Melancholy Mass 2024 at Olympia, Tampere November 23, 2024
Omnivortex began the night with an intensely energetic but not so melancholic show. Vermilia brought the mood down a few notches to a suitable level for a dark November evening. Their mysterious aesthetic and haunting but powerful vocals ran through the audience and filled the venue with a beautiful darkness. Kauan was a personal highlight, it was an unforgettable experience to see them for the first time and it seemed many felt the same. Although their set only included three songs, they filled their slot and the souls of the audience to the brim with an entrancing performance. I really hope they do some headlining gigs soon! Møl seemed to be an audience favorite, though their energy was a bit much after two more low key and sombre performances. Although they might have been better suited as the final act, they still were a perfect edition to this nights lineup. Kaunis Kuolematon continued the beautiful gloom of Finnish melancholic metal and ended the night on a sombre yet powerful note.
Photo Report: Nummirock 21-24.6.2023 in Kauhajoki, Finland Photography by Serena Solomon
This year, Nummirock was back to its full glory. Last year, it seemed people were still getting back to the swing of things and/or still too cautious to even attend the festival since the pandemic. This year, the party was kicking off already on Tuesday. The forest side of the campgrounds were almost completely full a day before the festival even started! Some notable things that have evolved this year included more tiny cabins through out both camp grounds for those who prefer four walls to tents, as well as spots designated for electricity hook ups for caravans. The food options were also kicked up a notch, and pleasantly surprising options could be found from hatsapuri (kind of like a giant calzone) to sushi! There was also a really nice selection of small breweries being represented and a good selection of alcohol all around. Probably the most exciting evolution this year was the Klubi stage. They definitely invested in it way more this year and it really paid off from the performers and audiences perspective!
Day 1 highlights: Kalmah started the festival off with a bang! Probably the biggest send off for Nummirock I have witnessed. Not only was it great to hear some of their new songs live, the old songs, absolute classics, sent the whole crowd into festival mode. Although Vermilia is a somewhat newcomer band, they are shooting straight to the top of people’s “favorite acts” list, and with good reason! A perfect blend of black, pagan and folk, elegant yet powerful sound and an incredibly impressive multi-talented vocalist who sings beautiful cleans, brutal growls AND plays the flute (as well as shaman drum)! Hope to see these guys on the Infenrno stage during an epic sunset next year.
Photos: Kalmah,Vermilia,Mors Subita,Elvenking
Day 2 Highlights:
Brymir were selected by the gods to be the “epic music in the rain” band this year. Although they were the first band of the day, they dominated the main stage! It was really great to FINALLY see them on a main stage, their energy and sound finally felt like it could fit the space they were in! Havukruunu was one band I was looking forward too but was surprised how perfectly they fit at this festival. Specially since it was overcast and a bit gloomy, their darker sound and pagan black metal aesthetics provided a perfect dose of melancholy to the Finnish midsummer celebration. It was also great to see a few non-Finnish acts tearing up the Inferno stage (Born of Osiris and Aborted) after so long. Although I wasn’t surprised by the greatness of Stam1na‘s live performance (they never disappoint), I was really amazed how, although they were the final act of the day on the main stage, they still interact so intimately with the crowd it feels like a club gig. I Am The Night provided the continuing tradition of midnight black metal mass on the Inferno stage. They were a perfect way to close out the first full day of the festival, shrouded in smoke and shadows through the whole performance with the backdrop of the eternal blue hour of midsummer.
Photos: Brymir, I Am Your God, Havukruunu, Finntroll, Stratovarius, Aborted, Azaghal, Stam1na and I Am The Night
Day 3 Highlights: Unforntunately I was only able to catch one of the Wacken Metal Battle bands, but it seems Omnivortex was the only one needing to catch. They ultimately won, and are going to Wacken this year! I was impressed by their gig, they had a solid performance and enough energy and charisma to fill a main stage! Gutalax was an incredibly unexpected highlight. Maybe the best part of the whole gig was seeing the Nummirock crew having such a blast throwing toilet paper over the whole crowd! But damn, I still wonder why Gutalax has not played Nummi before. They have the perfect energy and aesthetic for the festival. It was hilarious to walk through the camp grounds before the gig and see so many people suiting up in hazmat suites and covering themselves in toilet paper to prepare for the gig. Droves of white suited, toilet paper clad, toilet brush carrying warriors heading to the battle of Gutalax on the Inferno stage, what a sight!It was also great to see Bloodred Hourglass on the main stage. They have risen quite high recently and it shows. They fill in the main stage space perfectly and are an obvious crowd favorite. Misþyrming were one of my personal favorites. I was surprised though, how many others seemed to agree. I was under the impression they might have been a bit niche black metal for Nummi but it seemed they were an unexpected highlight for many. Maybe the hidden gem of the entire festival! It seemed the Inferno stage had the strongest acts of day 3. Vader had the entire festival on its toes, they probably should have been on the main stage! And, to close the day, Before the Dawn. Despite some technical difficulties, they put on the most memorable performance of the festival (next to Behemoth). The midsummer evening sky, pyros, Paavo’s entrancing voice and the driving music provided an intoxicating cocktail of midsummer metal. Their comeback has been exceptional and their new album is so on point. I feel a bit spoiled to have the opportunity to catch them multiple times this summer, but no show will top the Inferno stage night cap at Nummi!
