RockFest Finland 2022

It starts tomorrow and the lineup is awesome:



It starts tomorrow and I'm going all three days. I'll try and report on the action and maybe post some pictures.

Black Label Society tomorrow, yay! I've never seen them live before. The other big names I've had the opportunity to see before, but eg. Megadeth it's been 20+ years the last I saw them. And Scorpions I believe I saw exactly 20 years ago. Something like that.

Have Fun

The lineup in the OP changed a little. Anyway, Thursday was absolutely terrible weather. Rain, wind, cold. We came under dressed, and probably so did many others.

Enter the realm:



The first act we got to to see was a Finnish band called Battledragon. With a name like that you just know it's got to be power metal, and so it was. Double-bass drums, high pitched vocals, speed, the whole nine yards. Lead singer even wanted to look like Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica:



The music was okay, they didn't do anything wrong. Generic that's all. The best part about the show was that it was in the tent. The festival had two large open air stages, but this third one was on a tent. Which was great, all things considered. So, no rain. I just wish it would have provided more shelter from the wind.

BEER PRICES

Beer was €8.50 + €1.00 you got back when you returned your empty can. So $10.18 in USD. Seemed a little high, but it could have been worse and it certainly didn't stop us from drinking way too much. Except on Thursday, when you just didn't feel like having too many cold beverages. For reference, festival tickets were €220 (~$236). In total, we definitely spent more on beer than tickets.

Next up on Thursday after spending time in the beer tent we checked out an American "metal" band nobody had ever heard of called Fever 333. Keep that name in mind, because they were absolute trash. Avoid them at all cost. It was like this rhythm based nu-metal / hardcore stuff and it was just three guys, and get this: bass guitar came from tape, despite it being front and center to their sound. I'd rather they used playback for lead vocals, because that singer was terrible (emo/screamo/whatever/shouting/grunting). I took a couple of pictures, but I'm not posting any. From what he could see from the beer garden where we had moved to by the end of the gig, the guy was undressing and was finally in his underwear showing off his tattoos. Just bad. Or maybe I'm just not in the target group? To make matters worse, the lead singer seemed like he was some sort of a political activist and felt like he had to comment on everything happening in the world. I'll definitely take Battledragon ahead of these guys any day.

We went back to the third stage (tent) to see Cypher Sixteen, a UK metal band, which played an uncomplicated brand of metal. A pretty good set, and the guys in the band seemed likeable and they welcomed everyone to the merch stand where they signed everything. They told us about their music video, linked here. Go check it out. Very cool guys, good band, here's a photo:



Next up more beer and gearing up for the final run of Day One which included back-to-back performances by Black Label Society and Nightwish.

Zakk Wylde showed up on stage wearing a kilt.



I can imagine not the best choice for the weather. Here's a wider shot where you can see the full glory of the weather and the misery of the audience:

CLICK HERE

Continues in the next post...

Before we get to Nightwish, here's a couple more shots of BLS.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f38/16/97/90/92/bls310.jpg

https://i.servimg.com/u/f38/16/97/90/92/bls410.jpg

The second picture has Zakk and Dario Lorina doing duelling solos with guitars behind their backs.

Black Label Society really was the one band I was the most excited to see, as I love them a lot and it would also be the first time I'd get the chance. The weather made it less than ideal, but the band still put in a good effort. I think it definitely wasn't as wild and exciting as on their DVD, but them's the breaks. Great band nonetheless, even if I'm sure you can catch better performances and shows. I think Zakk said he felt sorry for the Finland Chapter. Sound seemed a little muddy at times, but it also could have just been my earplugs getting wet. This was on the second stage, and the moment the show ended we moved on to the main stage to catch

NIGHTWISH.


Now this was an absolutely massive production. The Nightwish I kept on seeing in every small festival in the late 90's and early 00's has turned into a heavyweight band, world class. Pyros, props, big screen videos, actual fireworks, and of course an incredible singing performance by Floor Jansen. This was the best Nightwish I have seen. I used to dislike Nightwish live because they used so much backing tapes instead of arranging their music to fit a live rock band, but their music has also evolved beyond just power metal they used to play in 1998 or 2000. I think to get the epic feel of the newer music, either an orchestra
or backing tapes are necessary.

