LIVE: Stratovarius, support: Dreamtale, April 20th

On April 20th Stratovarius returned to Tampere to celebrate and promote their newest album Nemesis, which was released two months earlier. Pakkahuone was not full, which was probably unfortunate for the artists yet certainly comfortable for the audience.

Tampere's own power metal act, Dreamtale, was also there to warm up the audience for Stratovarius. They are also just about to release their sixth album World Changed Forever on April 26th, and nearly half of the songs performed on Saturday were off that new album.

Dreamtale's gig started out with Powerplay, which is one of their best tracks – and a magnificent live track, and something I had never heard at the very beginning of their show before, but it was a nice surprise. It was followed by Firestorm, a powerful track they have often played at the beginning, but it also tends to be a successful way to turn the audience on. Soon we got to hear something they haven't been playing much lately – Wings Of Icaros off the album Difference – yet they had apparently played it before when warming up for Stratovarius.

The new songs sound great and set high expectations for the upcoming album. Even yours truly, who usually prefers to hear only familiar songs live, can truly enjoy those tracks, even hearing more than one or two new ones. Tides of War, The Signs Were True, Island of My Heart and Join The Rain are all warmly welcome to Dreamtale's future live sets!

While Where Eternal Jesters Reign is a good track and a nice enough live track, I would rather leave it out and include Angel of Light or Lady of a Thousand Lakes in an ideal Dreamtale setlist, but all in all, the show which was finished with Take What The Heavens Create was particularly enjoyable and fierce. And, unfortunately for Stratovarius, Dreamtale rocked the night.

Stratovarius started out with the first track of their new album, Abandon, which isn't a bad song, but not the best or the most stunning way to open up a live show. However, the second track, Speed of Light, made up a bit for what Abandon couldn't do. The third one, Halcyon Days off the new album, was a good choice too, being one of the nicest new songs.

Then the band returned to the 90's to please those who are not too fond of the newer material with Eternity, yet it was followed by a new track again – Dragons. However, it also belongs to the strongest new tracks and was an agreeable live piece. The set comprised the majority of the songs included in the newest album, and didn't offer much to those who prefer their older material. Destiny was heard, as well as Against the Wind – and naturally, Eagleheart, Black Diamond and Hunting High and Low.

One moment between songs was filled with a drum solo, showing off how a guy from Tampere, Rolf Pilve, can handle his drumsticks in front of the audience from his hometown. While the act was skillful, it was unnecessary and relatively boring, obviously making many people in the audience yawn and eagerly waiting for the next actual song. Later Lauri Porra's bass solo turned out to be somewhat more interesting and enjoyable, but still not a particularly good way to spend time during a live show. And since the show didn't feel particularly versatile to begin with, the solo parts did not really claim their place.

For those who both attended the concert where Under Flaming Winter Skies – Live in Tampere live album and DVD were recorded and have also been listening to those, some moments during the gig were sort of small déjà vus. Timo Kotipelto says such things between the songs which are touching at best but cliché at worst, and some phrases and sentences were exactly the same or very similar to those uttered in 2011. Sure it is a difficult task for the vocalist to come up with something smart to say between the songs, a gig after gig and a tour after tour, but Kotipelto's attempts to flatter his audience are not particularly convincing. Making the audience repeat "hunting high and low" again and again is not also the most interesting way to get them engaged and excited (at the very end of the gig).

All in all, Stratovarius's show was a disappointment, boring as a whole despite the occasional very enjoyable tracks. As stated earlier, the support act was the winner of the night. Both bands suffered from slightly bad sounds though, leaving especially vocals occasionally quite muffled, which was unfortunate, yet not the reason why Stratovarius didn't manage to blow my mind.

Gloryhammer – Angus McFife

Christopher Bowes, the frontman of the pirate metal band Alestorm, is making new music with his side project Gloryhammer. The band plays very honest and epic power metal, and Bowes himself can be found behind the keyboards this time.

