Planning. Preparation. Supposedly, it’s all about how well you prepare for something that will make the difference in the overall outcome. There was certainly a lot of planning that went into our 2 week trip from Finland, across Scandinavia, and then on to Iceland. When I say planning, I really mean research. We researched places to go, the sights and activities, and how to travel between each destination. We did not reserve everything in advance, however. Most of the guidebooks suggest booking ahead, especially during the peak season (which in Scandinavia seems to be is either winter or summer) because everything hotel room will be sold and every museum and bus tour will be filled to overflowing with like-minded tourists, happily plodding along the same path that you’ll be traveling (in part, I imagine, because they are reading the same guidebooks).
Planning is not the same as having a plan. It’s very good to have a plan and I even recommend having more than one plan. Initially, we wanted to see as much of each country as possible, mostly by train. I wanted to make a stop north of the arctic circle. And yes, I know that’s a touristy goal, but it was still something that I wanted to do. After our first train ride from Helsinki to Savonlinna (that I wrote about in Part I) the thought of spending the next two full days of our trip traveling by train made us cringe. So we made a new plan. In the end we decided travel to Sweden via an overnight ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. Not only did we save a full day of traveling, it meant that we would arrive in Gothenburg just in time for the 10th anniversary of the Metaltown festival.
Katatonia
Metaltown was somewhat of a coincidence because it was only after we decided that our trip would kick of at Tuska in Helsinki did we learn about the Metaltown festival. I think we knew that a stop in Gothenburg would mean trying to find some kind of show to see and the opportunity to see a metal show in the metal town was too much to pass up.
Marduk
Ghost
We made it for the Friday night show which hosted a lineup that included Carcass, Sabaton, Ghost, and Slipknot on the main stages. We also opted spend a lot time in the Close-up stage to see Katatonia and Marduk for a more intimate ear shredding. Standing in a field, somewhere outside of Gothenburg, the sounds of screaming guitars and thundering bass mixed with mooing cows and shrieking crows. The sun began its slow march toward twilight as the wind kicked up, blowing dust, cigarette smoke, and grilled food smells in the air. The evening chilled to the symphony of metal blasting through the countryside. I love festivals. Everyone is in good spirits. The music is loud. You can watch as a small group of fans hear the first notes of their favorite band and dash off toward the stage so as not to miss a beat. It’s an opportunity to see bands in a completely different environment. It’s an opportunity to see bands that you might not have otherwise, or a perhaps getting to see a band for the first time. For me, Metaltown was the first taste of Ghost and an introduction to Marduk's brand of Swedish black metal. The Katatonia was excellent and though I don't listen to Slipknot much anymore, they stage a live show like few other bands. Festival sets are always too short but always energetically executed.
And so once again the best advice I can give is to follow the music. Forget the guidebooks that put you in line with everyone else. No one wants to spend their vacation standing in line, waiting for a bus, or disappointed because a famed restaurant is full. Instead, arm yourself with more information than reservations and chart your own path.
I'm doing something a little bit different - telling a story of my recent adventure through Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland through the music the influenced and guided the journey. I've always been willing to make a drive to see a good show. An hour or two or even six doesn't stand in my way. Sometimes (especially depending the state of the metal scene where you live) you have to go to extra lengths to see your favorite bands play. Using this idea as inspiration, we (me and my metalhead partner in crime) decided to embark on a two week trek across Scandinavia to see the sights, visit the landscapes, and to see the places where metal lives.
The first stop was Helsinki, Finland for the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival. Even on our first night, we learned the value of following the music. After getting some pastries and caffeine (not the wisest dinner choice) we followed the sounds of outdoor music. Stepping into a crowded courtyard, flanked by outdoor bars, a glamed-up cover band faithfully cranked out some classic 80’s eighties tunes into the infinite Helsinki sunset. This detour was not in any of the guidebooks we read while researching the trip. We were all the better for that. It feels like most tour advice assumes that you’re most interested in churches and museums and whatever things deemed ‘quintessential’ to the places you visit. Many pages are dedicated to giving you the most authentic experience in the shortest amount of time. I’ll admit that were occasionally victims to this kind of rapid tourism, but fortunately had enough other activities planned that forced us off the well-beaten path.
And so we continued to follow the path of music. Like mountain streams gathering into a mighty river, the legions of metal fans cascaded into Tuska in the waning hours of Friday afternoon. We were there to see Amorphis in particular, but the preceding bands were also worth the trip. Fellow Fins, Wintersun played an inspired set, full of their characteristic virtuosic playing and vocalist Jari Maenpaa’s dynamic howl and screams. The Norwegian metal band, Ihsahn, played some headbanging metal, tinged with black and doom themes. As the crowd cleared from the stage after Ihsahn, I dodged the seagulls to score some food and then settled in at the front of the Amorphis stage, watching from a slight distance as Bolt Thrower hammered home an energetic set on the opposite facing stage.
