Mors Subita and Marianas Rest played a short but energy packed show to start off the weekend on Thursday, September 16th at Tullikamari’s Klubi in Tampere. A perfect balance of melancholy for these dark autumn days provided by Marianas Rest and enough energy to power the whole town and get the weekend vibe going with Mors Subita.
MARIANAS REST:
MORS SUBITA:
Rating: 4/5
Welcome Rootbrain! Their debut album Breakwater has finally released today (June 14, 2023) after much anticipation! The band is comprised of music scene veterans, including members of Triptykon, Profane Omen and Kuolemanlaakso.
Jules Näveri – vocals
V. Santura – lead guitar
Hurja Helle – rhythm guitar
Thomas Wright – bass
Fat Tony – drums
No frills, Breakwater is a solid album. Old school sound with a fresh coat of paint and anguish, embellished with occasional wisps from the members previously existing bands. Rootbrain consider themselves “Black Grunge”, which is definitely the sound at the core of it all, but there are also constant bursts and streams from every corner of metal, rock and alternative music . The easy flow of ballad breakdowns, electrifying solos, groovy melodies, doomy riffs, heart wrenching harmonies and chill acoustic interludes keeps your ears, mind and soul on edge. Throw all of those things into a blender with a shot of whisky, sunshine, and the notion that this world is going down in flames- and you have Breakwater. I couldn’t imagine a better time of year for this album to have been released than the beginning of summer. Listening to it makes me want nothing more than to lounge in the sun and drink to the end of the world. The album is equally as diverse in lyrical themes, bending from rage to sorrow to power to pain, reflecting the soul of the writer, and the world surrounding them. A positive reflection of the fucknesses of life. Acceptance of the shitty state of the world with a grin. A view of a dystopian hell through rose colored glasses.
Breakwater is saturated with the vibe of guys making music for the sake of music and friendship. Guys who love what they do, and recorded the most professional and intricate jam session ever. In their bio, they describe themselves as a “band built on brotherhood” and this album smacks you in the face with that notion. I can almost see their live show with intense jamming, jokes, tricks, and a laid back but professional stage presence where they are all in sync with each other as well as the audience. This album really makes me want to experience them live. Now. No… like, yesterday!
review by: Serena Solomon
Grave Pleasures celebrated the release of their fourth studio album Plagueboys at Yo-Talo in Tampere on April 27, 2023.
Modem, a dystopian synth-pop duo donned with a pile of synth filled boxes warmed up the stage. They seemed to be a bit mysterious and underground as I had trouble finding much info about them. Although their style and sound seemed to be on the outer edge of relative to Grave Pleasures, the connection was understandable. They somehow flawlessly blended eccentricity and low keyness, drenaline driven yet chill indie aesthetic, shiny latex, fast glasses eccentric dancing vs. knitted sweaters, humble newsboy hats and groovy stoicism. The vocals and more melancholic melodies shot a streak of Twin Peaks vibes through the whole set. Specially the parts when the vocalist played the Sax, and it made you question whether it was insanity or brilliance.
Although it was a Thursday night and probably not as big of a crowd a there could (should) have been, Grave Pleasures set the stage ablaze from start to finish. At times, every (living) body in the room was swaying to the groove of dystopian doomy post punk. Mat’s humble and low key speeches between songs drove in the lovely paradox of up beat dystopian music. Questioning why they wrote songs about such dark subjects such as “Doomsday Rainbows” in the past, and how they’ve move on to getting “High on Annihilation”. Sarcastically mentioning all the things going wrong in the world that they weren’t supposed to talk about , although much of their music coincidentally directly breached those subjects. Dancing with a similar low key eccentricness Modem had. The only other time I had seen the band was at the packed indoor stage at Tuska in 2018, so the half full intimacy of Yo-Talo was quite a different vibe and although the show as brilliant and will probably make my top gigs list, it left an unsatiated feeling, needing more. I really REALLY hope they do more gigs this year!
