Photos by Pasi Eriksson
Review by Mikko Toukola
60,000 metalheads gathered in Helsinki to enjoy three days of metal music – Tuska Metal Festival 2024 report (Kerry King, Opeth, BMTH, Parkway Drive etc.)
This is a report of a person, who hasn’t really visited the Finnish major music festivals in around a decade and has been roaming mainly the underground scene. The intention isn’t to get into detail of, for example, what kind of setlists someone might’ve had – but more about getting the vibe of the festival and the performances out there for the people considering participating in Tuska or seeing the bands that played during the weekend elsewhere, but also just to share an experience. Aim is to keep the report easy to read without peering into nuance too much.
To me Tuska’s lineup consisted of mainly faintly familiar names with a few exceptions. I didn’t research the bands beforehand, so I could just let their music and energy speak for themselves live. For me it’s the first time in Tuska, so I basically fell from the sky like Mr. Bean and started tuning into the event. I was expecting to hear a lot of brilliant metal music and have a good time with great people, that’s pretty much the premise in its entirety – and so it came to pass, except Tuska was and is much more.
DAY 1: Super sunny Friday
Getting to the festival was easy as the location was close to Helsinki centrum and all commuter traffic towards eastern parts of the city goes past the festival area in Suvilahti. The organizers had utilized the nearby mall, REDI, which serves also as a travel centre having the metro and bus stops within, very well to suit the needs of the festival visitors. For example the festival tickets were traded for bracelets in a dedicated space smoothly.
As the festival gates opened, the most enthusiastic fans ran into the Karhu Main Stage’s front row to wait for LORD OF THE LOST, who would open the festival’s program. Band familiar from the Eurovision song contest was spicy – the industrial-laden metal, the Sisters of Mercy-esque vocals and overall visual image with all the cybergoth and glam elements sort of brought me back into the millennium rave scene. I would soon learn that synthesisers and electronic music altogether had a much greater role in the soundscapes than I would expect of a metal festival. Diversity was honoured in many ways throughout the weekend, this was one of them. Anyway, the band ended their show with a cover well picked for the audience – Finnish Eurovision contestant Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha” secured the package of getting the party started on and everybody having a smile on their face after the show.
I wasn’t going to roam entirely randomly in the festival area. Pasi the photographer is a metal enthusiast, aware of the festival’s line up and picked up beforehand the bands he would be shooting photos of. So, the next artist marked in the schedule would be performing on the Radio City stage opposite to the Main stage in a massive tent. I would find myself sawing mainly between these two stages during the weekend. Other stages would be Open air II close to the Radio City’s tent and KVLT Stage by Inferno in Tiivistämö, which is a medium sized club venue inside the festival area and hosts shows all year.
I AM THE NIGHT opened the Radio City stage. This was one of the rare doses of black metal I encountered during the weekend. Musically they seemed to bow before the traditions of the genre and delivered accordingly. Apparently, the band is sort of a supergroup consisting of members with a bit longer history in the Finnish metal scene and shared the drummer with Opeth, who would also perform on Sunday. Though the soundscape during the show was a bit mushy, at least where I was observing, one could pick up the tightness of the band easily. It felt a little absurd being back in the sunshine after their show, but it wore off quickly.
Back to the Main stage with ALESTORM coming up. Three very large rubber ducks were supporting this band of pirates while giving their best shot. They kind of picked up from where LORD OF THE LOST left, intensifying the party mode and having folks amused with their well-spirited pirate metal. The band’s layout was traditional, though there were two keyboard players cannoning the leads alongside the guitarist and to my joy – as I’m always craving a little bit unorthodox and exotic approaches – a guest appearance of a hurdy-gurdy player, who casually filled in for a while. Sunny Main stage was just the right spot for Alestorm and to me they appeared as a symbol of metalheads not taking themselves too seriously. Characteristic to appreciate in my opinion and there were many examples to be during the Tuska weekend.
After a while, I decided to wander around the area for a little bit. The old Suvilahti power plant itself holds a beautiful milieu with all the old industrial buildings at the side of Helsinki city, so not too many decorations needed to be added to make the place homey. In lack of a better word, the rhythm of the festival area was well planned and behind every corner would be something special to accommodate the visitor’s needs – whether it was a unseen selection of food trucks with premium meals (it seems the times of makkaraperunat and cheap-blow festariwokki are behind us, phew) for all diets, chill out zone with hammocks and sofas, a small portable version of a local grocery store for those after a little snack (at affordable price like every other store in the chain without any extra festival rip-offs), variety of bars, expo area inside Kattilahalli. Little decorations were here and there; I noticed cute graffiti in the theme of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and a one large image of skeletons in love, holding hands. Super clean restroom areas were pretty much in every corner of the festival zone and even at busiest one had to wait just for a minute or two to get to spend the penny. Water taps were all around as well for everyone to use. Later there also were street performers having some sort of ongoing ritual and/or a slow-paced vigil in the midst of all.