As Bolt Thrower closed their set, anticipation mounted for Amorphis. Soon the band took the stage for the opening of “Shades Of Gray.” Frontman Tomi Joutsen charged the stage, grabbed his microphone with both hands, and bellowed a death growl to the cheering crowd. The set included eleven songs, spanning past albums Eclipse, Skyforger, Elegy, and Tales From the Thousand Lakes and drawing heavily from their recently released epic story, Circle.
I figured if you’re going to travel thousands of miles to see a band, you might as well stand in the front row. I think this is true of many aspects of being on vacation, whether you’ve travel a long distance or just down the road. It is your time to experience your surroundings however you would like. In this age of information, everyone will offer their must-see opinions. Granted, much this advice is probably well intentioned, but it is far more rewarding to work at doing what you want and being satisfied that your personal checklist was fulfilled.
Our stay in Helsinki was short. The next day we caught a train to Savonnlina, in Eastern Finland to see a castle. We left the vibrant city for some peaceful days overlooking Olavinlinna. This was my first experience with European trains. Despite living on the overpopulated US eastern seaboard for my entire life, I do not have much experience with trains. But everything we read about traveling suggested that taking the train was best way to go. Public transportation has some inherit problems – first, the public: other people. I would normally prefer to walk 20 minutes than take a 4 minute ride on a crowded subway or bus. Second, there is the matter of schedules. Trains come and go at specific times whether or not you’re prepared to depart. The added stress of planning to be in a certain place at a certain time (or face the consequences) diminishes the value of public transit’s efficiency in my mind. If you are going to take the train, I recommend early morning (not for this metalhead) or late/sleeper trains. I found train travel to be somewhat dull. As the scenery whisked by and with my Scandinavian metal playlist on shuffle, sleep was never too far away. It may not be the thing to do, but please just give me a car. I’d rather be lost in a foreign land than asleep on a train. At the end of the (literally) we made our destinations and settled into a few relaxing days eastern Finland, punctuated by sounds of birds and some Amorphis tunes blasting from our phones, just to keep the concert playing.
Trivium took the stage to the pounding intro to “In Waves”. The palladium erupted with bodies as lead singer, Matt Heafy, dropped the first guttural scream. Trivium played like a seasoned band, enticing the crowd to scream, sing, crowd surface, and to tear the place apart. This is the second time that I have seen the Florida-based metal band. The first was last summer at Montreal's Heavy MTL festival. Seeing them in a small venue like the palladium was a more intimate, face-melting experience. Their sound is heavily influenced by traditional trash, evident on blister tracks from Ascendency and Shogun. However, the real focus was on their latest album, In Waves. On songs like “Forsake Not the Dream,” “Built to Fall,” and crowd favorite, “Down From the Sky,” Heafy mixes screams and clear vocals amid the torrent of guitar and drums, backed up by the screams of guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto. Trivium puts on an energetic show, pausing only briefly between songs to chat with the audience. The harder and louder they played, the more the crowd responded, and Trivium was clearly riding on those metal vibes.
Setlist:
In Waves
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
Black
Forsake Not the Dream
Departure
Built to Fall
Like Lights to the Flies
Caustic are the Ties that Bind
Down From the Sky Throes of Perdition
Normally, a set like the one from Trivium would be hard to follow, but palladium felt electric in anticipation of In Flames. The Swedish metal gods sauntered out on stage, took the reins from Trivium, and drove the dial well beyond 10. In Flames played a career-spanning set, drawing a few songs from early albums like Whoracle and Clayman, and a number of tracks from their latest, Sounds of a Playground Fading. Singer Anders Friden’s tortured vocals crawled above to wall of sounds and out into the crowd, drawing the listener into the dark journey of every song. From the opener, “Sounds of a Playground Fading” to “The Hive,” “Cloud Connected,” and others, In Flames delivered a continuous onslaught of heavy riffs and blistering percussion. In between songs, Ander bantered with the audience and demanded crowd surfing. He's also got an eye for interior design: upon spotting a 'Happy New Year' sign hanging from the balcony section, he refused to continue on until it was torn down. It was great to see In Flames play a headline set, instead of the 40-odd minutes allotted at festivals. Don’t get me wrong, festivals are a great way to see a lot bands all at once, and for less money than seeing them individually. However, for your favorite bands, there is nothing like seeing a full set of songs in small venue where the band is able to pull the audience into the show.