January 20, 2023 we in Tampere, Finland were lucky enough to catch not only the first show of an epic European tour, but also the first ones to hear Katatonia‘s much anticipated 13th full-length album Sky Void of Stars live, on its release day! Pakkahuone was sold out long before the gig in Helsinki, although that too was eventually a sold out show.
Hailing all the way from across the pond, SOM from the US opened the night with a flurry of ethereal doom-pop-shoe-gaze sounds emanating from a smoke clad stage. It felt as if their sound pulled those still trickling in slowly forward as if on a string. Their sound and presence gave me similar vibes to Hangmans Chair…. but replace the grit and grime with fluffy clouds and you get SOM. Hangmans Chair meets Deftones.
Next up was Icelandic cowboys of metal Sólstafir. Although it has been over two years since their last release, it was still fresh and new to see live. We all know why. Their gig flew far beyond my expectations. I could never have imagined such an attention grabbing, spectacle of a show after years of listening to their music. It was intriguing to see how all the members have their own style and pace on stage, yet it all blends together seamlessly. At times it felt as natural as if watching them during a jam session in someones garage. Sæþór with his chiller than chill guitar playing in the shadows, to Aðalbjörn’s most eccentric front man agility, there was not one single dull moment. They also had a special (local?) guest come on stage to play the saxophone live.
Katatonia was another first for me. It was really astonishing how all three bands had a totally different sound and stage presence yet they fit together in one lineup. Katatonia was more of a performance. All the members flowed together on the same page, not as if over rehearsed but just incredibly in sync and with the same level of passion. That dry Swedish stage humor that is becoming more and more familiar to me was hidden a bit under, maybe nerves, of playing all this new material for the first time, but it was there. Jonas’s vocals have such unimaginable soul and yet a subtle flare of eccentric charisma (fueled by his walking around the stage as if arguing with himself, and classy wine glass). The backing vocals also added a beautiful undercurrent of raw emotion that the recorded versions of these songs just couldn’t portrey. It was an honor to be the first to see these new songs live, and a real pleasure to finally be able to hear a few old classics live (not to mention to achieve the impossible of photographing Mr. Renkse’s face on stage!)
Talvihelvetti, the winter sister of Saarihelvetti summer festival that takes place on Viikinsaari, an Island in a lake in Tampere, Finland. This year, Talvihelvetti was a heaping warm bowl of comfort food for the ears and eyes. Bands we know, love and cant get enough of. A metal extension to the comfort of the holidays, or the finale some look forward to, to get through the noxious and relentless jingles and cheer.
Although the lineup was traditional for the Tampere metal fest scene, all the bands had a pleasant mix of new and old. Aside from Brymir being the band with the most recent album release, and the excitement of seeing their new songs live, Fear of Domination brought back their glow paint along with a tweaked live setup to accommodate their missing drummer. Finntroll also put a new spin on their live set up with new stage gear, including an epic smoking ram skull. Both Detset and Mors Subita brought the energy from the summer festivals indoors, and played a surprisingly genuine and enthralling set as well. Most memorable moments personally was how cozy Brymir’s set was, maybe it was being home after their long European tour that made them give off such a friendly familiar vibe, as if we were all just hanging out in their living room (not to mention throwing fish into the mosh pit), and the crowd during Finntroll. Not only was it the first time I’ve experienced the “rowing” trend happen at an indoor gig, the whole audience seemed to partake in that or mosh pits at some point. It was a different feeling of coziness, even in the larger space of the venue.
Mors Subita
Brymir
Fear of Domination
Detset
Finntroll
December 17, 2022 Shape of Despair and Counting Hours played an iconic gig at Olympia Kortteli in Tampere, Finland.
Counting Hours warmed the night up, or chilled it down with pounding melodic doom. Followed by an intense 2 hours of funeral doom, including Shape of Despair’s newest release Return to the Void in its entirety, plus an array of songs from their earlier albums. It was the perfect way to welcome the darkest week of the year.
Counting Hours:
Shape of Despair:
Dark Art Conspiracy 
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