INFECTED RAIN left me in awe. I was thinking to get a little glimpse of this Moldovan group and then head to see KERRY KING from a good spot but found myself taking in the whole concert. The vocalist especially kept me hooked – screams so raw and powerful, shifting to subtle and gentle, almost angelic expression without a glimpse of trouble. The band delivered their down tuned metal and electronic music infusion with precision and the group appeared to be as down to earth as they were energetic.
KERRY KING was one of the bands I was looking forward to witness before the festival – and mostly missed it. During the previous hour the crowd in the festival had multiplied. Front of the Main stage started to be really packed. I got to follow most of the show while making notes and queueing to the Captain Morgan rum bar. Seemed to be popular with their juicy buckets, can’t blame them. Anyway, the band seemed to be on fire, I salute how true Kerry remains to his style – probably the most iconic guitar solos of the festival were played during this show. Though the original material worked well, I never feel bad when Raining Blood from Slayer is on, especially this loud. I reckon the mosh pit must’ve been crazy.
I got to mention that throughout the festival the music was loud but comfortable. Of course, I was mainly at a fair distance to the sound systems while listening to bands, but the pressure could be felt even from further away and I was happy the whole weekend without earplugs. No compromises in the intensity – I appreciate that knowing a whole lot of people lived a couple of hundred meters away from the festival grounds.
I also managed to get a glimpse of SUBURBAN TRIBE – the last quarter of the set or so. Their music stood out to me as a unique avatar of its time and apparently they’ve gotten back to playing live just recently. I had trouble putting the style into words, but my friend described them pretty spot on as post-grunge. No revivals yet on that end I guess, as their sound felt fresh being nostalgic at the same time. The crowd kept singing along and cheering pretty much the whole time I was around; the band did reach their audience.
During DIMMU BORGIR I went for a burger – it was time to have dinner. Dimmu was very entertaining and probably represented the heaviest end of the symphonic metal bands in the festival lineup. I remember having tracks like Puritania and Mourning Palace in my Creative MuVo -mp3 player back in the day and haven’t listened to them since, so a little bit of nostalgia was in the air personally.
ZEAL & ARDOR was something else. I mentioned the curiosity towards unorthodox approaches before, here was something for the whole dollar. A unique genre bender in the field of heavy metal infusing spiritual chants in the manner of African-American plantation workers from times when human rights weren’t much of a thing. We witnessed the closing night of their tour, and the energy was joyful and grounded. Their vocals almost got me growing roots right then and there, just for the heavy grooves make me break out of them – so to speak. The harmonics were just amazing and many of their tracks felt more like passages of larger stories, than actual songs.
Friday’s headliner PENDULUM performed as a band, which came to me as a complete surprise. Drum and bass was the name of the game and I was impressed – I figured it would be a one man show. All the flirting with electronic music during the day reached its climax here and Tuska people got their feet moving for one and a half hours. If one got too grounded at Zeal & Ardor concert now the dust was blown off – that amount of low end – the subwoofers probably gave their everything. That most definitely works for me, proper bassage is my favourite form of psychical therapy. I was looking forward to hearing a couple of old hits and the remix of Prodigy’s Voodoo People. My wishes were granted. Great roundup for the first day.
DAY 2: Very windy Saturday
I entered the Tuska Festival area while Rytmihäiriö was having the crowds cheer for Gambina, their “trademark” selection of Finnish spiced fortified wines. Saturday was sold out and it felt most of the 23 000 visitors came in early. This was record for people attending Tuska during a single day– it’s a tradition to break some old record yearly, last time they hit a new record of 63 000 total attendees.
I noticed quite a few visitors were in wheelchairs; Tuska must have a good reputation for its accessibility since folks with this type of needs dare to come around. For example, I remember in one other festival seeing people stuck in gravel with their wheelchairs getting nowhere and security guards just picking their nose as I went to help the ones in need. No such events during the weekend, great job Tuska.
VOLA opened the Main stage’s program for Saturday in windy but sunny weather. Worst combo to not cover your skin, I learned later. “Awesome” tan lines acquired – remember to use sunscreen, dear readers. Nonetheless, Vola kicked off my day with my jaw on the floor. Very versatile expression, even cinematic, but to sum it I kind of felt like Meshuggah’s and Tool’s lovechild was on the stage. Their singer shares the podium with Infected Rain’s vocalist for being the most amazing singers of the festival – the control of their voice was just beyond unreal. Inspiring to follow such talents do their thing. Would love to have them in the same band someday.