Their first album, Tales from the Kingdom of Fife, is to be released on March 29th. It is a concept album with a story set in medieval Scotland with fantasy elements – well, yes, such classic power metal themes as dragons, battles, wizards and magic. Since such stories need an epic hero, Angus McFife is wielding his weapons in the name of glory.

And the first video, Angus McFife, is quite promising. In spite of being a fan of Alestorm, I hadn't really been looking forward to Gloryhammer's releases – mostly because I had forgotten to pay enough attention. Well, Gloryhammer is an entirely different project anyway, but it seems that Chris Bowes has a lot more to give to the metal scene than just piratey folk and power metal. Gloryhammer is symphonic and impressive – and certainly gave a good first impression! Thomas Winkler is also singing like a siren and contributing quite a lot of power to metal in this act, being a very fine choice for a vocalist.

While some can probably find the lyrical themes quite cheesy and comical, the song is still particularly catchy! And the video – it's not too comical or ridiculous, it's actually warm (and I am not only referring to the color scheme with a yellowish sky) and cosy – something you should see for yourself.

LIVE: Amorphis, December 29th, 2012

After the world again ended but before the year 2012 came to its timely end Amorphis toured the Finnish venues in December again -- a seemingly semi-customary tradition by now. We stopped by to check out the Pakkahuone gig in Tampere once again after some consideration. To warm up for them two bands had been announced: Blackstar Halo and Brigadnij Podrjad. We were sure to be on time for Blackstar Halo who would kick the evening off at around 20:00 local time.

Upon our arrival it was noticeable how few people there were. We got in close to the stage where only a handful others were by that time. And the majority of those who were already present were just securing their front row spots for Amorphis from the looks of things.

Blackstar Halo started pretty much right on time with one of my favorite tracks Alice in Wonderland. The singer Ville Hovi looked to be in a happy mood and was constantly reminding the audience to smile a little. After Alice, the band played two or three completely new songs from their upcoming album which should be coming out in 2013. The third track I'm not sure of as it was just described as "Rammstein" but there was a certain familiarity to it so I'll have to wonder if it was something from the existing releases. Be what it may, the new songs sounded good, especially a track titled Wolf the Mender. To complete the unfortunately short set of only 6 songs, In Flames and Illuminated were then played. I had hoped for Dark Parade and End of the Story but perhaps another time then!

The sounds were (surprisingly) crisp and clear throughout the entire show and the rest of the band seemed to have a good time too, not just the singer. Alongside him, the guitarist Timo Eskelinen had a happy grin on his face for most of the show. Blackstar Halo left the few of us in the audience largely happy I would wager and looking forward to the next performer, Brigadnij Podrjad.

At 20:45 it was time for the mysterious, unknown to most people I imagine, Brigadnij Podrjad. My eyes first caught the British flag painted guitar on the guitarist (on left in the picture below) and then the bassist (on the right) who was dressed in a very hipster kind of way. After the music began, Anarchy in the UK vibes coursed through my veins: this is as punk as things can get! The show consisted of a lot of short tracks, as is customary for punk I believe, with some speaks between the songs that mainly prepared the audience for the chorus that was coming up in the next song so we could sing along. And it worked, at least for me.

This punk band from St. Petersburg apparently (and already active in the 80's!) did an extremely entertaining show for most parts, but it was perhaps a bit too long as some repetition reared its ugly head towards the end. Sounds were again very good but there were very audible backing tracks on some guitar parts at least. Nevertheless, when the quintet left the stage I was smiling; they came to do what a warm-up band should do.

By this time more crowd had gathered up but the murky Pakkahuone was still far from being crowded. Even the beer queues were short, which is always a good thing though! Around 21:50 the lights went out and it was time for Amorphis. I've seen Amorphis so many times that I knew they would do a solid show like always, especially since Tomi Joutsen's entry to the band. The full set list of the show is readable on setlist.fm and I won't repeat it here. Suffice it to say there were no big surprises but it's always nice when they shuffle things a bit and include lesser-played songs like Better Unborn or Sign From the North Side. The new track Mehtä sounded very heavy (think Majestic Beast) but melodic, something you would expect from Amorphis in all honesty.