FILTER toured with Bush this past fall and on October 15th, they rolled into Boston's House of Blues. This was the second time I have gone to see Richard Patrick and his band. Lining up an hour before doors opened for this early show was well worth the opportunity to stand front and center for FILTER’s electrifying set. They played six songs, taking material from their latest album, The Trouble With Angels, and hits from the early days of Short Bus and Title Of A Record. Their sound reverberates with such thick intensity. Their new material is nicely polished, yet deeply seeded with the industrial-tinged rage we’ve come to love from Richard Patrick. Unlike some bands, whose hit songs sound overplayed and exactly as written, FILTER maintains the same overall vision for their sound while modernizing everything they play. Hit songs like "Trip Like I Do," "Take A Picture," and "Hey Man Nice Shot" sound as if they could have been recorded for the Angels record.
Richard Patrick, who has been the driving force behind FILTER since its inception, puts on an awesome show. He tirelessly runs around the stage, singing and screaming from every platform he can find. For much of the set he leaned into the front rows of the crowd, singing and shaking hands with the fans. He also crowd surfed while singing "The Best Things" and used an electric drill to enhance bassist Phil Buckman's hypnotic rumbling on "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do." The set also included a killer cover of ZZ Top's "Gimme All Your Lovin'." The new songs, "Drug Boy" and "No Love" are fierce and energized, played with blistering intensity by Patrick and the band.
FILTER manages to cram more energy and musicality into their short, eight-song set than most bands can muster over the course of an entire night. Richard Patrick belts out each song with raw, reckless abandon. I've seen plenty of bands with incredible lead singers. Some do the 'rock-star' thing by enticing the crowd; others just simply do their thing. Both produce great concerts. Richard Patrick is one of the rare vocalist who imbues his performance with such sincere emotion that you cannot hep but be drawn completely into the performance. I'm still in search of my first FILTER headlining show, but this set was definitely a memorable experience.
It was the hottest day of the summer so far. Temperatures in the afternoon reached well into the 90’s and even as the day grew into evening, the oppressive heat hung heavy under the Pavilion’s tent. I last saw A Perfect Circle years ago, after the release of 13th Step. It was an intense experience to watch musicians so well versed in their craft and in harmony with each other. Six years since their last tour, my expectations were high. However, I was also anxious to hear what they had planned for us. Having never really toured with the eMotive tracks, the sets would draw heavily from that album as well as their first two. There was also a rumor about a new song. The anticipation grew unbearable as the opening act closed its set. Just as the sun went down over the Boston skyline, A Perfect Circle casually stepped on stage to deliver an epic show, drenched in their signature textures and flair; sounds as dense as the air around them.
The set opened with two songs from eMotive: “Annihilation” and their dark rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” I love this version and seeing it live was moving. Maynard was in classic form. He sounded great; his voice was tender and tragic, often within the same breath. He stood in profile, not facing the audience directly, on a raised platform in rear left of the stage. It wasn’t until a few songs in, the raucous and emotional “Weak And Powerless,” did Maynard address the hoard of cheering fans with a simple but sincere ‘Good Evening.’
From there, APC focused material from all of their albums. The covers from eMotive translated remarkably well in the live setting, allowing the band to explore the material even further than they had in the studio. With songs like “What’s Going On,” “Peace Love and Understanding,” and “People Are People” we were reminded of the state of affairs when eMotive was first released (election day, 2004). Things have not changed since APC used this collection of covers to highlight the problems we face as a society, to remind us of the darkness, and to beg us not to lose hope.
One of the highlights for me was the run of The Noose, 3 Libras (All Main Courses mix), and Gravity. All of them are standout studio tracks, but in the live setting APC allowed them to run loose to evolve in the summer heat. Billy Howerdel’s guitar work was perfect, the notes reaching out and wrapping the audience with sinewy fingers of madness. James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) added elegant harmony and complemented Howerdel’s playing with guitar and keyboards. “3 Libras” rose up from Maynard’s looped vocals. Drenched in feedback, it twisted and turned like a tortured soul. It was a beautiful monster of a song.
The final five songs completed the circle, starting with “Orestes” (from their first album, A Mer De Noms) and ending with the newly written “By & Down.” Maynard’s singing on “Fiddle And The Drum” was dead on, showing that he’s still got one of the best voices. The entire 18-song set was well produced. It displayed and, at times, extended all the emotion and passion that made the studio albums and original tours so stunning. The bottom-heavy mixes were thrust forward wrapping the audience in sound and feeling. A Perfect Circle continues to assert themselves as one of the best bands in metal. Will they continue to tour or even record another album? Only they know and the rest of us are just here for the journey.
Complete set list from Boston July 12, 2011:
Annihilation (Crucifix cover)
Imagine (John Lennon cover)
Weak and Powerless
The Hollow
What's Going On (Marvin Gaye cover)
People Are People (Depeche Mode cover)
The Outsider
(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? (Brinsley Schwarz cover)
When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin cover)
The Noose
3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix)
Gravity
Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (Black Flag cover)
Orestes
Passive
Encore:
Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums
