Heaven Shall Burn / Pain Confessor / Artificial Heart
A weekday in Helsinki and a high amount of ice/snow in the air – well, still that does not mean that fans prefer to stay inside their warm and cozy homes… There were not as many people as two days before when Steve Harris British Lion visited town (see report), yet the Circus Club should fill up nicely during the support acts´ shows.
Artificial Heart
had presented their debut CD “A Heart Once Lost” to the public only a week ago. This young band from Tuusula had more reason to celebrate, as the new bass/voc Saku Vainio just reached legal adulthood that day. I could not help wondering if they had even let him in as a visitor … When the band started, the massive sound tsunami almost knocked me over in the photo pit – which means, even later it was mainly the HC factor that I heard of their self-defined “melancholic modern metal mixed up with some hardcore elements and catchy clean sung choruses”. Melodic details or clean vocals were almost completely drowned. The fans didn´t complain and the guys lead by shouter Matias Jyläskoski put up a vivid show – also because the whole thing was filmed for a video. All in all the band left a good impression, check those guys out.
Pain Confessor
were my faves this evening, because their latest CD “Incarcerated” had left an excellent impression, and furthermore because those guys from Hämeenlinna had kept a 4-year hiatus. They opened with the great “Oceans of Sickness”, which is also the first song on the album. The sound was a bit better now but still a bit too loud… which did not matter to the band too much, they pulled it off to transform the quality of the new album into a live performance – a great vocalist, great stage presence. Well, for me those guys were great and therefore I could not quite understand why between the die-hard-fan-front-rows and “the others” there was like a “100 m” gap… not even old songs or hyms like Tarnished Halo or Vitriol could get those “others” into bit a more than “benevolant approval”. Well, I should soon find out why people saved their energy … (KW)
Punctually at 22 h Heaven Shall Burn entered once again a Finnish stage, after more than 2 years keeping their fans waiting. The gap in the audience filled up quickly when they started with the energetic “Couterweight”, followed by “The omen”, before singer Marcus took his first stage dive during the cover song “Black tears”.
The gig in Helsinki was the first one this year after recording the new Album “Veto” which is due for April – the guys therefore pulled off an energetic show following the “how-to” rule book of Metal concerts 1:1, and they obviously had a lot of fun doing so. When they played “Voice of the voiceless”, even the most tired person in the room could not help moving – well, one of the reasons might also be the massive sound attacking your ear drums… “Whatever it may take” was one of their references to earlier days, before singer Marcus animated the crowd to form a Wall of Death during the “Endzeit” intro (well, a small wall when compared to this venue) and took another stage dive.
Then “Land of the upright ones” had its live premiere, a song that inspired high expectations, I am definitely looking forward to the new album. After the monumental “Combat” from the last album “Invictus”, “Behind a wall of silence”, “Trespassing the shores of your world” and “Of no avail”, the show was coming to its end, unfortunately. With “The weapon they fear” and “The disease” they played two more encores, and thanking the audience for the 100th time, the Germans called it quits. Heaven Shall Burn at their best! (US)
All that´s left to say for me is: the sound was much better than before, and there was a circle pit almost throughout the show. And even those who were not into joining such activity, it was an intense experience. What a fantastic band! (KW)
Setlist:
Counterweight
The omen
Black tears
Voice of the voiceless
Whatever it may take
Intro / Endzeit
Land of the upright ones
Combat
Behind a wall of silence
Trespassing the shores of your world
Of no avail
:::
The weapon they fear
The disease
Ulrike Schneider (US), Klaudia Weber (KW)
