on stage with their fake blood and long metal spikes etc. but as the name suggests, you don’t really understand if they are serious or it’s all a joke. The music seems to be nothing out of the ordinary, and I take the opportunity to sit down and have a beer for once, before one of the most-awaited band of the day: Sólstafir.
The Icelanders have now a well-established name, but I still remember when I saw them the first time in 2009 and I was amazed! Since then I followed their shows on every occasion, and I’ve been rarely disappointed. Even today they are one of the best acts, despite the funny new look of the guitar player Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson. Needless to say Finnish fans love Sólstafir, as it’s shown by the many times the band has played in here in these last few years. It must be a bit of a bummer though for a band started 18 years ago, that everyone in the crowd is requesting a NEW song (yes, "Fjara"). The band’s evolution from "Köld" made them gain a fair share of popularity, and it’s in fact on these last two records that the show is focused. As the singer/guitarist entertains the fans, sometime even by climbing on the barrier, the others keep the usual "I don’t give a f**k"-attitude, which is, in the end, part of the band’s charm. Another time I’m glad I could see them live.
It’s boozing, partying and bar-fight time now, with the Swedish Gehennah, reunited last year (and not to be confused with the norwegian black metal Gehenna, who still shared for a while the guitar player, Mr. Rob Stringburner/Coffinshaker - nice guy who will have a surprise extra gift for us at the end of the festival. Not much to say about the music itself, the show is OK, among a beer and another, the performance isn’t really stunning, but overall entertaining, I would say 6.5/10.
Now a little switcharoo in the running order makes so that the old doomsters Unholy, recently came back to life, exchanged place with D666, a lucky turn of events since now I can have dinner. Starting from "Second Ring Of Power" to the conclusive "Time Has Gone", I have the same feeling from the Swallowed gig before. This band is not really for me. Respect though to one of the oldest metal acts from Finland, it seems there’s been a lot of reuniting even here as of lately.
Before Urfaust, let me get back a few weeks, when the band was about to cancel their appearance due to an hand injury occurred to IX. The guys were almost thinking to do a show with a synthetizer if it wasn’t possible to play guitar! Somehow they managed to perform normally, but kudos to them for trying to do everything possible to play here!
Even with this small hindrance the duo pulls off a nice performance, bringing back memories from their Helsinki gig in winter, and in the sign of stage smoke and Karhu beer. One hour of greatness, and the funny facial expressions of VRDRBR while beating those drums. This year the band released a compilation entitled "Ritual Music for the True Clochard" (clochard being French for hobo), and many of the songs tonight are contained in that record. Awesome atmospheric stuff, once again, before the grand finale.
Obviously many people here today were waiting just for this moment: Deströyer 666. I think it’s been at least three years that the band didn’t show up in Finland, and the audience shows how they were missed. Between "I Am The Wargod", "Trialed By Fire", "Satanic Speed Metal", it’s hard not to get caught in the burning atmosphere and moshing. The band is killer as I remembered from the first time I saw them. Aggressive and energetic while KK keeps inciting the fans. The only thing that makes the show a little less enjoyable is the traditional Finnish summer, that reminds you wearing just a t-shirt at night in these places might be a bad idea.
The concert goes even too fast, as always when things are good, and as the sky gets dark soon it’s already midnight, the end of the show. A really involving performance from the now netherlands-based Aussies. Together with Sólstafir, the best of the day, surely they didn’t disappoint the expectations.

It’s now time to head to the camping area for some after-partying. Still keeping it quite apparently, as the rule is no noise after 23:00. Go tell that to a bunch of half-drunk metalheads.


Click here to see the photos: Hammer Open Air 2012 (Friday)

Report a cura di Marco Manzi