The weather was just terrible and I felt sorry for Floor wearing clothes that skimpy in 10 degrees centigrade (50F) and the wind and rain also picked up even more.

We were exhausted after the show. But Nightwish was amazing and the size of the production meant the other big acts in the festival (Megadeth, Scorpions, Iron Maiden) had their work cut out for them. But more on that later.

Friday started with me going to the hospital for a 7:30am MRI appointment for my youngest son. So I was pretty tired to begin with. My beautiful baby boy had to be put under to make the MRI successful. I missed British Lion who were opening up the action at the festival. I did want to see them, but priorities are pretty obvious here.

The first act we got to see Friday were the British 80's goth rockers Killing Joke. Old geezers still rocking hard.



Their performance was pretty decent, and I recognised some songs despite being unfamiliar with the name, like this one. The saggy overalls and the movement of the lead singer got us into a fit of geriatric jokes, which I am not proud of. These guys were rocking before I was even born.

We got some food. Festival food. So, absolute junk. Mind you, I didn't get to eat at the hospital, and did I mention Friday the weather was absolutely perfect? Sunny but not too warm. So we're getting thirsty:



So beer started to taste good. We had plenty, walked around, had some more beers. Then some more. Shared tables with plenty of festival goers. Plenty of them buzzed. You meet a lot of characters in rock festivals. Characters, man, a lot of characters. It was fun. Shared our views of Megadeth, beer, music of today, everything.

Obviously the next band we saw then was Megadeth. I don't even know if we missed something good in between.



The crowd responded well to Megadeth... well no, they got into them big time, and it didn't take long for a mosh pit to form right behind us. Young people, old people... band performance and production were nothing special but the crowd lapped it up and it was a big party. Mustaine kept his speeches short for the most part. Weather was good, beer was flowing, it was a classic summer festival moment. Fun memory. I've got videos of the pit, but to avoid embarrassing anyone, they're not getting uploaded.

We moved on to the main stage where shortly after the Scorpions were about to start. It was a big enough production with giant screens and props, but no pyros for some reason.



I left feeling like maybe it could have been a bit better. But Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker are 74 years old already, so to heck with it. It was just nice to see them one more time, after twenty long years. As expected, the pussy ballads encaptivated the audience the most. A giant peace sign with the colours of the Ukraine flag gave the background to Winds of Change. I bet if it was with my wife I went to the show with, I'd have gotten lucky that night (wife was watching our kids while I was drinking and rocking and rolling with my friends. Have I mentioned I love her? She's the best).

It was a great night of music, great weather and we were sunburnt and drunk as fuck afterwards, so we decided to spend another hour or two after the last act at a local pub we randomly picked. Turned out it was a good choice - they had Trooper Ale on tap, complete with Iron Maiden pint glasses and coasters. "A good choice" that backfired for some of us the next morning, but that's another story. We rocked on till the morning. Remember I was also as tired as a man could be, having woken up 6am. Saturday wakeup was going to be quite tough.

Onward - to Saturday at the RockFest!



Cockfest huh huh

It was a tough wakeup and I got to the festival area alone at first, hungover. On the way I noticed a lot more foreigners today. Italian, Spanish, other Scandinavians, Estonians, an American couple. Cool. Obviously Iron Maiden attracts fans from some distance away.

The first act I saw Saturday was the incredible Swedish band The Hives.



Amazing performance! Charisma and energy through the roof, great catchy songs, charismatic lead vocalist I got to fist bump with. I quickly forgot about the previous late night because these guys rocked so hard. Lead singer said Iron Maiden loves them. And that after 40 minutes, we the audience will also love them... and then they will leave.    Good shit, it was a tough act for my voice as I was trying to make noise.

I remember the Hives from the early 00's Swedish action rock movement along with the Hellacopters and the Ark etc. I knew they were good. I didn't know they were this good. Infectious music, pompous faux rock star humour - and simply just engaging the audience. The singer did his speaks in Finnish, Swedish and English all combined, hopped on into the crowd and was just full of silly antics. What a great way to start the day. It was also raining just a little when the band started. Singer claimed he made it stop. A+, 10/10.

