Brymir, Kaunis Kuolematon @ Ääniwalli
March 31, 2023 Ääniwalli, Helsinki, Finland
Somehow, I ended up at many large concerts for a few months. Even though these were metal, they were usually heavily produced commercially. Big curtains, backdrops, and pretentious and luxurious set designs. This does not always devalue the essence of music, mind you (devaluing happens only when the show itself goes too much pop). So, big acts that feel distant, celebritized, and somewhat capitalist.
The KK/Brymir gig delivered a good deal of relief for that posh.
Kaunis Kuolematon (“Immortal Beauty”) is a death/doom band from Hamina. Their music is melancholic, filled with growling screams and heaviness interleaved with intricate, beautiful, airy melodies. Something that makes you feel you are in the Northern Winter. There is a polar night and -20 Celsius outside, and what is left is to come to a thick-aired underground club to scream your emotions from this seemingly endless darkness. The band deliberately sings in Finnish, and it is raw and sincere. Naturally, the power and energy of the songs were fully present on the show.
Brymir is a melodic death metal band with epic compositions rooted in traditional folk. Their music is characterized by fast-paced, aggressive riffs and soaring epic melodies layered with orchestral and folk instrumentation. Their recording sounds not so heavy, but I was positively surprised how this all changes in a live setting. The band, for one, has a very fierce performance, and the sound mix was a great deal on the heavy side. It was definitely not “semi-metal heroic music that goes easy on the ears”. It was feral. The singer, Viktor Gullichsen, was going out in full force, the crowd was happy, and a plushie fish was seen flying between the stage and the audience. We can tell from all three piceses combined that it was a very solid gig.
I just like to conclude that both bands certainly deserve more attention – they are sincere, heavy and beautiful acts and I definitely like to seem them more. I hope it happens soon.