Before the encore, a record label representative came out to announce Amorphis had scored gold on their latest album The Beginning of Times and was met with applauds and cheers. Personally the album is a hit and miss for me, but that's for another discussion or review. Still, it's not easy for a metal band to get recognized like that and Amorphis with their 20-year-long+ career surely deserves it.

Unlike in case of warm up bands, the Amorphis sounds were a bit dusty and "packed up", and just not as clear as with prior performers. When the gig ended to Black Winter Day it was time to roll out to a black winter night mostly pleased with the evening. Blackstar Halo were definitely good as were Brigadnij Podrjad. Amorphis tours so much in Finland it's easy to get an overdose on them, and this perhaps felt a bit like that.

Civil War - Civil War EP

After the Swedish warmetallers Sabaton split up in two oddly-sized halves in the early 2012, Daniel Mullback, Oskar Montelius, Daniel Mÿhr and Rikard Sundén suddenly found themselves without a band. However, that period was short-lived and the phoenix arose in form of Civil War, who are here today to continue the warmetal path for which Sabaton paved the way. To fill the singer and drummer boots, Nils Patrik Johansson of Wuthering Heights / Astral Doors / Lion's Share fame and Stefan Eriksson (Volturyon) were recruited. Civil War's first release is their eponymous Civil War EP, released via a small label named Despotz Records.

The EP contains five tracks, one of which is a fairly curious cover of a Nelly Furtado song called Say It Right. The other four represent the style of metal Civil War are about, and if one were to describe it using traditional genres, heavy metal springs to mind first and foremost. I don't have a lot to say, negative or positive, about the cover track, so I'll focus on the actual Civil War music in this review.

The EP starts off with a track called Rome Is Falling, and I dare say right off the bat it's one of the catchiest heavy metal songs I've heard. The chorus especially is exceptionally captivating, and the incredibly talented Nils Patrik Johansson's voice has never sounded better. Considering the EP originally came out in 2012, I can't nominate Rome Is Falling as the track of 2013 even though I'd like to! Pretending I have a time machine at hand, I'll go back to late 2012 and declare Rome Is Falling as the best track in 2012.

Forevermore is a ballad-esque song where the voice of NPJ gets all the space it deserves making chills run down one's spines. However, ballads are something I don't particularly find very interesting and Forevermore isn't really an exception. Don't misinterpret me; Forevermore is not a bad track, but there are times when you'd rather listen to the roaring thunders of a civil war more than to a soft ballad! The track is saved by the magnificent rendition of vocals by NPJ once again which makes the song have such a good feeling to it despite its style.

The title track Civil War represents quite the traditional heavy metal and there are no big surprises contained within this track. A good track, but nothing spectacular. I do like the compact sounds but apart from that there are no really eyebrow-raising moments here. Just good, solid heavy metal for the fans of it.

To close down this chapter of an EP, the last track, Custer's Last Stand, tells the tale of the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 where the joint forces of the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes under the lead and visions of Sitting Bull rose against the US armies who'd invaded and taken over their sacred lands. Lt. Colonel George Custer, a popular Civil War hero then, and his troop of 210 men were overwhelmed and massacred by the Indians resulting in nationwide demand for retribution, which ultimately culminated in the destruction of the Sioux tribe about a year later.

So much for the history lesson! The song starts with war-like drumming and gloomy guitars as if opening up for the thunderous events of battle to come. Yet again I must praise the vocals as it's really difficult to imagine anyone else laying the same feeling to this song than NPJ. The whole composition of the song works out great and there are no dull moments in this track. Custer's Last Stand is a fitting ending track for Civil War EP as it leaves one wanting to hear more, and more, and more. And more.

