Some weeks ago, PROFANE OMEN made the heartbreaking decision that as of 17 August the band is no more. With two last shows, one in Helsinki, one in Lahti, the band will stop. After their outstanding album “Ooka”, and considering it might just be the last opportunity ever to see PROFANE OMEN play, I decided to march to On The Rocks on 1 August to witness this legendary evening.
DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE had the honors to open up the evening. The sludge/stoner band was still unknown to me, but through their show, it was clear that the fuzzy guitar sounds of stoner metal, combined with crushing riffs and harsh vocals, seemed to be inspired by BLACK SABBATH‘s riffage. Sludge and stoner performances might not be the most dynamic ones out there, but the band sure managed to give a tight show, focusing on their music. Definitely a band to look out for!
Next up to perform was the heavy metal act TYRANTTI, I discovered the band through their excellent atmospheric video “Toteemi” a couple of years back, and back then already was impressed by the trio. Meanwhile, they have grown a lot and even released their debut self-titled album. Now, I may have been a little bit off that day, I wasn’t in a good mood at all, but TYRANTTI immediately managed to transform the frown on my face, to a smile. Killer riffs, heavy bass lines, and energetic drumming provide a flashback to what the eighties in Finland could have been like, but yet somehow the band manages to keep a modern touch to their music. The front rows seemed to already have studied all the words to the songs and chanted along as Nahka Sami and Henkka took turns in singing. The explosive show was definitely a great addition to the night.
Time for PROFANE OMEN. I only recently got to know their music, because of the release of “Ooka”, and I had seen the band once live, but vocalist Jules Näveri was filled in by Tommy Tuovinen. Right from the start, the band managed to grab everyone’s attention, and the minute the music started, tiny moshpits or headbanging erupted from the audience. The band has quite many members, but it never seemed like the stage was too limited for them, in fact they dominated every inch of it, and kept on doing that through the night.
At the beginning of the set, PROFANE OMEN focused on playing some tracks of “Ooka”, which happen to be great live songs. “They Came For Us”, “White Noise”, and “Aftersound” definitely sounded great and energetic. The band was not only there to play some of their new tracks, but it was also an anniversary show, 20th to be precise, so they also played some older tracks. The true highlight of the evening to me was “Information”, but a great moment also happened during “Bound To Strive” as Tommy Tuovinen was invited to the stage to sing along with Jules Näveri. The audience that evening was definitely something else, without the band encouraging it, the audience started their own small wall of death, and kept engaging in moshpits, even though the floor of On The Rocks is quite small. I’m pretty sure I haven’t encountered such a big moshpit at the venue, and that sure tells something about the quality of the show. PROFANE OMEN will definitely be missed from the Finnish metal scene, but hopefully, someday they will be back again to blow our minds once again!
Setlist
- They Came For Us
- Wastehead
- White Noise
- Make It Count
- Gunshot
- Warboy
- Disconnected
- Bound to Strive (ft. Tommy Tuovinen)
- Information
- Aftersound
- Painbox
- Wildchild
Recent posts
[recent_post_slider design=”design-2″]
