Apocalyptica at Finlandia-Talo
January 25, Finlandia-Talo, Helsinki
This year, the renewed Finlandia Hall (Finlandia-talo) finally opened after several years of restoration. It used to be a congress and event place, but the new concept allows it to become a public space where people can enter casually. Designed by the famous Alvar Aalto, this is one of the most central and high-end venues of this town. Just to give a sense of cultural “saturation” of the place: the wardrobe area features actual artwork by Kim Simonsson, a phenomenal Finnish contemporary sculptor.
Naturally, Apocalyptica chose it for a venue to play two sold-out gigs on January 25 and 26, ‘Apocalyptica plays Metallica vol.2’ (the new record, by the way, features some guest input from Metallica members themselves). It is somewhat symbolic, as Apocalyptica encompasses a lot about Finnish heavy music: it is heavy, it is in part classical and it is rooted in the country’s culture, mixing classical and modern music. Since early 2024, drummer Mikko Sirén has parted ways with the band, and instead of his familiar face, the drums were operated by Mikko Kaakkuriniemi.
The overall concert production was up to par with the magnificent concert hall, featuring many great robotic lights lined up on stage as well as an odd-shaped display on the background, which, as many bands currently do, supported the music with music video excerpts and animated backdrops. Apocalyptica remained mostly lined up on stage, albeit being energetic as always, and Perttu was the only person “in charge” of coming to the front and connecting with the crowd a bit more. It was a seated concert, and it remained so for the most part, but on the encores, people gave up seating and everyone stood up. As usual, the crowd at this gig was very mixed: some had dressed up for the occasion, like going to the Opera, some donned the usual metal T-shirts and were seen headbang while remaining seated.
The material is, well, Metallica, and as much as it is not really creating any surprise (who didn’t hear all those songs during the last 30 years?), it was a sure-fire experience. I like this material much more than, for instance, Shadowmaker with Franky Perez. The concert was rather enjoyable from start to end. The whole situation felt a little different from a rock club or festival gig, being in a seated hall and apparently giving a strong “Finnish culture” vibe. I did feel that given the chance, I would return for a second time.
