It doesn’t happen very often, but once in a blue moon, you’ll run into a Sunday that isn’t spent sleeping, washing the car, or passing Saturday’s hangover. What else is there to do on the last day of the week you might ask and at least for Sunday, February 18th, 2024, the place to be in Helsinki was Tavastia. Back in September of last year, extreme metal icons CRADLE OF FILTH announced their first European tour of 2024 called Necromantic Fantasies. The killer tour package included special guest WEDNESDAY 13 performing a very unforgettable MURDERDOLLS anniversary set, support from alternative outfit SICK N’ BEAUTIFUL, and atmospheric industrial rockers DRIFT.
The tour, which consisted of twenty-one dates across Europe, was in support of CRADLE OF FILTH’s most recent full-length album “Existence Is Futile” along with their latest release, “Trouble And Their Double Lives,” their first live album in 20 years. Formed in 1991, the extreme metallers hailing from Suffolk, England are no strangers to the road. Their last tour that stopped in Finland was in 2018, though, so a headlining trek in the Nordics was more than overdo. Also long-awaited was the tour’s guest of honor, WEDNESDAY 13, who had promised to perform a classic MURDERDOLLS setlist, had also not visited Finland in over 10 years. Helsinki was more than ready for a night to remember filled with grim festivities.
The evening started promptly at 6:45 pm, which may seem a bit early for an extreme metal show, but with four bands on the bill, there was no reason to wait any longer. The openers of the night were DRIFT, making the journey all the way from Los Angeles! The masked atmospheric industrial rockers brought a ton of energy and excitement to an otherwise, cold and icy, Finnish winter night. Despite being the opening band, their clan of loyal fans were singing along to every word. The band’s frontman, Operator Voxx, had the most unique and tiniest keyboard – it was connected to an armwarmer-like piece and he was wearing it as a wristband! I’ve never seen anything like it before. It makes complete sense though, considering that this allowed his continued agility on stage. They treated all the progressive metalheads to their version of GOJIRA’s “Stranded,” which was a very pleasant surprise.
Next up, were SICK N’ BEAUTIFUL, who were coming to us from the Ship Of Satan in outer space (or Rome, Italy in more colloquial terms.) They promised an ultimate alt-metal sideshow and 100% delivered. Visually, they’re an electric combo of steampunk-like goggled gas masks, whips, glowing instruments, dreadlocks, and light-up/glow-in-the-dark clothing pieces. Halfway through the set, Herma Sick, the band’s eclectic vocalist, went from alien zombie to wicked sorceress – complete with a long red robe, horned headpiece, and a grimoire book with a glowing green eye. Musically, their RAMMSTEIN, ROB ZOMBIE, and NINE INCH NAILS influences were very apparent. The crowd was very much into their horror-meets-pop-punk energetic, electric sound. At this point, the almost full venue, was in awe and delight as they moved along and watched the theatrical performance.
By the time SICK N’ BEAUTIFUL ended their set, it was evident that it was a sold-out night. At this point, it was a tight squeeze as everyone was waiting for Mr. Mofo himself – WEDNESDAY 13 to take the stage. Promptly, at exactly 8:18 pm, “The World According to Revenge” starts playing. Immediately, the anticipation and excitement hit everyone in shock mode, because this can only mean one thing – the party is about to begin! Without pause, it went right into the intro of “Chapel of Blood” and that’s when, like a cannon, WEDNESDAY took his place on stage. At this point, a sea of headbangers came to life and the only thing missing to make this party a bash was an exploding piñata. Exactly three minutes in, the first words from Wednesday were “let me hear you screeeeeeeaaaammmm” to the horde of 700 hungry-for-more devotees. After a brief greeting, he wasted absolutely no time in introducing the next song by chanting “you don’t need luck, when you don’t give a fuck!” Old-school MURDERDOLLS fans already knew this classic, coming off their second studio album “Women and Children Last.”
Right before “Slit My Wrist,” which was the fourth song, WEDNESDAY introduced the rest of the band and gave a short speech honoring Joey Jordison, the original co-founder and drummer of MURDERDOLLS, who shockingly passed away in 2021. He reminded everyone that “Slit My Wrist” was the first song they wrote together and reminisced their previous tours in Helsinki. He had such great memories from those tours and hanging out with Jussi 69 and Alexi Laiho that he had been counting down, looking forward to the Helsinki date of the tour. Jussi was also in attendance tonight. Toward the last part of the performance, “Nowhere” was dedicated to Laiho, to which the crowd cheered and raised their drinks. After thirteen songs, a very suitable number, the set ended with “I Love to Say Fuck,” a congregation of middle fingers in the air, and a very exuberant bunch.
There was a very appropriate intermission filled with a classic soundtrack of goth rock, post-punk, and synthwave that aided in recharging everyone’s batteries in anticipation of the evening’s headliners. Suddenly, the music stopped and was replaced with “The Fate of the World on Our Shoulders,” the intro track of their latest album, “Existence Is Futile,” along with fog, flashing lights, and loud screams as the band took the stage. As the song continued right into “Existential Terror,” the same order as in the album, I noticed how many horns were up in the air and how little room there was to move. The piercing screams from the audience competed with frontman Dani Filth’s signature eerie shrieks. Shortly after the completion of their first song, the crowd got a greeting and introduction from Dani, whom was very quick to point out the lack of circle pit despite the very overfilled floor. He dedicated the next song “She is a Fire” to the first row, and alas, the moshpits throughout the whole venue followed. Before “speeding things up” with “Crawling King Chaos,” another blasting one from the latest release, Dani told a few stories and expressed his loathing for Sundays, while suggesting that taking Monday off to get drunk tonight was the way to go.
Wedged right in the middle of the set, was the revered classic “Nymphetamine” along with horns in the air and the swaying back and forth to old memories. The song ended with a delighted and cheerful crowd. Prior to the encore, Dani gave a shout out to Jussi and dedicated “Born in a Burial Gown” to THE 69 EYES. After a much-needed break from all the craziness, “A Bruise Upon the Silent Moon” began, which was everyone’s cue to get back to the concert area, the band was once again on stage. After the well-known epic intro from “Damnation and a Day,” a much faster “The Promise of Fever” broke out, causing the crowd to use their final reserves of energy for circle pits and headbanging. After two more encores, “Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids” and “Her Ghost in the Fog,” the night ended with the iconic “From the Cradle to Enslave.” CRADLE OF FILTH also had a thirteen-song set, following the necromantic theme of the night.
The Necromantic Fantasies tour was an experience to remember. It’s not easy to keep a sold-out crowd of 700 entertained through four acts, especially when being removed from a cozy, lazy Sunday situation. I think the tour package was really well curated and had a great introduction to newer acts that really warmed up and prepped the night for the two legends that were long-awaited.
Written by Slayanys Maniax
Photos by Laureline Tilkin
Setlist
- Existential Terror
- Saffron’s Curse
- She Is a Fire
- The Principle of Evil Made Flesh
- Crawling King Chaos
- Nymphetamine (Fix)
- Dusk and Her Embrace
- Necromantic Fantasies
- Born in a Burial Gown
- Creatures That Kissed In Cold Mirrors
- The Promise of Fever (Encore)
- Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids (Encore)
- Her Ghost in the Fog (Encore)
- From the Cradle to Enslave (Encore)