Photos: Enemy Inside, Omnivortex, Gutalax, Bloodred Hourglass, Misþyrming, Vader, Beast in Black and Before the Dawn
Day 4 Highlights:
The final day started out light with Viikate, though I felt they may have been better a bit later in the day when everyone had fully woken up. Bloodywood was nothing like I expected but only positive things to say about them. I had no expectations on their live show, and based on the music I had heard, I expected more of a party band, but they had such a mature presence, chill and light-hearted at times but an undercurrent of somberness. Their speeches between songs had the whole audience silent and listening to their words, really following what they were saying and understanding their messages. Real messages that connected their music to the good and bad going on in the world. They created a really unique atmosphere I had never experienced at Nummi or maybe any other festival, how wholly they captivated the audience. Vorna filled up the tent stage even before they started playing. They’ve evolved their live show more to showcase their new music beautifully, from intro to outro. The whole audience was singing along to both new and old music, and at times swaying together as if one entity. Asking Alexandria brought a lot of people to their nostalgic knees, but they were much more enjoyable than I had anticipated. It was nice to ride the nostalgia train a bit… maybe that is one element that was missing from Nummi this year. But then, Behemoth. This was a gig I will have trouble conveying my thoughts and feelings into words. Absolutely beyond expectation, and not just because of the epic pyros and massive stage setup. You could take all that away and I think the feeling would have been the same. Mind you, they definitely did bring the most elaborate stage setup I have ever witnessed at Nummi… but their sound and overall vibe is and might be unmatched for years to come when it comes to Nummi finale’s. Even though they signature fireworks didn’t happen, now that I think back they really didn’t even need to happen. Hands down the most iconic, monumental show I have witnessed in my 8 years of attending Nummirock. The only thing I have negative to say about it was that the sound could have been louder, more driving. But honestly, the feeling is what stuck with me. They are going to have a hard time topping that one.
October 19, 2022 was a night of otherworldly music at Olympia in Tampere, Finland. Jonathan Hultén (formerly of Tribulation) opened the night with a highly anticipated show. His music and live performance is truly a work of art, and it is easy to believe his artistic abilities span many mediums. “Dark Folk” would be the most generic way to describe his music, though it is hard to label as there are so many unique elements. Hearing the music live was completely different on its own, almost as if just listening to the album was not meant to be the full experience. The sound, accompanied by Hultén‘s presence, aesthetic and stage decor made for an inimitable performance. There was a constant stream of nature/bird sounds in the background between songs that gave off a sense I had never experienced at a club gig, playing tricks with the mind as to where exactly you were standing. Hultén‘s presence was typically quite stoic, almost meditative, which enhanced his every movement and facial expression, giving them so much more meaning and power. At times it felt he was performing his own personal ritual. My only complaint was that it was too short! I could stand there and watch for hours more.
Hällas continued the night with quite a special performance in a very different way. They quite authentically give off a 70’s prog rock vibe. They have nailed everything from the sound to the shiny space boots. It truly felt like a shift in space and time to experienced their music live. Although it is easy to see where they get their inspiration, they do it justice!
At last! After two years of nothing, the gates of 25th Brutal assault open to us and here are some bands giving us their best. As usual, we witnessed little longer quevesat start, but nothing that we could not withstand. Some stuff was done at the last minutes as the ceilings on the balconies, but at least everyone could see what it takes to prepare festivals this big. So here goes the Tuesday.
Fans rules!
After little adaptation getting some tasty food in various of tents, both with meat meals but also vegan options, which is quite standard now, we could see the first artists performing in one of four stages. The start (at 2.15p.m.) was quite mild and not so in your face. Japanese metalcore of SableHills gave us some more melodic stuff so our skulls were not crashed immediatelly. After that the hardcore crossover Slope was pumping some positive energy into people as well as exotic Bloodywood with their combination of ethnical vibes and metal music.
Slope, Bloodywood
Some heavy hitters were delivering the best tho and that was Devourment from Texas with their brutal death metal. And they were not the only one in the day. Later on, ExterminationDismemberment and Korpse showed some nice work with a public and forced the people cheerfully to do some moshing, stage diving and even wall of death with their guttural rich music. Little less intense with brutality, but with added melodies, RiversofNihil played on one of main stages. Vola or Czech Avatar was even further in progressive approach with their music. AtTheGates continued with the milder aspect of the genre later in the night.
Devourment, Extermination Dismemberment, Rivers of Nihil, Korpse
Two bands of another direct metal subgenre could be heard. Classical thrash metal from California, Vio-lence showed themselves in nice lights with their fast show and also another local band Exorcizphobia gave us some thrashy riffs.
Vio-lence
Slower, but surely not weaker kind of stuff was represented by another, quite a new, Czech band Můra who looked like their motto is: Blood, corpsepaint and wine. Doomy steam-roller combination of doom death and black metal (mostly visually) was damn good, if you are in this kind of music and little smaller Bastion stage (new, instead of Octagon one) suited them well, too.
Můra
Later on the Pallbearer stayed in the genre as well as Evoken who represended slow funeral doom as if the time has almost stopped when heavy down-tuned riffes have been played.
Dark Art Conspiracy 
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