The florid Mr Carter in his floral suit. Photo: Sampsa Geijer

As Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are preparing to step on the Metelli Stage, the festival-goers gradually stream in to the tent. While many stroll confidently right in front of the stage, some seem a bit more hesitant and hang back towards the back of the tent, perhaps not quite sure what they’re about to get themselves into. Considering how the band was formed as recently as 2015, it’s understandable how their name may not have reached the icy shores of Finland quite yet. Nevertheless, some may already be acquainted with the singer Frank Carter from his previous band Gallows. As such, it’s likely that Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes already has some pre-existing fans, and their current venture is bound to bring in new ones.

The crowd is already starting to get loud and pumping itself up by kicking and swinging at the air before the gig has even started. The very instant when the band is scheduled to step on to the stage, the people in the front rows are already screaming the singer’s name. There is an air of uneasiness hovering over the tent, because the start of the gig gets delayed slightly; it’s very much worth the wait, however.

The band channels all their energy and unleashes it from the first moments into their aggressive hardcore punk delivery. During the first song, Juggernaut, the overall atmosphere in the crowd is still fairly calm apart from the people in the front row. When the song finishes, Carter urges everyone to step closer to the stage. As the next song, Trouble, hits the crowd, they are already starting to get into the groove. By the time the catchy Devil Inside Me is playing, even the people hanging back at the edges of the tent are starting to realize that they’re in for a wild ride.

Dark, distressing subject matters and lyrics. Crazy movement, such as mimicking getting hung. Should one only see a part of the gig or only listen to the songs without bothering to get to know the musicians, one might think that the band is filled with raving lunatics with no regard for others. Listening to Carter speak in-between songs provides a stark contrast, however – it is apparent that we are dealing with fine gentlemen who are intelligent and down-to-earth people. The band dedicates some of their songs to the crew working in Ilosaarirock as well as to their audience.

The song Beautiful Death is dedicated to the love ones that we have lost. Carter himself dedicates the song to his father-in-law, who tragically passed away before his grandchild was born. The singer walks into the middle of the crowd and asks everyone to sit down on the ground and quiet down for the duration of the song. Later on in the gig, he crowd surfs standing up on top of the crowd. Overall, we were treated to a master class in audience interaction.

Carter likes to get personal with the crowd. Photo: Sampsa Geijer

– This is supposed to be fun, Carter reminds the crowd as he shepherds them into a large pit at the centre of the tent.

We need to look out after one another. If someone falls down in the pit, we need to pick them immediately. Since the crowd proved that they don’t know how to do a fast circle pit, Carter demanded that they will instead do the slowest circle pit that Finland has ever seen. This results in the crowd trying their best to slow down their pacing while the high-speed music rages at full force.

I Hate You closes the gig and the crowd shouts along. Before the song begins, Carter shares a bit of wisdom with the crowd:

– We all have a special someone in our lives. Someone who is a total fucking cunt. This song is dedicated to those people. But remember that to someone else out there, you are probably that person.

The gig is all about loud music, venting out aggression, getting a little bit sentimental and having a laugh. It’s the perfect mix.

Text: Anna Mikkonen
Photos: Sampsa Geijer
Translation: Mika Alaoutinen

Volbeat. Photo: Markus Korpi-Hallila

The festival goers gather to the Main Stage on Sunday evening to listen to one of Europe’s biggest rock bands. There are suspicious looking dark clouds in the sky, but no real signs of rain. This weather suits the ambiance of the upcoming gig well. No need for romantic sunsets when the rough sounds of this band ring out.

I swear, when the first song The Devil’s Bleeding Crown begins the size of the audience doubles in just a few seconds. The guitarist Rob Caggiano makes the crowd jump up and down with the commands of his instrument: when the riff says jump, the crowd can only ask; how high? The singer Michael Poulsen needs not to raise his fist but a few times and the audience is filled up with waving hands in response.

Poulsen does not waste time for stage patter, the songs come one after another. A clip of I only want to be with you by Dusty Springfield is surprisingly played between rough rock songs. Volbeat’s version of the 60’s classic does not pale in comparison to the original song of the American soul artist.

– Thank you very much. Kiitos. Long time no see. What you’d been up to? Poulsen greets the audience.

Volbeat plays an homage to old rockers, such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. A picture of Johnny Cash is projected to the back of the stage as the band plays a cover of Ring of Fire . The lyrics to this classic are not well known, but the crowd eagerly joins to Sad Man’s Tongue which is heavily inspired by Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues. The sound of the band is also influenced by rockabilly and this can be heard for example from the rhythm of songs such as the radio hit Lonesome Rider.

