Friday, February 20th, 2026, marked a fantastic opportunity to feast on doom as the Halifax legends, PARADISE LOST, brought their Ascension of Europe Tour Part 2 to Helsinki, with another cornerstone of the genre, SATURNUS, and the up-and-coming occult bunch, CWFEN, as supports. In 2022, PARADISE LOST played a haunting set for a sold-out Tavastia, and this time, the venue was Ääniwalli, but the show was sold out well in advance, just as well. Some bands seem to age like fine wine, and others age more like whiskey – by mellowing out, in a way, and becoming more refined with richer flavors. PARADISE LOST belongs to the latter category, no two words about it. Their last couple of albums slap exceptionally hard for a band that’s been around for more than three decades; plus, judging by these last two shows in Finland, their commanding stage presence suggests they’re going through a golden era of sorts. They were in excellent shape at Tavastia, but this time they were even better!
The Glasgow doomgaze act, CWFEN (pronounced “Coven”), kicked off this spectacular banquet of sonic sorcery. I wasn’t familiar with their music before this show, so I’m not entirely sure whether I got the setlist 100% right, but I reckon it wouldn’t hurt to try to write it down; once again, it paid off to show up early, because here’s yet another band that needs to be checked out in-depth. The band was formed in 2022 when the solo project, SKLTNWMN, and post-black metal outfit FIRST TEMPLE OF THE ATOM joined forces, resulting in a delicious blend of hypnotic doom and ferocity. Their debut album “Sorrows” came out last year, and I reckon the setlist was comprised of songs from that album exclusively. Probably due to the subtle post-punk feel here and there, my first impression was that this bunch would make for a perfect touring partner with CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX. Vocalist-guitarist Agnes Alder‘s expressive vocals ranged from whispery lines to full-on Banshee screams, and during those harsh sections, I couldn’t avoid thinking that we weren’t merely witnessing a loud rock band making some noise but a coven of witches (sic!) performing some sort of a sonic ritual. Their debut has been hailed as punching above its weight for an entry into the scene, and judging by this live performance, I’d say the band made good on every promise that album had raised for those at the venue who already knew the band. For me, this experience was a most pleasant surprise.
The next supporting act was a band that I was somewhat familiar with already. SATURNUS is a veteran doom outfit from Denmark, one that’s been around since the early 1990s, and even though I’m not exactly a die-hard doom-metal fan, their 2006 album “Veronika Decides to Die” made such a good impression that I’ve been checking up on the band every once in a while. Well, it’s been quite easy to maintain this kind of on-off relationship with the band since SATURNUS hasn’t been too busy releasing albums: with their career spanning over three decades, much like PARADISE LOST, the 2023 endeavor, “The Storm Within,” was only their fifth studio album overall. Its massive title track kicked off their show at Ääniwalli with just the right amount of Gothic doom. The band is known for its commanding and immersive live performances, and this evening was no exception. At times, the music hit almost as hard and slow as funeral doom, with Thomas Jensen‘s impressive growls to boot, and the next moment, the band opted for ethereal melancholy with pianos and all (coming from tape), resonating with the air of SWALLOW THE SUN almost. While the setlist was comprised of bangers only, two tracks stood out – “Forest of Insomnia” from 2012 and, obviously, the haunting closer of the set, “Christ Goodbye,” from the very album that converted me back in the day. Even my wife, who is categorically against growls in metal, said that SATURNUS sounded pretty damn good – the guitar melodies, in particular. Yeah, they were gorgeously depressive! A great show from a great band!
Then, for the main course, PARADISE LOST is a band that has been around like forever, at least for us old grits. So, it’s kind of weird that I saw them live for the first time just 4 years ago at Tavastia. Then again, these Halifax doom legends seem to be living their best years right now, so I guess I should consider myself lucky for finally catching up with them, also in terms of live shows. This time, the set kicked off with a new banger, “Serpent on the Cross,” which resonates so strongly with the air of their vintage hits that it should probably be regarded as a classic already. The same holds for the other three songs in the set that were from the new album. So, basically, the setlist felt like a “greatest hits” type of thing, with fan favorites being served non-stop from twelve PARADISE LOST albums altogether. So, regardless of whether you were more into the band’s death-doom albums or their “Depeche Mode” era, I’m pretty damn sure we all got our money’s worth of goosebumps during the evening. I’m more of an omnivore when it comes to music, so I loved their synth bangers – “One Second” and “Nothing Sacred” every bit as much as the gloomy riffers. Then, as if this career-spanning setlist wasn’t enough to make the crowd go apeshit, the band was in such good spirits that the audience practically ate from the band’s hand, as the saying goes. It was haunting, to put it mildly – especially during those moments when Nick Holmes encouraged the crowd to sing along in the humid, sold-out sweatbox. So, when the last song of the encore, “Silence of the Grave,” brought this magnificent evening to a close, I bet there was not a single soul who was disappointed. I had expected quite a lot from this show, since the band was so good the last time, and still, PARADISE LOST delivered something even more spectacular. “Sedät jaksaa heilua!,” as we say in Finnish, which roughly translates to “Old guys still have it!”
Written by Jani Lehtinen
CWFEN Setlist
- Wolfsbane
- Reliks
- Whispers
- Penance
- Embers
Saturnus Setlist
- The Storm Within
- Empty Handed
- Forest of Insomnia
- I Long
- Christ Goodbye
Paradise Lost Setlist
- Serpent on the Cross
- Tragic Idol
- True Belief
- One Second
- Once Solemn
- Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us
- Pity the Sadness
- Salvation
- Nothing Sacred
- Tyrants Serenade
- Requiem
- Mouth
- Say Just Words
Encore:
- No Celebration
- Ghosts
- Silence Like the Grave
