In 2020, TURMION KÄTILÖT were planning to take their career up to second gear with their album “Global Warning,” out via Nuclear Blast Records, when they were announced as a supporting act for NIGHTWISH and had planned the biggest show of their career so far to take place in Helsingin Jäähalli. The spectacle was, unfortunately, forced to postpone multiple times, but finally settled for January 14th, 2023. The industrial metal act recently released a follow-up, “Omen X” – two birds with one stone.
DETSET‘s recent album release of “Vermeil” was nothing short of impressive. Ever since it came out, they’ve been on our radar and we’ve been able to see them live a handful of times. Their show was set at 18:30, a tad too early for our schedule, so unfortunately we missed part of it. However, we did see a little bit and we weren’t at all surprised that they delivered a great live performance, albeit a little bit of an odd choice to be paired with TURMION KÄTILÖT, though it seemed like the audience embraced their blend of metal.
You may know the name Proteus from his many performances at The Circus. This show was rather a surprise because the DJ had previously already performed his farewell show. He made an exception for his friends in TURMION KÄTILÖT and clearly gave his all. As someone who was not familiar with his music (or live performances for that matter), I was immediately struck by his infectious energy and stage presence. Admittedly, part of the reason for not liking DJ sets so much is the limited engagement with the audience at times, but Proteus definitely didn’t lack in that aspect and delivered.
At the beginning of his show, many people were standing in the back, but as the music progressed, they couldn’t help but start dancing and jumping in front of the stage. In fact, I saw several dance circles arise among the audience, something that doesn’t happen too much in Finland. Proteus‘s performance was dynamic and engaging, leaving a lasting impression. We were happy we watched his final moments on stage, although sadly disappointed there would be no more after this.
One of the must-see acts of the night were LORD OF THE LOST. The German Gothic metal band brought a new level of energy and excitement to the audience as special guests. We had never seen them live but our webzine’s staff has been always very positive about their studio recordings, the recently released “Blood & Glitter“ being no exception. Having only heard their albums, their live performance was truly impressive, with a heavier sound than their studio recordings and a dynamic stage presence that kept the audience engaged throughout the entire set. Singer Chris Harms is not only a talented musician but also a masterful entertainer, captivating the crowd with his energy and charisma.
While the set included no tracks from their recent album, there was a good amount of variety in the material. Using “Drag Me to Hell” as the opener for the 11-track show was an impressive start full of pizazz. The highlight of the performance for us was the track “Blood for Blood,” which had a quirky keyboard tune and solo. Harms‘ cleverly changed the lyrics for the attentive ear from “it takes two to tango” to “it takes two to humppa” and to absolutely nobody’s surprise this song involved a lot of jumping up and down. The closer, “La Bamba,” was perhaps another impressive track, with both the bass player and guitarist jumping from the back to the front, in sync with the samba-like rhythms. If anything, maybe they could have used their hips a little bit more in the movements. It was our first time seeing LORD OF THE LOST live, but it will certainly not be our last. The band also announced they would be coming back to Finland very soon!
Finland’s biggest industrial metal act, TURMION KÄTILÖT, closed out the bill with a powerful and unforgettable performance. As a legendary act in Finland, it was no surprise that the show was completely sold out and the crowd was packed with excited fans. Though we found a spot in the back, making it difficult to see at times, we still had a good overall view of the stage. The show started off with an introduction by Nalle Österman, reading his review of “Hoitovirhe” from Soundi in 2004, which received 1 star. If ever there was a band that doesn’t take themselves all seriously, it definitely TURMION KÄTILÖT, perhaps that’s one of the many reasons we love them.
Since the band released “Omen X” the same day, we were sort of hoping that they would play “Totuus” as an opening track, because it would have been a very impactful start, however, they opted off with the equally strong but older “Noitu,” which had the crowd energized throughout. Given the fact that the band had not played their massive show for the previous album, naturally, they made up for any missed opportunities and still included a lot of “Global Warning“ tracks, such as “Kyntövuohi” and “Sano kun riittäa.” These songs are all excellent live tracks, so it’s almost no surprise that after the latter track, some Nuclear Blast folks came out on stage and awarded them gold for the record.
Thankfully, the show also included lots of live premieres from “Omen X” and “Totuus” did pop up later in the evening with lots of pyros to warm up the cold Ice Hall. The premieres of “Gabriel,” “Kuolettavia vammoja,” and “Vie se pois” followed, showing that these new tracks are as lit as the pyros.
As expected, a TURMION KÄTILÖT show in Finland is always a spectacle. The band was joined by the Freakshow Hookers during songs like “Dance Panique,” “Pirun nyrkki,” and “Kärsi.” I hadn’t personally been to one of their shows where they suspend people in the air on hooks and while it’s not for the faint-hearted, it does add a little extra oomph to the visuals. Additionally, MC Raaka Pee‘s daughter came on stage during two songs doing backing vocals, most notably during “Isä Meidän” and ex-VELCRA singer Jessi Frey made an appearance during “Irstauden ilosanoma,” which was a nice surprise. Additionally, for fans of music videos, there were also a few throughout the show to TURMION KÄTILÖT‘s wonderful videos created by Rauli Ylitalo. The show consisted of twenty-six tracks featuring both new songs and old classics. While the new songs sounded great live, we were also glad to hear old favorites like “Tirehtööri,” “Vertaa ja Lihaa,” and “Teurastaja.”
In conclusion, this show was the best and lengthiest one we have ever seen from TURMION KÄTILÖT. It definitely feels like the band just marked a new chapter in their career, so while they’re already a big name in Finland, the rest of the world will follow soon. The band are planning to conquer Europe’s hearts at least later this year during their tour with BLOODRED HOURGLASS, and there’s no way of stopping them!
Written by Laureline Tilkin
Photos by Janne Puronen
Setlist
- Naitu
- Kyntövuohi
- Minä määrään
- Suolainen kapteeni
- Sano kun riittää
- Sormenjälki
- Totuus
- Isä meidän (with MC Raaka Pee’s daughter)
- U.S.C.H!
- Hades
- Dance Panique (with Freakshow Hookers)
- Viha ja rakkaus
- Gabriel
- Tirehtööri
- Kuolettavia vammoja
- Vie se pois
- Pirun nyrkki (with Freakshow Hookers)
- Jalopiina
- Irstauden ilosanoma (with Jessi Frey)
- Käy tanssiin
- Lepositeet
- Verta ja lihaa
- Pyhä maa
- Kärsi (Encore)
- Teurastaja (Encore)
- Sikiö (Encore) (with MC Raaka Pee’s daughter)