– You don’t know Cash but you know this one? Well, you’re still good people, Poulsen jokes around.

The energetic gig comes to an end with an upbeat The Mirror and the Ripper and Poulsen tells great news to the audience who are showing no signs of weariness.

– It’s been an honor to play for you. We’ll be back in October! Poulsen reveals.

Volbeat. Photo: Markus Korpi-Hallila

Text: Niina Turunen
Photos: Markus Korpi-Hallila
Translation: Tuuli Ahonen

– My glutes definitely got a proper workout, Maija says with a laugh.

The job of decorators is to make the festival look nice. The Ilosaarirock letters are one of the most obvious and most photographed details. The trio in the photo are the decorating managers Maija, Laura and Sarianna. Photo: Terhi Hytönen

Decorating a festival is a job that ranges from tiny details to large visual elements. A great deal of the decorations are such that you would only notice them, if they weren’t there or had failed. This time, however, there has been no cause for worry. Even in the middle of the interview, a festival goer walks up to praise how good everything looks.

– The week preceding the festival is very busy. Weather has caused some unexpected changes to the schedule. Then again, perhaps it’s a good thing to come to terms with the fact that the weather is not always favorable. In Ilosaarirock, people have gotten used to the sun shining brightly and things working out without a hitch, says Maija, who has been managing the decorating job for seven years. Laura has been a manager for three years. Sarianna is a first-timer.

The manager trio has about 200 people working under them, and the puzzle of decorating the area is not the smallest or simplest challenge to tackle.

– Sarianna has formed teams and worked out efficient schedules for everyone. That way, we can get a lot done, Laura states.

The managers’ work days can drag until late. Maija describes that the shortest days spent on the festival area have been a meagre ten hours, but a typical day is longer. Much of the work is concentrated on the week before the festival and the couple of days after it, so the managers have had time to to and enjoy the bands performing.

– Ricky-Tick Big Band was the artist that I was expecting the most, but I wasn’t able to see them because of the candle lighting business, Maija says.

They tell that they went to see Vesala as well.

– She was the artist I had been waiting for the most. And of course you need to go and see Antti Tuisku as well, Laura tells us.

This is the decorating group’s most important week of the year.

– People here are like one big family. There are so many pople who you get to meet only during this one week every year, Laura continues to say.

– This type of job is definitely a labor of love. I think I’m incredibly priviliged to get to be a part of this grand circus, Maija adds.

When we are taking photos, the manager trio positions themselves peeking from behind the Ilosaarirock letters. When taking a look at the photos, the trio laughs and points out that the photos look like promo pictures for a band. Maija tells us that the name of their potential band would be pretty punk.

– We would be called ”We All Have Problems”.

Text: Pasi Huttunen
Photo: Terhi Hytönen
Translation: Mika Alaoutinen

Paradise Lost. Photo: Sampsa Geijer

Gig in Tähti Tent

Paradise Lost rose on the stage and gave a smashing performance for a big audience. The British doom metal pioneer played several old hits and also material from the new album, ”The Plague Within”. They have lots of popular songs from their almost 30-year career. As I Die made the audience react strongly, but The Last Time totally nailed it.

The voice of Nick Holmes was good as ever and the guitarist/keyboard player Greg Mcintosh showed his amazing skill with his instruments. Also the other musicians gave an admirable performance, and the sounds of the tent were good. The musicians themselves were in an excellent shape and the performance was very physical, which in turn made the audience participate in the show, and everybody was raising their fist and clapping. The show was a great success and definitely satisfied the audience.

Interview with drummer Waltteri Väyrynen

The gig went very well according to Waltteri and he liked the fact that audience started to respond to the performance after a slow start, despite the fact that the gig was on the last day of the festival and thus people were a bit tired. The last album of the band, ”The Plague Within”, has been very well received by the fans and had received only positive feedback.

Waltteri joined the band in 2015, after the original drummer was busy with his other projects. He was drumming for the side project of Greg Mcintosh as a session drummer, when he was asked to do a few gigs with Paradise Lost. And he is now officially a member of the band.

The band has produced lots of different kinds of music, ranging from doom/death metal to goth rock and synth pop. The newest album has returned to the original genre of the band. Waltteri thinks that this is a good thing, because it shows that Paradise Lost is willing to try different things but is not afraid to go back to old ways. Now the band has risen to the same level of popularity it had in the 90’s.

