For the first time, Tuonela Magazine will be present at Dark River Festival. Read this festival special to see what acts are going to play at Dark River Festival, and know what to expect from their music. It’s going to be a great edition!
Friday 9 August 2019
Torchia
Formed in Tampere, TORCHIA released their debut album “Of Curses And Grief” in 2017 with the idea of an organic, raw and timeless sound, but above all TORCHIA’s sound is dark. They will definitely make a great opening act for the festival.
Frosttide
The three-piece melodic folk metal act from Finland was formed back in 2009. With their first EP “Dawn of Frost”, the band gained a lot of popularity and it lead them to win the 2011 award for “Year’s underground act” at the Finnish Metal Awards. Ever since the band has extensively played live, and the recent release of “EP Decedents – Enshrined” they definitely convinced us. A performance to look forward to. Check out our latest interview with FROSTTIDE.
Brymir
With the release of their third album “Wings of Fire”, BRYMIR has again conquered the audiences around the world, they even did a couple of shows in Japan. The band combines symphonic elements into melodic death metal, and consists out of very skillful musicians. Click here to watch our interview with Brymir, and click here to see what we thought about “Wings of Fire”.
Marianas Rest
MARIANAS REST is a death metal band originating from Kotka, Finland. Their music comes heavy and without a hurry. Hints of doom metal can be traced in MARIANAS REST music as well as black metal influences. The whole package is crusted with melancholic melodies. With MARIANAS REST, it’s all about the mood.
Omnium Gatherum
Hailing from Finland, OMNIUM GATHERUM is a band playing fierce death metal with breathtaking melodies and progressive originality for people in the metal field looking for something different that still is catchy. A band that truly walks it’s own path proudly and shows some new exciting sides on identifiable character. Check out our latest interview with the band.
Ensiferum
You can’t talk about the true greats of folk metal without reverent mention of ENSIFERUM, and with “Two Paths” they once more affirm their place in the pantheons of the genre. After an acoustic European tour, the band is currently working on a successor to “Two Paths”.
Saturday 10 August 2019
Donner
On Saturday the festival will be opened by the local heavy metal act DONNER.
Itämeri Yhtye
Following the local band DONNER, another band from Kymi is scheduled: the hard rock act ITÄMERI YHTYE.
Absolva
ABSOLVA is fronted by Chris Appleton, a guitarist carrying the spirit and feel of blues-era Gary Moore into the metal arena, throwing the thrills and tricks suggestive of a new Joe Satriani, whilst projecting his melodic vocals and personality as a true master frontman in the rock genre. Accompanied by brother Luke Appleton (also known as the bassist of ICED EARTH), we can be sure to hear some great tracks. Luke Appleton is also scheduled for the tent stage to play some acoustic all-time hits.
Paul Stanley Boozing Society plays KISS
KISS visited Finland about 2 months ago, but truth be told, we can never get enough of their music. That’s why not KISS, but PAUL STANLEY BOOZING SOCIETY PLAYS KISS will play us their biggest hits and all-time classics.
Leverage
The Finnish band LEVERAGE let their fans wait for a follow-up for 10 years, but the time has finally come and LEVERAGE have released their latest album “DeterminUs”. The band is known to combine heavy rock and metal classics with melodic rock. The album also introduces Mikko Salovaara (ex-Kiuas, Metal De Facto) as a guitarist, and Kimmo Blom as a vocalist. Click here to watch our first interview with the band about their EP, click here to read what we thought about their EP, click here to watch our latest interview about “DeterminUs”, click here to read why we thought the single “Winds of Morrigan” was really good, and click here to read why we loved the album.
Sara
During the years SARA’s unique sound has developed especially into an electronic direction, the band has recently released their album “Summa”, in which SARA headed a darker direction.
Blaze Bayley
Saturday’s headliner is the hardest working man in metal, mid 90’s IRON MAIDEN -singer Blaze Bayley. Following the Maiden -years, to this day Bayley has been driving his solo -career and released 9 studio albums, such as the critically acclaimed “Infinite Entanglement” -trilogy. BLAZE BAYLEY will play songs, having in mind that it’s the 25th anniversary of that IRON MAIDEN-era. We can definitely expect a party.
