The end of the year is approaching, and if there’s one metal band that has had a fantastic year, it’s probably the German Gothic metal act LORD OF THE LOST. They participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with their fantastic banger, “Blood & Glitter,” earlier this year. The band had a few show days in Finland and started at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki on December 13th, 2023, along with the Finnish band RAIN DIARY and the Norwegian Gothic metal juggernauts GOTHMINISTER.
We hadn’t heard of RAIN DIARY before, so We was quite intrigued by what their performance would be like. The atmospheric Gothic metal act delivered a solid show; their music was a little mellow and very melancholic. However, the last song was a bit more uptempo, showing a totally different side of the band. Altogether, they played a great show and were a fantastic warm-up for what was to come.
On the other hand, GOTHMINISTER really proved why they are such a household name in the Gothic/industrial metal scene. The band is currently on their Pandemonium Tour, promoting their album released in 2022. They mostly focused on playing songs from that record but also included some other bits and bobs, delivering a top-notch performance at the same time.
Even though we saw LORD OF THE LOST earlier this year as a special guest for TURMION KÄTILÖT – which we also learned they are collaborating with for a song – we were happy we could finally catch their infectious energy at their headlining show. Unfortunately, bass player Class Grenayde had to miss the show due to illness. His replacement, Benji, did a great job and supposedly learned the songs in just 1.5 hours, which is impressive! We weren’t surprised at all that LORD OF THE LOST pretty much equals party time. Vocalist Chris Harms ensured the entire audience was having fun, and during a dynamic song like “Blood For Blood,” the audience did whatever they were asked, including jumping up and down and participating in a one-man-circle pit. The show included many highlights, but naturally, we were looking forward to seeing “Blood & Glitter,” as well as the band’s cover of the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest participant, Käärijä. Despite “Cha Cha Cha” being a pretty difficult song for a non-native speaker to sing, Chris Harms delivered – albeit with the little help of an iPad – a great end to a fantastic evening. Check our photo gallery here…
Rain Diary
Gothminister
Lord of the Lost
Photos by Laureline Tilkin