In the Fall the band goes on a tour in South America, and they have some more festival gigs coming this summer. After this they will go and record a new studio album. Waltteri wanted to thank everybody who came to the show and he was awed to be playing on this festival because earlier he has been here as a client.

Watch also our interview with Paradise Lost!

Text: Markus Jalkanen
Photo: Sampsa Geijer

A blue moment at TesseracT’s gig. Photo: Sampsa Geijer

The last act on Metelli Stage on Saturday, TesseracT, takes the stage without further introduction or intro music. The first song of the gig sounds calm at first but the first impression is shattered as the song progresses. On the stage you can see smoke, lights and the moving silhouettes of the band members. The focus is clearly on the music.

As representative of progressive rock, the band’s music is experimental and varied and their songs are long. While peaceful guitar melody plays on the background, singer Daniel Tompkins paints a picture with his voice and his hand held high. The illusion of beauty is broken when the rhythm changes and the music style verges on heavy metal. When the band starts moshing, the crowd does as well. Sometimes the music calms back to more peaceful sounds just to change again in a minute.

TesseracT’s music is the ebb and flow of rhythm and atmosphere. The peaceful parts of their songs are beautiful and haunting. They voice the feelings of despair. The vocals paint a picture of past destruction and there is still only emptiness around and a feeling that something terrible is coming to pass. The crowd is mostly still and deep within this reality that the band has created – until the next explosion. Heavy guitar sounds, fierce drumming and the blaring bass fill the tent and the crowd starts moshing.

The gig continues with this pattern and the songs navigate from calm to ever new storms. The performance is like the bouncing line of a heart monitor – going down and up alternately. The songs tell stories of journeys, feelings and the knocks of life. The lyrics to Survival describe perfectly the message that the band serves to the crowd: And people say the journey’s just begun / When you’re not a part of me I feel dead inside. The journey is only beginning, there is hope in the air, but everything is crushed in the end. The line goes up and drops down again.

Smoke, lights and a silhouette. Photo: Antti Pitkäjärvi

The atmosphere is a combination of wistfulness and strength. TesseracT’s music takes the listener to an uncertain place where the future cannot be predicted and where everything is in flux. The guitars and singing help to create a utopia and a dreamy ambience which changes to a battlefield in a moment. The audience is enthralled: when the band quiets down, the festival crowd gives an uproar of screams. The band speaks rarely in between the songs. However, the singer gives one short, but good tip:
– You guys take care.

TesseracT’s music envelopes the audience which demands more. The band continues playing even after the closing time and the crowd is thrilled. The Metelli tent becomes empty only after the band has given their all to Ilosaarirock.

Text: Anne Tuovinen
Photos: Sampsa Geijer and Antti Pitkäjärvi
Translation: Jenni Rajala

The singer Jennings appeals to the crowd. Photo: Sampsa Geijer

Haken, who hail from the UK, blew up the Metelli Stage with their remarkably colorful music. The band’s music is mostly progressive metal with hints of jazz, choir singing and even disco. The band’s instruments are also interesting: both guitarists’, Charles Griffith and Richard Henshall’s, guitars seem to missing headstocks and machine heads. The bassist Conner Green’s instrument still has these parts.

The band keeps the audience enthralled throughout the whole gig – people are dancing and jamming, clapping their hands and shaking their fists in the air. Every time something atypical happens, the crowd screams, jumps and claps in excitement. The audience’s reaction makes the keyboardist Diego Tejeida smile each time.

Even though their songs are style-wise, for the most part, rather serious progressive metal, they have clearly written the deviating parts of the songs with a twinkle in their eyes. Tejeida plays creatively with different sounds on the keyboard and the guitarists nod to the crowd’s reactions after each solo. This band gives the instruments as big a role as for the singing: when the solos begin, singer Ross Jennings runs from the spotlight to the background. The audience gets to focus on the other musicians. The unusual and skillful solos are brilliantly tied to progressive metal – the transitions are natural and smooth and it feels like these music styles are just meant to be together.

Bass and guitar playing in full swing. Photo: Sampsa Geijer

The long songs do not startle the crowd which sings and dances along to the choruses. The gig is not filled with just dancing; at times long chords from the keyboard envelope the audience. Jennings spreads his arms and raises his eyes to the ceiling. The guitarist stands with his eyes closed. Instead of the drummer, the audience provides the pounding rhythm.

Haken plays a varied set including music from all three of their studio albums. A true hit is 1985 which makes the crowd cheer and sway. When the singer asks if anyone in the audience has heard of the band before, about half of the crowd raises their hands. The audience members who were not familiar with the band’s music prior to the gig were not disappointed either – they started dancing to the music straight away after getting a hold of the varying rhythm.

