The line up of the Tuska festival is amazing. It is vast. It is huge. It is overwhelming. And even more, the party seems to find no end. Imagine, after a long, long festival day in Suvilahti the festival area will close at 1:00 am. But this is only closing time there! Literally! Because the parties, namely the After Show parties at Virgin Oil downtown Helsinki will have just begun to boil!
Even before the festival will actually start, there is going to be a Pre Party at one of the most traditional clubs in Helsinki: the Tavastia! Door opening at 7:00 pm on Thursday already, and than three bands will warm the crowd up for the long festival weekend! Psychework, Arion and the Japanese band Man With A Mission.
The line up at Tavastia Tuska After Party on Friday (doors 22:00 pm): Mørket, Vorna and Barren Earth is as exquisite as that on Saturday (doors 22:00 pm): Blind Channel, Tryer, and Delta Enigma
Yet, let’s take a look back into history of Finnish Death Metal. In the early 1990s a young, very young guitarist entered the office of the Tavastia club manager. He was utterly determined to to talk the manager into giving his band a gig right here. He made it! I am very convinced this happened about a hundred if not a thousand time. But the one I am speaking of here, is Esa Holopainen, arranging the first (of many) Tavastia gigs for his, by then still young band, Amorphis.
Amorphis have long become a regular appearance at the stages on all Finnish festivals such as Nummirock, Tuska or since last year even the reknowned opera festival of Savonlinna!
Some of you will know the band to have been one of the cristallisation points of Finnish metal scence since the 1990s. Bands like Ensiferum (live on Nummirock’s Inferno stage Thursday June, 23nd at 00:15 am) – name Amorphis among their prime influences.
And there will be yet another band closely related to Amorphis playing during the Tuska festival weekend, entering the Virgin Oli stage at 1:00 am during Friday’s After Show party: Barren Earth.
The Band is about to celebrate its 10th anversary this year, founded by Olli-Pekka-Laine and Marko Tarvonen. There is a new album that was recorded in spring in the German Woodshed studio produced by V. Santura.
Back in January Barren Earth played a mostly sold-out tour through many continental European cities with Wolfheart (Nummirock, Inferno stage, Saturday at 9:45 pm), both supporting Insomnium (Nummirock, Radio Rock stage, Saturday at midnight and Tuska, Vakevä Tent Stage at 7:25 pm)!
We all know that only recently Niklas Etelävuori parted with Amorphis resulting in Olli-Pekka Laine re-joining the band he cofounded with back 1990 – at least for the remaining shows before Amorphis will enter the studio this autumn.
During that very tour Barren Earth also presented Antti Myllynen – only revealing after the tour he is the band’s new keyborder. We can be sure Barren Earth’s set list at the After Party will be as carefully composed as it was in January during the tour, with highlights such as „Flicker“, „Set alight“ or „On lonely towers“. So let’s look forward for some amazing gigs from the some of the finest Progressive Death Metal bands there are!
Stay tuned! Stay curious. Listen to metal!