TAROT was so chill I started to think they’ve got on the stage straight from their summerhouses then on the contrary had the first political speeches on the stage too – at least that reached my ear – and many of the questionable world leaders got their share. Anyway, their power metal with high pitch vocals rammed the area at ease and was in its genre my favourite band of the festival. I learned Tarot is considered one of the Finnish metal pioneers and was founded in the early eighties by Marco Hietala and his brother. How cool is that?
KAUNIS KUOLEMATON was spitting the image of the Tuska festival I had in my mind beforehand. Band’s blackened, sprawling death doom metal was braided like the heaviest anchor wire, but with heart wrenching beauty and nuance – they seem to be aware of this as their name translates into “Beautiful Immortal”. I really enjoyed the pace of the concert – their music takes its time and I got into more meditative spaces during this show than with Pendulum last night, which I kinda thought would be the festival’s ultimatum on that matter. I definitely go to see Kaunis kuolematon in the middle of winter, if I ever get a chance. To embrace the darkness, there was also a special batch of beer named after them just for Tuska. I gave it a go – the first beer for me in a couple of months and it was t-a-s-t-y.
STAM1NA is one of the top tier metal bands from Finland. I’ve seen them before, maybe in 2006 and that particular show seemed to be about just goofing around. Now they were ferocious, relentless and kept their audience hooked. Easily one of the heaviest, fastest and most progressive metal acts of the festival. I realized I haven’t been following the bands evolution after Lääke, which came out already long while ago. Probably time to get me up to date.
MAKE THEM SUFFER pressed my mosh pit buttons the most so far with their crushing riffs and grooves. It was really tempting to join, but I bit the bullet and kept my distance. HEALTH played at the same time, and I spent some twenty minutes with both and would’ve wanted to see both shows entirely – Health wasn’t on Pasi’s list, but I got curious by seeing so many band t-shirts on Friday alone. Their music wasn’t that noisy considering them being a noise band after all. I got some homework to do with both and I’m pretty sure something will get stuck on my playlists.
RIVERSIDE was the only rock band I saw during the weekend and was deeply in the prog zone. The Bassism was great on this one, though all instruments were handled with virtuosity. At its heaviest the band’s expression was rather mellow, but the polyrhythmic stuff kept my brains crunching the whole time. This worked for me as the perfect transition towards the headliner of the evening. I immediately put a word out for a couple of friends who didn’t know this band before to check ’em out – this type of gem pops up rarely.
BRING ME THE HORIZON left me speechless. They gave the fans a night to remember (I probably used these words after seeing them last time, but damn). The production was over the top, being an innovative multimedia presentation; the visuals on the screens guided the show forward and basically divided the concert in a few segments with their own themes and tracklists. To me they seem to be becoming an instance that makes its own rules, evolving basically out of any “scene”. I think I’ve never seen so wholesome ways to include the audience in the show – my favourite being this young kiddo picked up to perform vocals on one of the songs (Antivist?) as the band leader laid back and just doubled him here and there. Also, personally I loved the fact there’s multiple tributes to the videogame series Metal Gear Solid included in the routine.
Whether or not their music is your cup of tea, if you get a chance to go see them, do it. I’m pretty sure there aren’t many acts on this very Earth that right now deliver such an experience and experiment with contemporary stuff so freely.
Unfortunately, there aren’t photos to cover this glory since only a very few were let to shoot, and we weren’t among the lucky ones.
DAY 3: Pseudo-tropical Sunday
Sunday started with realising how much anticipation was in the air during the whole Saturday. The mood in the area was super chill and the pressure had lifted, though the weather on the other hand was heavier and very moist. Also, there were a whole bunch of kids roaming the area with their parents. I learned it’s a Tuska Sunday tradition to host Tiny-Tuska – children under twelve years old could attend for free with their guardians for a couple of hours. To me it seemed a brilliant idea, the festival being otherwise restricted from ages under 18. I overheard someone commenting that there should be more actual program for the young. Apparently, there’s some Tuska-train in the area rolling for them – which I didn’t come across – and that’s it. The ice-scream trucks probably had a good day, though.
NIGHTSTOP opened the festival Sunday with their 80’s esque synthwave sounds. Once again, I was surprised to see a whole band on the stage instead of an artist with a deck full of synths or a laptop on. The genre seems a little restricting to me, but Nightstop delivered a dynamic set that carried well the whole time. The tent was packed regardless of the rather early hour, but it seems Tuska visitors don’t sleep over the gate opening even on Sundays.
