BEAST IN BLACK + Lordi 13.12.2019 Helsinki Ice Hall, Finland

February 18, 2020February 18, 2020 Tero Tolkki

December 13th 2019 was a surreal day in many ways. Not only it was Friday the 13th but it was also a special kind of Black Friday, it was Beast In Black Friday! I am sure I wasn’t the only one who looked twice at the venue when Beast In Black announced their Ice Hall concert especially as a headliner. Afterall we all have to remember that we are talking about a band that has released only 2 albums and their debut album “Berserker” was released in 2017 so only few years ago and now they sold over 4000 tickets to Helsinki Ice Hall. No it wasn’t sold out but damn well close enough and it’s something to be incredibly proud about.

But before we dive in to Beast In Black it is only fair to give space for the support act which in this case was Lordi. I never had the luxury of witnessing these monsters live and I must say they were entertaining. Extra points to Mr. Lordi and his fun jokes between songs. Lordi did suffer from the support act syndrome aka pretty horrible sounds. Drum sounds were closer to pots and pans than drums and that got me worried cause sometimes I might strike a bit fanatic when it comes to live sounds. But if you put the sounds behind the show was very good and they pretty much played the songs expected. It was a smart move to start with “Would You Love A Monsterman?” cause it got the crowd going.

There were news in Finnish media that Mr. Lordi had suffered from health problems but those didn’t seem to bother the monster. He seemed truly taken by the opportunity to open for Beast In Black in front of 4000 people. Could you guess the last song they played? Yeah, “Hard Rock Hallelujah“, that very song that brought Finland our long awaited Eurovision song contest victory back in 2006.

Setlist for Lordi

Would You Love a Monsterman?
Hug You Hardcore
I Dug a Hole in the Yard for You
Naked in My Cellar
Blood Red Sandman
It Snows in Hell
Shake the Baby Silent
The Riff
Who’s Your Daddy?
Devil Is a Loser
Hard Rock Hallelujah

After Lordi the crew started preparing the stage for Beast In Black and I decided to move a bit closer towards the stage. It became very quickly evident that this evening was going to be very special for the band and the stage was set accordingly. People were anxiously waiting for the concert to start and as the show was scheduled to start 9:30pm they started like a clockwork. Only few days before I was pretty much on the same spot when Hypocrisy/Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth filled the Ice Hall Black Box and no matter what anyone says I still prefer Black Box over the open venue cause not only it gives better acoustics but more intimate atmosphere. But since over 4000 tickets were sold to Beast In Black concert, Black Box was not an option as it holds approximately 3000 people.

And then it started, for a person like myself the first thing I paid attention to was the increasingly improved sound compared to Lordi which obviously made me a very happy camper. Now I could focus on the concert itself. Beast In Black started with “Cry Out For A Hero” and the energy that was filled around the ice hall was touchable. Although they have played to large crowds before it was either in festivals or as a support act but now they were the main act, the head cheese and the focus of all and it was funny to see that they were totally surprised of this insanely warm welcome they received from the crowd.

Though I have seen Beast In Black live in festivals this was the first time I saw them in a venue like this. And I cannot praise Yannis Papadopoulos enough. This man is a beast and he is in black so does that make him the Beast In Black? According to him and later reported that his voice wasn’t in prime condition he could have fooled the audience well enough. His register is crazy mad insane and it’s above all, strong. Only times you could hear his voice wasn’t 100% was when he sang silently and softly but even a dumb perfectionist as myself was able to ignore it I am sure the other 3999 people could as well.

Another thing that deserves huge credit is just how well the band performs together. It’s like every member has a position in the band they fill 110%. For example how well Anton and Mate handle backing vocals and therefore since choruses are so catchy and important in BiB songs they feel complete even live. Kasperi obviously has been given the chance to flirt with the audience as much as he wants and he does love to perform. And then of course last but definately not least, the Lion, Atte in drums…that man is a beast. He has a very energetic playing style and it looks good and of course sounds good too. Beast In Black is a complete package and I don’t think there was a single disappointed audience attendee leaving the Ice Hall.

I do want to raise one particular song that I think made an everlasting impact on everyone in the audience. Oceandeep which is a beautiful ballad and yes normally it might not suit energetic concert like that but it’s how they did it. Yannis asked everyone in the audience to put their smartphones in good use and put the flashlight on during the song. It was a mezmerizing moment to listen this beautiful song and look around. It was like thousands of stars were lit right there in the Ice Hall. Simply brilliant.

However on a downside I do have to generally complain a bit regarding people and their phones during concerts. I could have written this on any concert review but I just don’t get the need to watch the concert through the damn phone. And in the process ruin the experience from everyone standing behind you when you raise your hands with that phone just so you can record a crappy sounding videoclip or take a photo. I understand taking one clip and one photo but like every other song? Retarded if you ask me.

But yes to conclude this review I gotta ask myself…where can BiB go from here? If they want to top their second album then it will be one of the best albums ever recorded. But one thing is for sure…road is clear and wide open for these amazing musicians!

Setlist for Beast In Black