After a year or two of hiatus, former NIGHTWISH bassist/singer Marko Hietala has come out of hibernation in the spring of 2023 in order to continue touring his solo album, “Mustan sydämen rovio” (also known for its English-language counterpart, “Pyre of the Black Heart“). This Mustan sydämen kevätkiertue [Springtime of the Black Heart Tour] passed through many music halls in Finland, with the first stop in Hyvinkääsali in Hyvinkää on April 15th, 2023.
One of the coolest things about Marko‘s solo album was that he wrote it in both Finnish and English, which means that different songs stand out more in either language. Since this was a Finnish tour, we were interested to see if he would be playing exclusively Finnish iterations of his material, or if he’d be shaking it up with a few English renditions. For example, “Stones” has always worked better in English, because the single-syllable title cannot be replaced by the 3-syllable “kivikset” in Finnish, meaning that the Finnish version of the song sings “hoi” instead of “stones” in the chorus.
The stage setup was simple, with vivid banners on either side of a small riser for the Vili Ollila‘s keyboards and Anssi Nykänen‘s drums, with Marko Hietala and guitarist Tuomas Wäinölä on the auditorium floor. They opened up the set with “Tähti, hiekka ja varjo” and “Dead God’s Son,” making for a solid start to the show, while also showcasing both languages! Since the venue was seated, the crowd was only able to clap and cheer, which they did in abundance, but this meant that the energy both on and off stage was more mellow than you might normally get in a heavy show. After the first two tracks, Marko stopped to greet the crowd and chat for a moment before continuing with “Isäni ääni,” which has delicate vocals and those lovely guitar lines that have smitten me since first listen.
The musical hiatus certainly didn’t take anything away – Marko may be in his 50s but his voice is still in its 20s, which meant that everything (vibrato especially) sounded spectacular. “For You” brought it back to English and allowed for a bit of a breather, including for Marko, who put down his bass for this one, while remaining a very powerful song. “Vapauden kuolinmarssi” was a personal highlight, but that’s just because the song is so damned catchy. Again, the band were doing a great job of lifting up the music – it was surely hard for everyone to stay in their seats in the presence of such good, funky melodies. This was also one of the songs in which Vili got to show off his keyboard chops with some awesome melodies (along with Tuomas, but he was killing it the whole show, so it’s hard to pick a highlight from his stellar performance).
Marko was pleasantly chatty in between most songs and he’s very charismatic and likeable on stage. They played a cover of HECTOR‘s “Olet lehdetön puu” and then continued with “Unelmoin öisin.” “Minä olen tie” was another highlight, though I was surprised that this one was sung in Finnish, as “I am the way” feels a little more organic than [translated] “I am a street,” but nevertheless, it’s a great track and works well live, especially as it gets the crowd to clap along. The energy kicked up again with “Juoksen rautateitä,” which has really stylish playing from the whole band. This was followed by something totally unfamiliar, which turned out to be a cover of David Bowie‘s “Starman,” which was an interesting choice, especially since it’s not the only cover of that song that we’ve heard recently. The crowd was getting a good chuckle from the banter afterwards, and then “Stones” was up next, which surely meant that the show was almost over (already!? It seemed like it had only just begun). Marko got the crowd to shout “stones” for him… this is just such a fabulous song; I, for one, can’t get enough of it, with the fabulous vocals and awesome guitar lines.
There was a short break to allow for an encore, but the crowd cheered them back immediately, so they weren’t gone from the stage very long before returning. I had been curious if SAPAATTIVUOSI would make an appearance and sure enough, the first song in the encore was a cover of BLACK SABBATH‘s “War Pigs.” Marko is a pretty well-established Tommy Iommi fan, so hearing him belt this one out is always delightful and, frankly, I can’t remember when the last time he was doing SABBATH covers was, so this was both a nice treat and a solid blast from the past. After that very long track, Marko introduced his band and they wrapped up the set with “Truth Shall Set You Free,” which also doubles as the final album track, so it’s a solid way to wrap things up. Oh, also? Marko was playing cello… which is not something that I knew he could do, so that was also cool as hell to see.
All-in-all, this was a pretty excellent night where people of all ages came to enjoy some awesome rock/metal. It seemed like there were a lot of families and couples present, making for a wholesome and positive feel. This tour is just getting started, so if it comes to your town, be sure to check it out if you’re a Marko Hietala fan in any capacity, but especially if you loved his solo material.
Written by Bear Wiseman
Photos by Jana B.
Setlist
- Tähti, hiekka ja varjo
- Dead God’s Son
- Isäni ääni
- For You
- Vapauden kuolinmarssi
- Olet lehdetön puu (Hector cover)
- Unelmoin öisin
- Minä olen tie
- Juoksen rautateitä
- Starman (David Bowie cover)
- Stones
- War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
- Truth Shall Set You Free