I decided to get my face painted at the expo after the show. The area was filled with booths and shops: lots of jewelry from different studios, magical utility items, records and books, handmade hats and such, you name it. Also, a Tuska dedicated merch shop was in the Kattilahalli expo area. One could get tattooed, pierced, hair and corpse paint or other makeup done – even a massage parlour was providing services for folks who needed relief after intense moshing. I hope the expo is something that we’ll see in the future as well. The corpse paints were made by a professional and they were popular – I was in the line for some thirty minutes. The crew had been called to do makeup for BMTH last night before the show and the makeup artist was really stoked about this happening – probably feels like winning the lottery for a fan like herself. She did a great job; I left looking like Harley Quinn and proceeded to see what more Tuska Sunday had to offer.
Next up was DOME RUNNER. It was the only band I got to see at the KVLT-stage. During the half hour set I started to feel, with all due respect, like Health’s “noise” was just a breeze – these guys showed everyone how grimy a band’s ratchet could get. Powerful stuff coming up from the Finnish underground too, as we saw here. If Godflesh is your thing, check them out.
It’s only a matter of time when LOST SOCIETY conquers the headliner slots too. Obviously, they performed on the Main stage for excited fans and executed perfectly. Their professionalism and confidence almost bewilder me – in a good way. You don’t see that too often here in the outback, it feels exotic.
OPETH was one of the few bands I knew before. It seems their musical journey draws the waters among the fans and on Sunday we heard a set entirely of the heavier side of Opeth, which sank in well. The band leader kept me laughing, messing with the audience every chance he had – in no time he was turning the knife in the Finn’s wound with going into such a sensitive subject as recent ice hockey events, for example. He always reminded everyone he’s just teasing. Anyway, I loved it, their artsy music is so sprawling it might feel overwhelming at times and the continuous joking evened out the moods well. The crowd trolled him back by chanting for Valtteri, their Finnish drummer.
Oh yeah, the band was tight, too. ;)
BURY TOMORROW on the other hand swore to the name of safe space and one being compassionate about another. Their straightforward metalcore tore the place down and prepared everyone for the headliner. Every night the perfect warm up has been found from the big tent – happened with Riverside and Zeal & Ardor too. Maybe I’m conditioning myself to think it’s so much all meant to be. Then again, who cares? I think the biggest circle pit of the festival formed during their show, leaving an island of people in the middle. The band seemed really present and threw a party, closing the Radio City Stage.
PARKWAY DRIVE was fun to watch, but I had to leave quite early to get into the Official Afterparty on time. There was no hurry after all, but I found out too late – it’s a shame. However, the vocalist was super stoked all the time, perfect energy for the last band of the festival. I enjoyed the fact they leaned on more traditional heavy metal being a metalcore band. Old school?! They crushed it, or more like burned it – the pyrotechnics were intense. I could hear the rest of their concert faintly from the terrasse of the bar holding the afterparty in a different part of the city and it felt kinda surreal.
BONUS: Kaleidobolt plays Metallica’s Kill ’em All – Official Tuska Afterparty at Lepakkomies Bar
… is where I lost control. My neck still hurts while writing this and my voice is shattered. A progressive heavy rock trio Kaleidobolt had a guest guitarist as reinforcement, and they covered Metallica’s Kill ’em All from cover to cover – including Cliff Burton’s bass solo! That was the closing for Tuska festival everyone deserved and only a few got – there were maybe 100-200 people at the club.
Oh boy, did they play the album faster and tighter than probably anyone ever? Answer is yes. Would they have done it louder than anyone else if they could? Most likely. Unfortunately, this concept was presented for the last time, but if they change their minds someday, you’d better be around. Metallica hasn’t ever sounded as good. Whiplash!
All in all Tuska is a festival worth checking out. I think I’ve got a grasp of how mainstream metal sounds these days, as I’ve been living in a vacuum in that sense. The overall vibe was we were all there together, not gaining status or being “important” but sincerely enjoying the wide spectrum of how humanity manifests itself. Tuska could be summed up as a high-quality event with a bang for the buck, easy accessibility, tolerance as a core value and well working services. I witnessed no mishaps between people, no drunk inordinance, no ill spirited behaviour.
Whether or not you’re into metal music to begin with, Tuska is a great place to start your journey. I know I missed a lot of great stuff during the weekend, but the volume was large. With a little pre-planning you might get more out of the program – I know I missed a few things that I’m sorry for – but I had a great experience as it was.
If you wonder why I mainly left the nationalities of the bands out, they weren’t in the festival brochure either, so I figured it’s not a relevant matter. If it got to my notes from somewhere, it might be found in the text too.
A small batch of TUSKA 2025 early bird tickets are already out at Tiketti, a Finnish ticket service.
