SATURDAY - 20.2.2010

It remained a bit of a mystery to us why Turmion Kätilöt were given twice as much stage time as Insomnium, but the good thing from our point of view was that the latter didn't have to play quite as early. We didn't make it in time for the first couple of bands, but Insomnium were not to be missed, and they used their thirty minutes very efficiently. As they could fit only six songs into the set, they picked three from each of the last two albums, a choice well justified. The preceding Above The Weeping World may be the stronger overall, but the current release Across The Dark is a first-rate effort as well, not in the least because of the captivating choruses found in "Where The Last Wave Broke" and "The Harrowing Years", which both were performed at the FME. The clean vocals, originally sung by Jules Näveri of Profane Omen, where now done by guitarist Ville Friman - another step ahead in the evolution of this excellent band.

Insomnium - Ville Friman

After Insomnium, there was only a brief stretch of time to watch the drummer contest on the clinic stage. Of the three participants witnessed, 15-year old Aarne T. was the most impressive, but ultimately the competition was won by Tuukka Heikkinen, age 22. The prize was well worth the effort - a €3000 custom PDP by DW Platinum Series maple drumkit.

Speaking of equipment, one shortcoming of this year's FME in comparison to all previous instalments must not go unmentioned: the conspicuous absence of most musical instrument suppliers. Fortunately Musamaailma and Amfisound stood their ground, but where were DLX, Ruokangas and the others? Where Soundata used to be, there were now stands promoting antiperspirants and energy drinks - no doubt these products might be darn useful at festivals, but one should still hold guitars, basses and drums to be far more essential...

Aarne T.

Before the drum contest was decided, we had to be back at the main stage, where a bunch of other winners were announced: those of the annual Finnish Metal Awards. Usually the bulk of these go to either Mokoma or Stam1na (thinking of which, it might not be the worst idea if the Best Band/Singer/Instrumentalist titles could be won only once by the same artist...), depending on which of the two had released new material in the previous 12 months. Since neither had done so in 2009, the ceremony was a good deal more interesting than in the last few years. The biggest winners were Insomnium, who scored both in the Band of the Year and Album of The Year category. Two titles also went to Amorphis - best vocalist and best album cover. Here's the complete award list:

Best band: Insomnium
Best album: Across The Dark (Insomnium)
Best album cover: Skyforger (Amorphis/artwork by Travis Smith)
Best vocalist:  Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis)
Best instrumentalist: Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom)
Best newcomer: FM2000
Best demo act: Ghoul Patrol 

Band of the Year: Insomnium

Right after the award presentation, the stage was placed under the command of Survivors Zero, a quintet including former Finntroll frontman Tapio Wilska (who has traded the microphone for the bass in this formation) and ex-Deathchain vocalist Tommi Virranta. Founded some three years ago, the quintet has not yet made a big name for itself but exposure has lately been on the rise. Prior to the FME, they had accompanied Hypocrisy on their extensive European tour - to commemorate the experience, all band members entered the stage in Hypocrisy shirts - and the whole of April will be spent on the road with Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow and, yes indeed, Finntroll. Their offering is traditional death metal - forceful, straightforward and without frills, but not really offering anything new.

Survivors Zero - Tommi Virranta

Meanwhile on the Musamaailma stage, Jone Nikula had an entertaining chat with the two gentlemen responsible for the distinctive guitar sound of Amorphis: Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari. The latter made the packed hall crack up every time he followed one of Esa's elaborate statements with a laconic "näin on" ("that's how it is!"), but in time warmed up enough to deliver a few anecdotes himself. Besides general questions on the development of the band's sound, songwriting practices and gear preferences, a central topic of the interview was the 20th anniversary of Amorphis, which will be celebrated this year with the release of an extensive DVD package and a collection of songs from the early days, to be re-recorded this spring. Anyone who has witnessed the passion with which Tomi Joutsen performs the old material will easily understand why Amorphis opted for this alternative instead of the standard greatest hits sampler originally envisioned by the band's label...

