In what turned out to be another great night for electronic/industrial/synthwave (with a touch of drone, noise, and whatnot), we had the chance to experience a very solid line-up at Tavastia in occasion of the Heaven And Hell Tour, which featured PERTURBATOR, HEALTH, and AUTHOR & PUNISHER and took place on November 1st, 2022.
When we arrived at the venue the doors were not yet open, yet the queue was already about to turn around the corner due to the fact that the gig was sold-out. Luckily, everything went very smoothly and we got inside surprisingly quickly, so we still made it in just in time for AUTHOR & PUNISHER, who was scheduled to start only 30 minutes after opening. It’s always impressive to see all that custom-made machinery that Tristan Shone utilises so capably, as if it were simply an extension of his own body. The addition of live guitarist Douglas Sabolick (ECSTATIC VISION) gave proper justice to the songs from the latest release, “Krüller,” in which the guitars add an extra layer to the eclectic music of this terrific Californian industrial/drone artist and mechanical engineer. The show – judging also by the audience’s reaction – was exceptionally good, albeit still quite short. After all, the duo was already in Helsinki around Easter earlier this year, but we wouldn’t have minded spending more time with their music.
Having missed HEALTH at this year’s Roadburn festival due to – you have guessed it – scheduling conflicts, this was a great chance to catch up and finally see the band live (there was a show at Ääniwalli in late April, which we were unable to attend as well). The trio was incredibly energetic – especially John Famiglietti, who kept dancing with his bass when he was not busy reaching the console at the edge of the stage – and this clearly affected the entire crowd. The mighty drumming offered by BJ Miller echoed throughout the hall, the two musicians setting the tone for Jake Duzsik‘s vocals and guitars. At the end of their set, the trio was joined by James Kent, a.k.a. PERTURBATOR himself, to perform “Excess” from their last effort “Disco4: Part II.”
After preparing the stage for the main event (the crew had to position the two platforms for PERTURBATOR – and drummer Dylan Hyard – to perform) it was time for the headliner. The set was not so different from what we saw already during the summer at Tuska, but the show felt much more enjoyable in a club setting, even though it couldn’t really be more intimate given the number of people filling the venue. The main difference was the conclusion, where they covered HEALTH‘s “BODY/PRISON.” Out of the three bands, this was probably the most predictable in a way. Not to say it wasn’t a good gig, in fact still a pretty good show – or at the very least in line with what we are used to from the French musician. However, in a night where all three bands had already performed in town previously this very same year, the two opening acts still had more “novelty” to them, and definitely more dynamism on stage. Still… it’s not really a big complaint, as the whole package turned out to be a killer combo.
AUTHOR & PUNISHER
HEALTH
PERTURBATOR