If you don't know who The Hives are, check out this music video of them performing their hit song.

After that it was the mysterious Me And That Man. I actually googled the band beforehand, but only saw they had this image with black clothes and Western hats.



The music was maybe a bit like the Cure. Or an American version of the Finnish band Viikate. It was good, but the show was maybe a little pedestrian. At this point beer started to taste good again. Sun was starting to shine, headache was gone. Good times. Next up a rather big Scottish band Biffy Clyro.

And they were shit. Total shit. Eugh. I didn't know they were emo. Or something similar. Not even sure. Screamo? I'm not going to honour their music by posting pictures. We had to bail after a couple of songs and get some beers. We sat on a table with a guy who said he hates "gay beers" like IPAs and stuff, but he had one during the Scorpions show the night before. And he said he was throwing up after each sip. Hilarious how he explained it *bleargh* "WINDS OF CHANGE!" *bleargh*. He was a man of principle - he had to finish his beer, and also watch the Scorpions because the Scorpions are awesome.

It was starting to get late but sun doesn't really set in Finland in June.



So it was beautiful June night, with just a few more acts to go.

Legendary Swedish epic doom metallers CANDLEMASS being the next act trying to entertain us:



A very cool set indeed. I was not too familiar with the band, but I knew a few songs, I knew the vocalist was very good and they didn't disappoint. The music was maybe a little too slow for a festival audience. Maybe they are better on CD? The songs have great atmosphere, the vocalist is talented and has a good voice, and they have metal cred for being in the business for so long. Nearly 40 years. And did I say it was very doom-y?

We were maybe a little TOO captivated by Candlemass, because the smart crowd had moved on to get ready for the next act, which of course was Iron Maiden.

Outside of Nightwish and Amorphis, this here (IRON MAIDEN) was the band I'd seen the most times in the past, probably half a dozen shows at this point (I'm going double digits on Amorphis!), but Iron Maiden still is a spectacle.

We didn't get very near to the stage. Maybe halfway up the crowd. This was the first time all festival the place started to feel crowded when everyone packed near the main stage. Finns like their personal space, so there was always room. But just now it felt a little bit more like a stadium gig.

You've all seen pictures of the touring set. The giant monster head, the life-size fighter plane, the Icarus, the Eddie on stilts. I don't know if I can do justice to any of it. Besides, I was focused on seeing everything that was going on that trying to capture it on camera. The internet has a bajillion pictures of Iron Maiden.



Now there is a bajillion and one.

The show started with three songs off of Senjutsu. The title track got a massive reaction as the band entered stage. Stratego, which to me on CD sounded like it could be a real good live track, was a little flat. But the third track, The Writing on the Wall, worked just fine. Everyone was singing alone. After those three it was just a parade of hits. Everybody was having a good time. All those "boring old" tracks like Run to the Hills, Trooper and Fear of the Dark etc, they went down a storm. I don't blame them for playing the same songs. There were no surprises on the setlist. Maybe Sign of the Cross? I honestly could have used some variety. But I'll take the three new songs and the nice Senjutsu background set. In the big picture, those songs and that decoration sets this tour apart from all the others,

It was all very good. They are an absolutely massive band. Professional, nostalgic, top quality. No complaints from me. 9/10, and I am a tough crowd. I don't know what they can do anymore to get a perfect score. Probably Bruce doing a private lap dance.

Oh let's just put here one small clip I took:

10second clip of Aces High on Vimeo

To not have everyone forcing their way out simultaneously, the last act before the festival was officially over was Amorphis. We caught most of the set, but not quite all. My feet were killing me (and I had a round of golf planned for Sunday morning), so we left. I've always liked Amorphis, ever since Elegy came out. But I've seen them a million times. I don't have much to say about them. Good shit, for sure.

It was late in the night, but still some light left.



Goodbye, RockFest 2022!

Thanks for reading. Up the Irons, and may you have a fun summer full of sex and rock 'n roll and also some hoppy IPAs.

Very cool stuff, Lari. I would love to be able to visit one of those Euro festivals someday.