Puska is a yearly DIY-based metal festival set up on top of the Taivaskallio hill in Käpylä, Helsinki. The festival sports underground metal and punk acts from the rich Finnish underground scene. The festival has gained some attention and has been growing yearly, yet everything still happens volunteer based. There are a couple of portable toilets and some food is being sold but people come with their own beers and hang around in a nice, laid-back atmosphere.
Naturally we headed out on top of the hill to see what the Puska people had cooked up this year. The sun was shining as the festival began, but there was a thunderstorm predicted for the evening, so all the shows had been shortened by fifteen minutes in order to give every band a chance to play before the storm. A new addition for this year was Puska Junior stage, a smaller stage at the bottom of the hill, near the Käpylä canopy kiosk, which hosted young bands. Sadly, as the shows were running simultaneously we only had time to attend the main event.
The festival opened up with PUTRID DEFECATION – a death metal band with a twist. All the songs have to do with excrements in one way or another. Now one might appreciate the humor or not, but there’s no denying they can play as well! The band kicked off the festival to a smelly start and seemed to have no shortage of fans in the crowd either.
Next up, ASTRAL BAZAAR took the stage with their softer, psychedelic touch. They were a good fit for cozy summer days listening, as the melodic rock flowed through the audience, bathing in the sun. They played really well and the songs are cleverly built. Puska has never been afraid to bring in bands outside the rigid metal category, and the crowds aren’t too picky either. ASTRAL BAZAAR found their crowd too, which goes to prove the audiences at Puska aren’t too genre-limited either.
Then it was time for some HC-punk attitude as BAD JESUS EXPERIENCE stormed the stage. Aggressive, political, on your face is the name of the game here. Their fast raging made a nice counterpoint to the slow, crushing sludge catered by ZOMBIE EATER after them. The slow, heavy riffing and growling vocals reminded us of bands like DOPETHRONE. The band also had a good audience contact. We got to witness the drummer’s shoelaces being tied up by a member of the crowd, a visitor on stage who was asked why he doesn’t wear boots, and some stage diving too; a very nice acquaintance, definitely!
The fifth band of the evening was SATANEN, a Finnish language retro rock’n’roll act that has drawn comparisons to even the legendary THE HURRIGANES. The band plays fast, furious, and tight, and has a good amount of humor in their act as well. At Puska, they had the crowd dancing and chanting for more when the gig was over. Sadly, there was no time for encores, but SATANEN is definitely a band to keep an eye on.
Second to last, UNEARTHLY RITES climbed on the stage to dish out some old school death metal. At this point of the night, the audience was well warmed up and enthusiastic, and there were even some attempts at mosh pits going on.
The evening ended with BOLT, a hardcore legend first formed in 1997. They took the stage with confidence brought by experience, and although the stage act might lack some youthful energy, the band shows no signs of slowing down. They still work up the audience, and the songs do their job, be it the old classics or new material from their latest album that came out in March.
Puska proved once again that big money isn’t needed to set up something great. A DIY-attitude, and a living underground scene will carry a long way. Check our photo gallery below…
Putrid Defecation
Astral Bazaar
Bad Jesus Experience
Zombie Eater
Satanen
Unearthly Rites
BOLT
