This year, Tuhdimmat Tahdit festival was held in Ratinanpuisto, Tampere 16-17.6 . Two days of both local and international acts brought a diverse array of bands to the small festival. A smooth way to transition into festival season. Though the smaller stage had constant technical difficulties , there was very limited seating in the shade, and there were some long lines for water during the hottest hours of the day, it was a cozy festival for city center attraction.

Day 1 Highlights –
Verikalpa were a great band to get things rolling. They always have great energy and produce an atmosphere that draws you in. Unfortunately, people were still trickling in and they didn’t have such a large crowd but it was one of the more solid performances of they day. Although Transworld Identity were the first to experience the bad luck of the smaller stage with technical and sound issues, they powered through and provided a bit more palatable sound for those who are not into heavier music. Ensiferum seemed to be the real start to the festival, with most of the attendees finally in, and still getting into the groove. Though once ‘Lai Lai Hei’ started, people moved forward in unison as if drawn by strings and from then on the energy kept up. Bloodred Hourglass is starting to really take off! I’d even go so far as to say they were the unofficial headliner of the day. It was heartwarming when Jarkko, their vocalist, asked how many had never seen them before, and welcomed them to the ‘family’. Lordi was the predicted yet never dull show stopper. My personal first time seeing and shooting them and damn, what have I been missing! A personal highlight for me, and many others! It would be great to see more of them but, as Mr.Lordi made clear, he’s not getting any younger – using the example of almost forgetting to throw his confetti! Mors Subita also put on a solid show. Despite the beating sun, raging heat and sound issues, they still gave one of the most full throttle performances I have ever seen from them! Dead by April was definitely a highlight for many, as they were only main stage act to come from abroad. The band themselves also seemed ecstatic to be back in Finland, and definitely showed it with their performance! Diablo was also another classic, and really great to finally see their newer music live! One note about the layout of the festival was that it was pretty cool to be able to watch what was going on at one stage even if you were in the front waiting for the act coming on the next stage.
Beast in Black is a crowd favorite to the max. Their cheesy rock star moves and intimate crowd connection make for a great show, and damn, the tiny TINY details that go into their set decorations! Mind-blowing!

Day 2 Highlights –
Although the opening band of Day 2, Carnival Academy, also not have such a huge crowd, the fans there were there were enthusiastic as hell! Smallest mosh pit I’ve ever seen! Maybe next year they should start the festival later and add a third day? Anyway, they were much more solid than their aesthetic let on! And had a much more mature, and promising sound as well. They even had a little party trick with their mascot of a horror clown going around handing out clown noses with “CA” painted on them. It was fun and professional at the same time. Antony Parviainen Trio plays Iron Maiden stopped me in my tracks. Way more than I could have ever expected! Who knew Iron Maiden performed by a talented vocalist, upright bass, cello and acoustic guitar could sound so magical! It was beyond perfection and I cannot wait to see them again. Similar to the previous day, the festival atmosphere started kicking up when Turmion Kätilöt hit the stage, even though I believe that was the earliest time of day I have ever seen TK play! I have to say, ShagU (Saku)’s show has matured a LOT since the earlier years of him playing in TK. I feel there is a definite line now between his Fear of Domination and TK stage presence. I look forward to seeing them both soon to see how else the performances will evolve. Both Wolfheart and Before the Dawn felt like the unofficial festival headliners. On top of Tuomas Saukkonen (who is the founder and has multiple roles in both bands) being a multi-talented superhero, both bands gave extremely strong performances and were epic in their own way. Of course, Wolfheart has been more familiar in recent years, so they have the solid following. But Before the Dawn has recently made a comeback, including their new extremely talented vocalist Paavo Lapotti, who not only has an other-worldy voice, but great charisma and stage presence as well. They were one of my most unanticipated favorites, and now strive to see them any chance I can! Shereign was another of my personal highly anticipated acts. Although they did experience the bad luck of the small stage on a major, show stopping scale, they all had magnificent spirit and didn’t let the issues dampen their fun or energy. It was an honor to witness as I believe it will be their only gig this summer. All the love to them! Brymir also suffered show stopping (or show delaying) technical difficulties, but, in true Brymir fashion, it resulted in a very special, once in a lifetime opportunity for Viktor and the guys to show off their epic rap improvisation skills! After what felt like 10 minutes, things got worked out and the show went on, including the infamous Steve the fish being thrown so hard around the mosh pit, it could be seen flying higher than the stage, in a video taken from across the river from where the festival was being held! Mokoma, being a summer festival veteran band, had a predictably huge crowd, and although they seemed to also be suffering sound difficulties, Marko, their vocalist seemed to be singing his lungs out, as the other members played one of the most driving shows in my memory of their live shows. They are currently celebrating the 20 year anniversary of their classic album Kurimus. Closing out the smaller stage, Swallow the Sun. They were one of the few lucky bands to not experience any issues on the small stage, and deserving as always, of the flawless show they gave us. A short but sweet set built with a solid mix of old and new, at a decent enough time of day that the blaring sun didn’t kill the mood. I even got so wrapped up in the music for the first few minutes it was difficult to make my arms do the things they needed to do with the camera. But that is a normal reaction for me. There are no words for how much I appreciate this band and anything more I would have to say would come straight out of bias. So, on to the finale! Battle Beast! They are stunning and captivating as always, although it has sadly been way too long since I personally have seen them live. I really wish they were doing more festivals in Finland this summer but we can’t have everything! Beyond their flawless show, and spot on charisma, they had such a great connection with the audience and each other as well, one has to really work not to enjoy watching them. In all honesty, I think them being the final act for the festival was a bit unbalanced, they were maybe too good to be the closing act for this kind of festival!

Photos and report by Serena Solomon