Sometimes going to see bands that are unfamiliar to yourself are definitely worth it. Haken is one of those bands that surprise positively and suit many tastes in music.

Text: Anne Tuovinen
Photos: Sampsa Geijer
Translation: Jenni Rajala

Chris Hannah embraced the crowd. Photo: Inka Nevalainen

– The gig went very well. We’ve played in Finland a few times before, when we did club gigs in Helsinki and Turku. We really liked Finland. When we last drove around here, the scenery looked idyllic and natural compared to some of the more isolated areas in the US, singer Chris Hannah tells us.

Finland, which is known for snow and ice-hockey, shares certain similarities with Propagandhi’s native Canada.

– Geographically, Finland reminds us of our home province Manitoba. Culturally, it’s difficult to say how Finland and Canada differ from one another. Canada is a capitalist shithole, although there are great people living there. Here everyone has been very friendly and hospitable, drummer Jord Samolesky ponders.

Ilosaarirock will be the only major gig for Propagandhi in 2016.

– We chose Ilosaarirock, because the festival has few sponsors and the artists’ expenses are paid fair and square, which we think is very generous. Our guitarist Sulynn lives far away from the rest of us, so we wanted to have a chance to play with her. We decided to do one big event before moving on to work on our next record, Hannah says.

– We don’t do festivals very often. Years ago we made a deal among ourselves that we are not going to play on events backed up by big corporations. Sure, Ilosaarirock has sponsors, but not in the same scale as many others. We’ve been on these types of big festivals maybe four or five times before. We’re happy to be given the chance to come and perform here, Samolesky thanks the organizers.

– Here people obviously pay attention to eco-friendliness and there is a push towards making everything bio-degradable, Hannah remarks.

– Pretty cool.

Propagandhi’s musical style has shifted from punk rock and skate punk to a heavier direction over the years.

– The records from the types of Canadian bands we listened to growing up all sounded different. That has also been our way of doing things. Each and every record does not need to sound the same. We explore music and experiment with new things. It’s not good for the audience if you sell them the same shit they’ve been sold for 20 years, and thus have never really pushed their boundaries, Hannah points out.

Sulynn Hago. Photo: Inka Nevalainen

– The change in music also reflects upon change in one’s personality. It’s important to challenge yourself and produce something that comes as a surprise to you as well, guitarist Sulynn Hago says.

The band released their latest album in 2012, and the next record is planned to be released in 2017. The band hints that you can expect to hear fast double bass action, among other things.

– We’ve been working on songs for years, because none of us is a natural song writer or even a musician. We try to do something that you can’t hear anywhere else. The next step is taking the existing material and turning it into songs, Hannah describes.

Todd Kowalski. Photo: Inka Nevalainen

The fact that new technology has made it easier to discover new music is not exclusively a good thing, because it can also result in losses for bands, bassist Todd Kowalskin points out.

– On one hand, it’s great that people can discover bands that they never would’ve found out before. On the other hand, it’s unfortunate that people don’t have the patience to sit down and listen to entire records anymore. Back in the day, if you ordered a record abroad for $27, you would listen to it until you liked it, Kowalski explains.

The band can’t name a single song that would be a clear crowd favorite, since the song requests vary depending on the audience. The favorite album is easy to name, however: it’s the next album released in 2017.

– Some people want to hear old material, while others like the newer stuff. Our new record will be a fucking killer, Hannah states confidently.

Please also read the Propagandhi gig report and watch Netti-TV’s interview with them!

Text: Niina Turunen
Photos: Inka Nevalainen
Translation: Mika Alaoutinen

The guitar-vocalist Ellie mesmerises. Photo: Kalle Kervinen

The youthful music of Wolf Alice fits the summer evening like a glove. Even the sun peeks behind the clouds while the voice of Ellie Rowsell mesmerises the audience. The echoes added to the singing resonate with slight hints of utopia in which all the listeners are as one. People sway their hands in the air and dance warily. The rock feels hazy, peaceful and just right for this evening. The crowd is immediately enthralled when the sounds reach them and the dancing increases.

This new listener is surprised by the unpredictability of the songs. The performance of the band is relatively serene, professional and unsurprising, yet all the variation one needs is incorporated to the songs. As the gig proceeds, the atmosphere changes gradually and the band plays mostly heavier songs at the end part of the performance. The music is picturesque yet overbearing at the same time. Many different kinds of musical elements and styles are combined. Albeit the feeling is quite transcendent, the screams of Rowsell gives it a boost. The songs are colorful and volatile, uncontrollable yet coherent. Someone in the audience throws their shirt away. Metelli Tent is completely controlled by Wolf Alice.