Tomi Koivusaari & Esa Holopainen

The next band on the main stage is still an insider tip among fans of progressive metal, but things might be about to change. Whereas Survivors Zero recently found new fans around Europe by joining Hypocrisy, Winterborn was given the same chance by Sonata Arctica, and not in vain. During that tour, they still had betrayed a certain insecurity, but their routine has obviously grown, and the FME set was a good deal more convincing than the foreign shows not too long ago. Especially "Wildheart" and "Black Rain" have matured into fine live songs. It would have been nice to watch the entire set, but unfortunately it overlapped with the next band on the second stage.

Winterborn - Teemu Koskela

In hindsight, Winterborn and Leverage should have traded stages, since the former didn't pull nearly as big a crowd as the posse around ever-grinning Pekka Heino. The charming frontman had all reason for a happy face, as the large room was filled to capacity with even more people trying to catch a view of the performance from outside the door. The half-hour set contained mostly songs from the latest album, including the bombastic opener "Wolf & The Moon", but a few older songs such as "Fifteen Years" or "Twilight Symphony" were included as well.

Leverage - Pekka Heino

The winterly atmosphere created by intro music and stage lighting (enhanced by the draft from the nearby door to the smoker's area outside) set the scene for Swallow The Sun and particularly their first song, "These Woods Breathe Evil". The opener was programmatic, as the majority of the eight songs were taken from the latest album. A special highlight was "Lights On The Lake", for which the band was joined by guest vocalist Aleah. Since her contribution on the album version of this song, the Swedish singer has appeared at several gigs, and her ethereal presence complements the band in a way that fully deserves to be described as enchanting. The guys except drummer Kai Hahto were as static as usual from their shoulders downward; apart from the obligatory headbanging, movement was so minimal that bassist Matti elicited a big cheer from the audience by as much as showing the horns. But the aloofness befits the music - when you go to see Swallow The Sun, you don't expect a ballet. Although "Sleepless Swans", played at midpoint during the set, would make a good title for one.

Swallow The Sun - Mikko Kotamäki

Whereas Friday's main acts only had been given an hour of playing time each, both of Saturday's headliners played 75 minutes. In Apocalyptica's case, the time seemed even longer, which was clearly an  effect of the mostly instrumental fare. However, Finland's most famous cello ensemble rarely play in their homeland, and their show was the highlight of the Expo for many fans. To ensure variety, they had brought Tipe Johnson with them, who performed the vocals on "I'm not Jesus", "I don't care" and "Life Burns". Another nice little extra was the introduction of a brand new song from the forthcoming album. For this one, Mikko Sirén left his drumkit and switched to the double bass, taking care of the low ends that no cello can reach. As always, the band's original material was interspersed with cover versions. True to Apocalyptica's roots, Metallica was played as well as a famous piece of classical music, Edvard Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King".

Apocalyptica - Eicca Toppinen

Sonata Arctica is another band that tours much more frequently outside of Finland than at home, and the recent months had been no exception. Frontman Tony Kakko may certainly be excused for accidentally addressing the crowd in English a few times... Rounding off the FME in the wee hours of Sunday morning, the band was in great form, with Kakko's stage demeanor bordering on the hyperactive. As for the audience, the booze was clearly taking its toll by this time, but unlike a year ago when the last act played to a nearly empty hall, the venue was packed until the very end. Like on the recent European tour, the band played mostly songs from the latest album (including "Flag In The Ground", "The Last Amazing Grays" and "Juliet") and radio hits like "Paid In Full" and "Don't Say A Word". The intro of "Full Moon" was replaced by the beginning of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", and the Queen classic "We Will Rock You" served as a cool interlude in the midst of the set. Warmed by pyros, the crowd was happy to participate vocally in all the appropriate places up until the set finished with the traditional "Vodka" outro. A strong finale for the sixth Finnish Metal Expo - which in terms of both line-up and general organization was clearly the best so far, while still remaining the gathering of friends from all over the world that it has always been. See you all again in a year, if not before that at Tuska...

Sonata Arctica

OVERVIEW - FRIDAY - SATURDAY