Sólstafir / Mono / The Ocean – The Circus, Helsinki, Oct 17, 2015

The Ocean is one of those acts you don’t get to see in Helsinki too often, therefore the Germans were the first highlight of this evening for me. And I was glad to have a ticket this time, thus no real photo duties, as this new fashion “lotsa backlight and strobos” might also dive difficulties to pros. Well, admittedly it looked pretty cool in combination with noise-and-growl attacks, although this club is not quite the most suitable for a more complex sound. More details could only be heard in those calmer parts where the cello had its time to shine. Nevertheless, enthusiastic audience reactions should be enough reason to have The Ocean flow onto Finnish stages again soon…

I had never heard about Mono before, and this Japanese instrumental act came as a surprise, not as boring as I feared it would turn out. Their sound scapes could fit nicely to David Lynch movies, but there was also some “action scene” stuff. Still, not quite my cup of tea, but the audience liked it.

Some time ago, after a festival, a couple of friendly Icelandic dudes let us hang out in their youth hostel room, until public transport was available… I assume that nowadays it might be a bit difficult to find Sólstafir in a youth hostel (yet, who knows, considering the current tour across Europe), especially since they attract a variety and quite a number of audiences.

Their intense songs in their original style – ranging from Fields of Nephilim to epic Viking Metal – crowned by Addi’s haunting voice, and then this Icelandic language, what can I say, it is pure magic.

Nothing to complain about soundwise – just the gig as such somehow felt way too short… I can only recommend to check those guys out when they arrive in your city (tourdates).

Setlist: 1. Dagmál, 2. Ljós í stormi, 3. Ótta, 4. Náttmál, 5. Pale Rider, 6. Fjara, 7. Goddess of the Ages