Due to the release of ALCEST‘s “Les Chants de l’Aurore,” the band went on a European tour to support the release with some pretty cool support acts. On November 27th, 2024, Belgian experimental metal outfit DOODSESKADER, British post-hardcore act SVALBARD, and French post-metal band ALCEST made their way to Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo.
The Belgian DOODSESKADER was one of the bands I wanted to check out. Despite also being from Belgium, I hadn’t had the opportunity to listen to their music, even though some people have been recommending them to me in the past. I did check out their latest album, “Year 2,” before leaving for Kulttuuritalo, and the unique blend of metal made me even more interested in what we were going to witness. The result was an incredible show, mostly due to the production. Since DOODSESKADER is a duo, they didn’t have much equipment on stage, but the two musicians are very dynamic, and the accompaniment of really cool psychedelic projections made the show really worthwhile.
SVALBARD is also a band that had been recommended to me a few times, but I never had the time to explore their music. While admittedly, this isn’t super my blend of music, I understood why they have been making waves in recent years. Their show may have been a tad more minimal than DOODSESKADER‘s show, however, it had a nice mysterious and ominous atmosphere, and frontwoman Serena Cherry really put on a solid performance. An additional bonus was that some of the band members also sported some Finnish band shirts, as a nice nod to our music scene.
Then, it was time for ALCEST, and boy did they step up their production game since the last time they were in Helsinki. The stage was simply beautiful, with some plants, nods to nature, and some birds in the background, translating it to something as poetic as their music. The lighting show that accompanied this beautiful stage design, was also something truly beautiful. Honestly, this was perhaps one of the most beautiful stage productions I’ve seen in recent years. It wasn’t over the top, but fairly simple, and just suited the music. Usually, I’m not a big fan of Kulttuuritalo‘s white ceiling since it bounces off the light and it’s not really suited for photography, but for this show specifically, it was a nice added bonus. The band played through a lot of songs from their new album and through some hits, altogether it was a very beautiful show. Check our photo gallery here…
Doodseskader
Svalbard
Alcest
Photos by Laureline Tilkin
