During this unusually warm October, people are still in a party mood, so when ANCIENT‘s gig was announced at Lepakkomies on October 18th, 2024, it was no surprise that the venue ended up being sold out.
There was already a sizable crowd when IKU-TURSO opened the second night of three Finnish shows for the duo, the first being in Tampere and the last in their hometown of Oulu. With some fresh material and lineup changes since we last saw them, the band sounded convincing and tight, taking advantage of the intimate atmosphere of a club show compared to an early festival slot (where we last saw them at Steelfest). The audience clearly enjoyed it, filling up the front and setting the stage nicely for ANCIENT.
By then, Lepakkomies was packed and eagerly awaiting the Norwegian/Italian band, now featuring IKU-TURSO‘s keyboardist, Tero Nevala, in double duty as he performed on bass guitar. It had certainly been many years since seeing ANCIENT live (the last memory being at some Black Flames of Blasphemy event?). Needless to say, they put on a pretty entertaining show without having to try too hard, as frontman Zel mesmerized the fans with his presence and spiked attire. The show maintained a constant intensity, mixing old and newer songs, though it was the earlier material that excited the fans the most. At some point, however, the atmosphere became overwhelmingly sweaty, so when the show ended, it came almost as a relief, allowing people to get some much-needed refreshments. Any small club tends to get way too hot when it’s this full.
In the end, both bands delivered nicely, making for a great start to the weekend as we headed out for some fresh air in this not-yet-so-cold Finnish autumn.
IKU-TURSO
ANCIENT
