Marko Hietala recently released his sophomore solo effort, “Roses From the Deep,” and, naturally, a Finnish tour had to follow. On February 12th, 2025, he made a mandatory stop at Tavastia in Helsinki, and of course, we had to be there to witness the magic.
The show kicked off with “Frankenstein’s Wife,” a wonderfully quirky opener that set the tone for the night. The band’s stage production was relatively simple—just some great lighting and a zodiac-themed backdrop. Honestly, I would have loved to see that design on a t-shirt at the merch stand, but alas, options were limited. Fingers crossed for future merch drops.
The band featured a new keyboard player, Bob Engstrand, who was ridiculously good—like, “Are you sure you’re human?” good. He even threw in his own creative interpretations of older songs, making them sound fresh and exciting. Most of the setlist was pulled from the new album, but thankfully, Marko also included a few gems from his debut—case in point, “Stones,” which has been haunting my brain for days. (Seriously, how do I exorcise this earworm? Asking for a friend.)
Towards the end of the performance, Marko welcomed Noora Louhimo (BATTLE BEAST) to the stage to replace Tarja Turunen on their recently released duet, “Left on Mars.” And then, to everyone’s delight (and probably a few gasps), the band segued into some NIGHTWISH tracks. Noora put her own badass spin on them, which, let’s be real, was no surprise—this woman always delivers.
For the grand finale, Marko made a bold move and closed the night with the ballad “Truth Shall Set You Free.” A risky choice? Maybe. But it ended the show on a beautifully serene note, proving that sometimes, less is more. Check our photo gallery here…
Marko Hietala
Photos by Laureline Tilkin
