Following their fresh-off-the-press late-October album release, AEPHENEMER is on the move to spread their new album across Europe; and what better place to bring “Utopie” than Nirvana? “Utopie” is AEPHENEMER’s fifth studio album and follows with their tradition of extra-high energy melodic death metal, this time in their native language of French. They are joined on this tour by Portuguese melodic death metal group DARK OATH and some Australian epic folk metal dished out by VALHALORE. At Turku’s Nirvana, we had the pleasure of experiencing new music from all three bands.
VALHALORE was the first to take the stage and immediately whipped the audience into a good mood. Vocalist and frontman Lachlan “Lachy” Neate had some of the best stage presence of the show, both while cracking jokes between songs or dancing and hyping up his bandmates during songs. Their set was focused and tight; we got to hear all but a few of the tracks off their latest full-length album, “Beyond the Stars.” This album keeps their signature folksy nature while pumping up the epicness to 11. There is no song more apparent of this than “Edge of Forever,” with which they serenaded us with beautiful soaring vocals backed by quick and melodic riffs. VALHALORE finished their set with a fan-favorite track from their first album, “Across the Frozen Ocean” (a name they likened to their trip to Finland from Down Under). This was VALHALORE’s first-ever show in Finland, and they surely left an impression on us.
Next up was DARK OATH, who are no strangers to Nirvana in Turku. We had the opportunity to catch them on their headlining tour here just last year, and it was apparent that, because of this, there were many DARK OATH fans in the room. With good reason, too, as they absolutely rocked us again. DARK OATH has been prolific with releasing music lately. After last year’s full-length album, “Ages of Man,” we’ve already gotten a taste of what is to come with their latest single, “The Weaver.” Both releases sounded great as parts of their live set. “From Ages of Man,” they played six tracks that were, as usual with DARK OATH, soaked in mythological storytelling. DARK OATH always manages to create a fantastic atmosphere made up of a blend of soundscape and lore, whether it be Norse, Greek, or otherwise. Much to the contentment of the many fans in the crowd, they included in their set the grand Viking-tale “Land of Ours;” a song that has been a favorite of many ever since it was included on their debut album back in 2016.
Last but certainly not least, AEPHENEMER took the stage with electric energy. Their set was massive and included lots of the new album while stirring in a bunch of the classic AEPHENEMER tunes. One of the great things about AEPHENEMER is that they always look like they’re having a blast on stage. Especially during their faster-paced tunes like the highly melodic “Contrepoint”, which very visibly elevated the fervor of the crowd. Even between songs, vocalist Marion Bascoul flexed her basic Finnish, which is always a crowd pleaser, and it had the crowd responding with shouts of “oui” and “merci.” Speaking of Marion, her rapid back-and-forth switching between harsh and clean vocals on “Antigone” is a very impressive sight to behold.
In the latter half of AEPHENEMER’s set, we got to hear the massive two-part namesake climax of their new album, “Utopie (Partie I)” and “Utopie (Partie II).” It was pretty epic to get the full experience live, coming out the other side gave me a whole new appreciation for the album as a whole. Especially the impressive playing of guitarist Martin Hamiche, whose sweeps and complex melodic riffing were one of the major highlights of the night.
All three groups certainly brought their A-game with new music and classic favorites on this tour. It’s a masterfully put together tour because these three bands, while stylistically have their differences, feel like they share the same spirit in their inspirations from various mythologies and cultures. Next up on their streak across Europe, they’ll be heading to Germany and the UK, where they will surely be leaving a wake of enchanted fans, old and new.
Written by Ken Kirwin
Photos by Magdalena Niemczura
Setlist
- Le cimetière marin
- Le radeau de la Méduse
- The Call of the Wild
- La règle du jeu
- The Sovereign
- Antigone
- Contrepoint
- Roots and Leaves
- Path of the Wolf
- Back Again
- Utopie (Partie I)
- Utopie (Partie II)
Encore
- Bloodline
