Friday, August 2nd, 2024, marked a unique chance to catch OCTOPLOID‘s only live show this year – y’know, the magnificent side hustle of AMORPHIS bassist, Olli-Pekka Laine. The gig was also the album release show celebrating the band’s brilliant debut “Beyond the Aeons,” released in early July via Reigning Phoenix Records. The album is fast becoming the strongest candidate to be the best Finnish metal album of 2024 – the only real challenger could be the upcoming SWALLOW THE SUN album if it comes out before the year is done – so, it was essential to crawl out of my coffin and be there at On The Rocks on this special evening!

Helsinki-based stoner outfit SUMEA was set to warm up the stage and, despite the sordid lack of parking space in the Helsinki downtown area, I made it just in time to the venue to witness their full set. I’m glad I did because these fine stoner gents made quite an impression right off the bat. You see, I didn’t know anything about the band in advance because, quite frankly, most of the bands in the stoner pantheon aren’t very interesting with their endless spliff-induced jams in the blues pentatonic mode. These guys were something else completely! Sure, I spotted the standard stoner procedure paraphernalia on the stage – the Orange amplifier – but SUMEA put this stoner Holy Grail appliance to bloody good use. At first, it might have seemed a bit weird to have a stoner band warming up for OCTOPLOID but, after a few songs, I noticed that these two bands had something in common – the affinity for that incense-flavored psychedelia that hints at KINGSTON WALL. This bunch wasn’t professing their love for the oriental flying-carpet vibes as explicitly as OCTOPLOID would be a little bit later on but you could sense that it was there. If my memory serves me right, it was the song introduced as “Erakko” that demonstrated this tendency the most.

As for the song titles, in general, I cannot say much as I wasn’t exactly familiar with the band. What I could gather, though, was that they played a nicely balanced set comprised of their older and newer stuff – even one as-of-yet unreleased banger. What really set this bunch apart from your typical stoner outfit besides the obvious – their pristine songcraft echoing vintage MASTODON and BLACK SABBATH, that is – was the vocalist, Tuomas Valtanen. His range stretched from the soft crooning, somewhat reminiscent of Rauli Badding Somerjoki even, to the fierce sermons of a mad hierophant, spiced with the occasional throaty growls of the doom variety. So, yeah, this event was one of those occasions where it totally paid off to show up early. Apparently, this Helsinki bunch is something like the talk of the town – I wasn’t the only one who had shown up early to catch their set. The venue had pulled up quite a good crowd for the warm-up act already. SUMEA went straight onto my To-Do list – this band needs to be explored in full.

Then, after 45 minutes of stoner excellence, it was time for the main course. As expected, one of the most versatile metal vocalists of today, Mikko Kotamäki of SWALLOW THE SUN, took care of the vocal duties. In addition, contrary to the album, the keyboard department was not handled by Kim Rantala of AMORPHIS fame but by a guest who was later introduced to be Antti “Andy” Myllynen of BARREN EARTH. Being a synth aficionado myself, I was delighted to hear such impressive keyboard licks and I definitely didn’t mind the psychedelic orientalism running rampant here and there.

Since OCTOPLOID can boast only one album on their belt, the setlist was obviously going to include each track from the debut. At first, it seemed as though they were going to play the songs in chronological order. Now, in retrospect, I could almost swear that “Shattered Wings” was played later in the live set compared to the tracklist of the album. Then again, it didn’t really make a difference – this is one of those debut albums that have a perfect, solid selection of songs. You could shuffle them all you wanted and they would still sound as sublime as ever. That said, the album opener, “The Dawns in Nothingness” was quite an apt opener for the live setting, too. After that, it was pure eargasm all the way through. The band was on fire – I reckon this was the first-ever gig by this lineup and they seemed to enjoy playing these songs live as much as the audience enjoyed listening to them. The execution was world-class, hands down. Then again, how could it not have been? With a lineup of such seasoned musicians, paired with such a pristine selection of songs, OCTOPLOID‘s live performance could not be but excellent. I mean, if vintage AMORPHIS from the late 1990s or orientally tinted psychedelia à la KINGSTON WALL is anywhere near your cup of tea, you would do yourself a big favor by attending the future live shows by this brilliant metal brigade. In a way, it felt almost surreal to be witnessing a band of this caliber in such a small venue. Yeah, this was one of those gigs of which you can easily say, “You shoulda been there, dude!”

What I found especially delightful was the prominence of those lovely KINGSTON WALL vibes in the live versions of the songs. Guitarist Peter “Peetu” Salonen dropped nothing short of haunting solos channeling the ghost of Petri Walli – wah-pedal and delay is a killer combo when you play some nice oriental fretboard runs through them. Salonen even sported a stage attire a bit similar to that of Walli – silk shirts and vests were all the craze in the early 1990s! Toward the end of the set, there was an inspired instrumental jam – perhaps an extended solo section, I dare not say because my memory might be wrong, though I wasn’t even drunk – I came by car, remember. It resonated rather strongly with the ethos of KINGSTON WALL‘s “Palékastro.” Needless to say, I was happy like a dog with two tails. That particular KW track has been a huge inspiration to me since its release some 30-plus years ago.

As a treat, OCTOPLOID played a song called “Monotony” that wasn’t on the debut. It was quite a spirited riffer. I should have prepared better and grabbed my cash purse along – they were selling the single in CD and vinyl format at the merch stall after the show. Those OCTOPLOID T-shirts also looked pretty swell. Next time, I’ll be wiser. As for the special treats, they didn’t end here. After a banging version of the album closer, “A Dusk of Vex,” the band played a cover rendition of BLACK SABBATH‘s “Children of the Grave” as an encore. It fit the band’s psychedelic death-metal extravaganza surprisingly well. In addition, considering the stoner blast by SUMEA, setting the evening in motion, this choice of a cover song brought things to a close just perfectly.

So, it was well worth driving 50km to Helsinki to see two absolutely great bands on a Friday night. Considering the fact that this is a side hustle, with AMORPHIS and SWALLOW THE SUN keeping some of the band’s personnel quite busy in the future, we may not be able to see this rogue unit in action too often. So, when the opportunity knocks, I guess it’s best to answer – this psychedelic metal experience is not something you would want to miss.

Written by Jani Lehtinen
Photos by Laureline Tilkin