Swedish melodeath force THE HALO EFFECT has been tearing through Europe in support of their latest album, “March of the Unheard,” bringing along PAIN and BLOODRED HOURGLASS for the ride. However, since industrial metal outfit PAIN had just wrapped up a Nordic tour with a Helsinki stop, they sat this one out, leaving BLOODRED HOURGLASS with a prime special guest slot at Tavastia on February 11th. Honestly? No complaints. The more BLOODRED HOURGLASS, the better.
I won’t lie—BLOODRED HOURGLASS was my main reason for showing up, and judging by the flood of BLOODRED HOURGLASS merch in the audience, I wasn’t alone. Despite this being a THE HALO EFFECT headlining show, it felt like most people were here for Finland’s own melodeath juggernauts. Finns are notorious for showing up late to gigs, usually rolling in halfway through the opening act with a beer in hand, but not this time. The venue was already packed before the first note hit, proving that BLOODRED HOURGLASS’s homecoming was a major event.
The band opened with the energetic, “The Sun Still In Me,” though the backing track was a bit too quiet, making the keyboard layers nearly disappear. A minor setback, but not enough to dim the energy—especially since the band was absolutely thriving in front of their home crowd. Fresh off a long European tour, they seemed extra fired up, delivering a performance full of tight riffs, massive smiles, and pure melodeath mayhem. The audience matched their energy, launching into a mosh pit early on and keeping it raging for the entire set.
The show’s pacing was interesting; BLOODRED HOURGLASS grouped a few slower songs together before kicking things back into high gear with heavier tracks like “Drag Me the Rain.” It was refreshing to see them switch up their setlist from previous shows—it kept things unpredictable and engaging. At one point, frontman Jaredi Koukonen asked how many people were seeing BLOODRED HOURGLASS for the first time. Silence. Not a single hand in sight—or at least nowhere near me. If that’s not proof that most of us came specifically for them, I don’t know what is.
With an hour-long set and 14 songs, BLOODRED HOURGLASS delivered a mix, leaning heavily on their latest albums but still throwing in fan-favorite “Where the Sinners Crawl.” If the rest of their European tour went anything like this night, they undoubtedly gained a wave of new fans. And honestly? It’s about time this band starts playing even bigger stages—they deserve it.
After BLOODRED HOURGLASS’s high-energy set, THE HALO EFFECT took the stage, kicking off with “March of the Unheard,” the title track from their latest album. Right away, something felt… familiar. Not in a bad way, but the production, stage presence, and overall vibe had major DARK TRANQUILLITY vibes—which isn’t shocking, considering who’s in the band. And hey, no complaints, because they rule too.
Frontman Mikael Stanne remains an absolute joy to watch live. His infectious enthusiasm makes it impossible not to have a good time. The guy radiates pure joy on stage, like a death metal Santa Claus, and the crowd totally fed off of it. Unfortunately despite this good start, the sound started off a bit rough, with muddled mixing, but after about three songs, it seemed to magically fix itself.
If I had one critique, it’s that the set felt shorter than expected. Officially, they had an 80-minute slot, but I swear it went by in half the time. Maybe because they’ve only released two albums, or maybe because I was just enjoying myself too much to notice the clock. Strangely, they focused more on their debut album, “Days of the Lost,” only including five tracks from the brand-new record. A bit surprising, especially since “March of the Unheard” had just been released. It made me wonder—did they just not have enough time to rehearse more new material? Or are they just really attached to the first album? Either way, I was hoping to hear more fresh songs live. The was was beautifully rounded out by the band’s biggest hit, “Shadowminds,” which is always a fun song to hear live regardless of where in the setlist it is.
Regardless, THE HALO EFFECT put on a stellar show, proving that this band of melodeath veterans knows exactly what they’re doing. The sold-out crowd was eating it up, and if this turnout is any indication of their future, Tavastia might already be too small for them.
Written by Laureline Tilkin
Photos by Janne Puronen
Setlist
- March of the Unheard
- Feel What I Believe
- In Broken Trust
- The Needless End
- Detonate
- Conditional
- Cruel Perception
- A Truth Worth Lying For
- Become Surrender
- What We Become
- Gateways
- Last of Our Kind
- Days of the Lost
Encore:
14. Shadowminds
