In a country where music festivals are nearly as common as sporting events, MyötätuuliRock, has emerged as a brave little festival with some serious balls. The two-day fest, held in mid July at the Hakunila sports park in Vantaa, Finland is only minutes from Helsinki. and features a line-up of bands cleverly designed to keep the interest of fans along the length of the rock/metal spectrum.

A well-run event, MyötätuuliRock boasts all the amenities and entertainment of the larger festivals with the pleasure of smaller crowds and a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. There were plenty of refreshments, merchandise booths  and, most surprising to any festival attendee,  plenty of clean toilets. Two beer gardens flanked the viewing area with one serving beer and wine for the under-twenty crowd and stronger stuff added to the menu of the second swill hall for older rockers. Prices were quite reasonable for such an event. 

Metal ruled the first day, June 17^th, with and all-Finn lineup including venerable war horse, Tarot with their more than two decades of combined skill and extensive repertoire. Also featured was the speedy, clever melodies and soaring vocals of Stratovarius and the goth-favorite, headliner, The 69 Eyes.  

Scheduled to begin at 13:10, the fest kicked off about 20 minutes late due to Altaria, the opening band’s transportation woes in the form of a broken down vehicle. The fest quickly got back on track, thanks to some speedy work by Altaria’s crew and a shortened set-list. The opener’s brand of smooth, melodic metal charged up the swelling crowd, which had nearly slipped into a sun-baked coma during the delay. Altaria’s set list, chosen from all three of their full-length releases included “Showdown,” “Valley of Rainbows” and “Frozen Hearts” from their latest CD, The Fallen Empire (2006). Selections from earlier releases included “Prophet of Pestilence” and “Unchain the Rain” from Divinity (2004) and “Unicorn,” “History of Times to Come” and “Fire and Ice” from Invitation (2003).

Next up was Viikate, with their dark, melodic brand of folk metal. A tightly strummed instrument of gloomy, yet intricate melodies, Viikate provided a hypnotic background to a party atmosphere that was quickly heating up as festival attendees soaked up increasing amounts of alcohol and sunshine. Lyrics sung completely in Finnish made the songs indistinguishable to an English speaking reviewer, so I have no idea which songs comprised the set list, but the earthy, home-spun sound was an enjoyable soundtrack to accompany a tour of the festival grounds and merch tables.

 In Greek mythology, Charon is the ferryman of the dead. The next band up, who bear the same name, have traversed the river of rock/metal genres from the shores of a death metal beginning to the goth-rock influenced melodies of their latest releases. They picked up the moody thread from the previous band but infused an impressive amount of energy and power proving they have more depth and skill than many bands appealing to the usual girl-goth crowd. I did not get a handle on their entire set but I’m fairly sure it included “Colder,” “Christina Bleeds,” “In Trust of No One,” “Ride on Tears,” “Deep Water,” “Sorrow Song” and the fan favorite, “Little Angel.”

     The next band up was the reason I was determined to stay in Finland long enough to catch this festival. Tarot has an impressive metal music history dating back 20 years, but has never made the trip overseas to the United States. Despite the success of the 2003 release, Suffer Our Pleasure, a new project in the works and the recent release of remasters of their earlier CD’s,  I decided it would be better to track them down in their homeland than to wait for the winds of fate to sweep them to mine. So it was with great anticipation that I greeted their arrival on stage, and I was not alone. As fans packed the front viewing area and beyond, it was clear that Tarot was one of the main draws of this festival and they did not disappoint.

The set got off to an explosive start with the powerful hit, “Crawlspace” from their 1998 release, For The Glory of Nothing. Marco Hietala’s commanding vocals raged through the opener, perfectly matched by brother Zachary Hietala’s strident, yet skillful riffing. Throughout subsequent selections, Marco’s voice remained mesmerizing, frequently aggressive yet, often surprisingly melodic. Keyboardist Janne Tolsa and drummer, Pecu Cinnari complete the band’s line-up which has been steadfast since their 1993 release, To Live Forever. While solid, Tarot has not been stagnant as they have grown from traditional heavy metal of the 80’s, gradually adding more progressive elements resulting in the incredibly tight, melodic metal displayed so skillfully at  MyötätuuliRock. A perfect example of this adapting and evolving mentality was beautifully demonstrated with the move of vocalist, Tommi "Tuple" Salmela from backing vocals to sharing the lead with Marco. His smoother style added just the right counter balance and created a whole extra dimension to the traditional Tarot sound.