Civil War is not just another Sabaton by any means even though there are Sabaton-like moments here and there, particularly the sound environment is reminiscent of that of Sabaton's. The EP doesn't leave anyone with liking for the genre in cold; in fact, even as an avid Sabaton fan, I'm now far more interested in hearing the next Civil War album than the next Sabaton album. I for one welcome the different aspects into depths of history as provided by Civil War, not just the modern warfare era. I was skeptical what would happen after the split in Sabaton, but now I'm more than happy that it happened. Let's hope this won't be Civil War's last stand, and indeed the guys are, according to their Facebook updates, in process of producing new songs for the upcoming full album. Nine cheers for Civil War!

You can listen to Rome Is Falling on Youtube. Civil War EP is also on Spotify.
Buy the album directly at Despotz Records.

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Orden Ogan – To The End

Orden Ogan released their fourth full-length album a few months ago, titled To The End. The version to be reviewed here is the LTD Digipak which included two bonus tracks and a DVD – the latter shall be omitted, though it comprised The Things We Believe In video, its "behind the scenes" and Wacken 2010 live show.

In spite of the positive first impression (which began with the first single releases), the album turned out to be difficult to get a good grasp of. It sounds like Orden Ogan immediately, but it had to be played through several times in order to fully get into each individual song.

The album begins with an instrumental track The Frozen Few, which has some nice and simple guitars with a growing orchestral feeling, something which sounds very peculiar to Ogan. The opening leads to the title track To The End, which is catchy enough to be placed at the beginning, to introduce those choirs which are very typical of Orden Ogan.

Most songs on the album are strong power metal pieces, with some pleasant and occasionally fast guitars and—as already stated—some pompous choirs. Such vocals have been included in every track on the album, more—like in Till The Stars Cry Out with several different repeated sections with choirs—or less, like in the first ballad The Ice Kings, in which the chorus parts are relatively peaceful, less bombastic, with a nice and slightly swinging melody. Orden Ogan's habit to use choirs to such extent may be a bit debatable – on one hand it is like a trademark, sort of a vocal way of adding "power" to "metal", yet on the other hand it may become a burden as well, making one wonder what else could have been used to produce such powerful songs. Fortunately, the choirs have been used in varying ways, like at the very end of The Ice Kings, or in Dying Paradise, where they only repeat the name of the song every now and then.

The regular edition ends with the other ballad, Take This Light, which is very beautiful and comprises piano melodies recorded at the cathedral of Wildeshausen. On the limited edition, this song is followed by the bonus tracks, an original Ogan track Masks and a cover version of The Battle of Waterloo (originally by Running Wild). These are actually some of the most interesting tracks, and personally I would certainly have included Masks in the regular edition. The cover song is a respectful gesture towards Running Wild, carried out in the familiar Ogan way.

Even though the album consists of creative and strong tracks with variable sections, it still hasn't hit the goal of being nearly perfect. On one hand the album is very solid, consistent and harmonious, and on the other hand the tracks do, in spite of their versatility, sound rather similar to each other. Yet that is their style, something that defines Orden Ogan, but it would be refreshing to get to hear something slightly different, something to prove they are not confined to the elements which all the tracks share, maybe only one exceptional song to break the habit. Ogan's song melodies are interesting in their own right, but the decorations are usually the same. Perhaps an acoustic folk version of Mystic Symphony?

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Orden Ogan: Masks

Orden Ogan are at it again with a brand new music video titled Masks, which is actually a bonus track on the limited edition of the latest album To the End. We also have a review of the album lined up and it should hopefully be coming sometime in not too distant future! Suffice it to say if you are a fan of German power metal, To the End is one of the better releases in the genre this year.

As usual per Orden Ogan's style, effort has been put into the visuals and the theme, and once again it's not your traditional "we are a metal band playing metal music in an abandoned metal factory" (hi Spinefarm) video.