Moshing during the gig. Photo: Kalle Kervinen

Some audience members confess that they have came to the gig without any information about the music of Wolf Alice in advance.

– Great music to chill. The band knows how to perform, they take the audience on a ride with them.

– For some bands the most important part of the song is its story and its narrative. This band made me feel that the atmosphere was created mostly with tones and melodies. The rhythm is the essence of these songs.

Finally, only the voice of a guitar remains and the band exits the stage without an encore. There is wistfulness and happiness in the air. Wolf Alice brought ambiance like none other to Ilosaarirock.

Text: Anne Tuovinen
Photos: Kalle Kervinen
Translation: Tuuli Ahonen

Healy wearing a Cannibal Corpse shirt. Photo: Kalle Kervinen

The 1975, whose newest album ”I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” debuted at number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States, was the last act in the Main Tent on Saturday.

The band has been touring heavily since the release of their debut album ”The 1975” and it definitely showed in their performance which was filled with style and talent.

The band’s music style is difficult to define but some have suggested genres such as pop rock, indie pop and funk rock. Their music is a smooth combination of guitar rock and melodic pop.

It is easy to dance to the band’s music and this showed: the most eager fans were jamming to the music from the very start of the gig. The first tunes of each song also produced excited screaming from the crowd. The rock folks were totally swept up in the band’s music.

– Sounds very fresh. Their music has a nice ’80s feel, one of the listeners comments.

Healy jamming. Photo: Kalle Kervinen

The band’s singer Matthew Healy’s charming dance moves deserve a special mention. Early on in the gig, the singer was also rewarded with red roses from the fans.

Healy’s Cannibal Corpse shirt was an interesting detail that was slightly contradictory to the band’s image. Later on in the gig the shirt flew off and the singer’s performance became more powerful as he sang some of the slower songs with a cigarette in his hand.

All in all, The 1975’s gig was an explosion of British pop talent provided in a great live performance with an incredible light show.

Text: Anton Rintajouppi
Photos: Kalle Kervinen
Translation: Jenni Rajala

Sylunn Hago in her element. Photo: Inka Nevalainen

The Canadian Propagandhi managed to fill up the Tähti Tent almost to the brim – a feat that is hardly surprising, considering that this is the band’s only European gig this summer. Propagandhi’s metal flavored punk music pulls no punches with its societal critique, and the crowd fully embraced the show.

Immediately after the first song, the band is rewarded with roaring applause, to which the singer responds with ”kiitos”; a thank you in Finnish. The majority of the songs in the setlist were longer than the standard, more punk-sized musical sprints, but the crowd doesn’t seem to mind. The vocal delivery that oozed with attitude, energetic guitars and thumping drums kept people fully engaged. Everyone reacted to the music in their own ways: hanging back and sitting on the grass, dancing wildly on the outskirts of the crowd, pumping their fists in the air or even playing air guitar. Right in front of the stage, there was a seemingly tireless mosh pit going round and round. The crowd was fully dedicated to the band, their feet pounding the muddy ground and countless whistles filling the air inside the tent.

The singer is all smiles in-between songs. There is little need for song introductions, and the songs flow right together, one after the other. It’s only towards the end of their set that the band speaks up to criticize politicians – a theme that can also be found in some of their songs. In contrast to the relatively tight-lipped band members, the crowd is very vocal, letting the good vibes in the tent be heard in screams and yells of song requests to the band.

A little bit of sweat is ok when the atmosphere is as great as on Propagandhi’s gig. Photo: Veera Konsti

There are no quiet moments during the set. A thundering bass solo provokes screams that echo in our skulls well after the band has exited the stage. Whenever there is a brief lull in the show, the crowd raises the volume back up by enthusiastic shouts and raging applause. Although the going gets pretty rough in the mosh pit from time to time, there is nonetheless an overarching spirit of camaraderie in the crowd, as is fitting to the band’s ideology: when someone falls down, there are always others there to pick them up, followed by a quick high-five.

During the last few songs, a girl emerges from the crowd dancing with a Canadian flag. Propagandhi was a highly anticipated artist, and after the gig both the band members and the people in the crowd had glowing smiles on their faces.

Text: Anne Tuovinen
Photos: Inka Nevalainen and Veera Konsti
Translation: Mika Alaoutinen