The rest of the set spanned the band’s long history from “Wings of Darkness” and “Back in the Fire,” from Spell Of Iron, (1986), “Descendants of Power” and “Lady Deceiver” out of Follow Me Into Madness, (1988), “Do You Wanna Live Forever” from the album To Live Forever, (1993), “Angels Of Pain,” off  Stigmata, (1995), “Pyre Of Gods,” “Rider of the Last Day” and “I Rule” from Suffer Our Pleasure (2003) and finally, the single “YOU” from their next CD, which has yet to be released. A band with such an extensive repertoire has no need for cover songs, but Tarot delighted the festival crowd with a clever and enthusiastic version of  Blue Öyster Cult’s, “Veteran of Psychic Wars.” My first exposure to a live Tarot show was everything I could have wished. Hopefully, it will be only the first of many experiences. 

Amorphis, the next band up, has developed a remarkable sound spawning from dark, death metal roots evolving into a more straight up rock vein that is saved from being mainstream by complex arrangements incorporating surprising vocal and instrumental shifts. The result is hard to classify, but clearly entertaining and often disturbingly emotional.  Recent addition, vocalist Tomi Joutsen’s competence in mixing growls and clear vocals adds an edgy element that solidifies their status as a talent beyond the ordinary pop/rock fare. Their dynamically executed set list relied heavily on songs from their latest CD, Eclipse (2006) with “Leaves Scar,” “House of Sleep,” “Under a Soil,” “Black Stone,” and “The Smoke” along with a few tunes from earlier releases including “In the Beginning” and “Cast Away” from Tales of The Thousand Lakes, (1994), “Against Widows” and “My Kantele,” from Elegy, (1996) and “Divinity” from Tuonela, (1999) My recollection of the set list is definitely not definitive.

For my companions and I, the festival culminated with long-time home favorite, Stratovarius. A band that has seen nearly as much controversy as success in their long career, they were clearly on top of their game. Timo Kotipelto’s vocals were dead on, hitting his remarkable range with seemingly effortless ease as well as engaging the crowd with his cheerful, personable banter. The inarguable talents of songwriter and lead guitarist Timo Tolkki, keyboardist Jens Johansson, drummer Jörg Michael and recent addition, Lauri Porra on bass, graced every song with solid skill and style. They easily breathed life into many of the old favorites and skillfully executed songs from the critically received last CD, entitled simply, Stratovarius. To the best of my knowledge, the set list consisted of “Hunting High and Low,” Paradise,” “Speed Of Light,” Kiss of Judas,” “Eagleheart” (great to finally hear live!), “A Million Light Years Away,” “Father Time,” the soulful tribute to their homeland, “The Land of Ice and Snow,” as well as “Will My Soul Ever Rest in Peace?,” “Phoenix,” “Fight!” and arguably the strongest crowd-pleaser, “Black Diamond.” While clearly it takes more effort to play some of these perennial favorites with the same enthusiasm as in years past, the band left no doubt, that they have maintained the skill and mental fortitude to perform with emotion and enthusiasm. This performance demonstrated their continued ability to stimulate and please their fans.

            We skipped goth headliner, The 69 Eyes in favor of a quick cab ride over to Tavastia to catch Timo Rautiainen, and were treated to an appearance in the audience by members of both Tarot and Stratovarius. The festival’s line-up on the second day consisted of End Of You, TikTak, Private Line, Lovex, Poets Of The Fall, Uniklubi and Eurovision champion, Lordi. The predominately pop/rock style of these bands is outside the genre promoted on Beyond Ear Candy Metal Radio, so we passed it up for the opportunity to spend a relaxing day at the beautiful island of Suomenlinna, drinking a lot of beer and then moving on to the night club scene.

            Overall, MyötätuuliRock was a highly enjoyable musical and cultural experience. The organizers must be commended for their well mixed and thoroughly entertainingly lineup of very talented homespun bands as well the efficiency and professionalism in which the entire festival was executed. Special thanks for the courtesy and friendliness extended to a foreign journalist. I hope this will only be the first of other opportunities that I have to attend MyötätuuliRock.