Like the song title, Masks, the video is also based on a story revolving around the mask concept: A theater actress discovers a mask and puts it on, after which creepy things start happening and insanity ensues. Towards the end of the video things get really anxious in a horror flick like way. The video actually reminds me of the movie Black Swan in some ways.

Personally I do wonder why the track has been listed as a bonus track, as it really is good enough to be on the regular album. Enough of my babble however, enjoy the song and video!

Heavy Metal Perse – Aikakirjat

The strange Finnish power and heavy metal band Heavy Metal Perse released their second full-length album Aikakirjat on November 16th. The reason why I'm dubbing the band as strange is the remarkable difference between my personal views on them: considering the prejudices I had, the first impression I got when hearing their first album for the first time was particularly positive – and positively surprised. Thus, yours truly was quite excited about the new album which saw the light of the day almost five years after the first one.

Heavy Metal Perse's songs are generally very melodic, which is certainly a good thing. If that is what the listener is looking forward to, the first nine seconds of the first track, Paha Paavo, might make one's heart skip a few beats. What is this, thrash metal? Have no fear, after the initial shock it turns out to be the same familiar HMP. Paha Paavo is a very catchy song, with particularly hilarious lyrics, and its theme bears some resemblance to their older song Pahaksi Parkittu Lalli. It's an energetic way to open an album, a good choice despite the first seconds.

Although Heavy Metal Perse stands out from its peers in many ways, one of the most remarkable feature is their lyrics. The songs on the new album have just as brilliant lyrics as their older ones do. They can barely be overly praised; it is just a pity that the non-Finnish-speaking audience cannot understand the ingenious choices of words. Most of the praise goes to the main lyricist and drummer Heikki Romppainen, who has said – contrary to my initial expectations – that his lyrical themes are not derived from role play games or fantasy books. However, they tell interesting stories, they use the Finnish language in intriguing ways and every now and then they are so good they just make you laugh. But in spite of being occasionally very funny, they are not cheesy or ridiculous. Each track on the new album has strong and refined lyrics and it would be difficult to raise one above the others based on these merits.

And the melodies, well, they are also strong and enjoyable. Honest and melodic heavy metal. Vainolaista vastaan is an interesting track with its few a cappella lines, making it sound like a drinking song in a good way. Hornan koje is attractive because of its strategically placed pauses and a sharp ending to its choruses. And Matias Palm's boyish yet still slightly rough voice fits HMP's songs in such an excellent way and is a pleasure to listen to.

The last three tracks of the album are Viimeisen sillan taistelu, Vanhus ja meri and Vesikeuhko. The very last one is a cover version of Jethro Tull's song Aqualung, and it's quite a weird track on a Heavy Metal Perse album. Well, perhaps it is in the right place being the last track as it seems a bit separate from the rest of the material. In a way it sounds quite true to the original song, in a way it does sound a bit like HMP... But perhaps not enough. Personally, I'm picky – of course the translation is something already, but I find cover songs more interesting if they differ a lot from the original. And even though the song is not actually bad, it is something yours truly doesn't feel like listening when in need of some heavy metal. And when it comes to the last two original HMP tracks, I think they could have been swapped over: even though Vanhus ja meri is a nice, peaceful track, it does make the album fade towards its end, especially since followed by something as dragging as Vesikeuhko. Viimeisen sillan taistelu, on the other hand, is yet another catchy track, a genuine HMP song, and it would have been a good way to end the album with a bang rather than quietly sneaking away. Besides, the name of the song translates to "the battle of the last bridge".

Despite the slightly fading ending, Aikakirjat is a very good and strong album – at least as good as the previous one. One could expect bands to always exceed the expectations set by the previous release, though it does not happen too often. Heavy Metal Perse has at least lived up to those expectations, not leaving me disappointed. Keep up the good work, guys!

You can listen to the album on Spotify. See also HMP's Myspace and their website www.heavymetalperse.com

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