Here we are at Lepakkomies in Helsinki once again to witness a Thursday night of heaviness with MAGENTA HARVEST, CAVUS and NIGHON.

MAGENTA HARVEST is currently on a headlining spring tour which consists of four live dates in Southern Finland (Läpinjärvi, Helsinki, Porvoo and Vantaa), one date in Germany and their first ever 2 live appearances in the Netherlands.

The evening was opened by the industrial/symphonic metal act NIGHON, hailing from Pietarsaari, Finland. NIGHON was formed in 2008, released 2 records so far and toured with bands such as myGRAIN, Finntroll, Kill The Kong and Arkentype. NIGHON´s sound can be described as a blend of extreme, symphonic and industrial metal, which reminds me of Dimmu Borgir, Amaranthe and Rammstein among others. The 30 minutes live performance is tight, filled with appealing chemistry between growling and clean vocals performed by Nico Häggblom and Alva Sandström. Some lyrics deal with war stories and worldwide crisis and the atmosphere on stage is both obscure and uplifting at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

Second act of the night was the black metal combo CAVUS, who unleashed their wrath 40 minutes after NIGHON left the stage, but I have to say that it was definitely worth the wait. Hailing from Porvoo, Finland, CAVUS was formed back in 2007 and has toured with well known bands such as Mayhem, Behexen and Gorgoroth. Their much anticipated second album, “The New Era”, has just been released few days ago on April 11, 2018. CAVUS delivered a truly convincing 45 minutes´ black metal set, performing fiercely from the beginning until the end showing no sign of discontinuity: relentless guitars and drums, plus an intriguing interaction of the vocalist B.P. with the audience, which, although it might be considered quite unusual for a black metal act, surely showed a clear sign of dedication. I still remember when CAVUS played supporting Gorgoroth during their European tour few years back and I do remember it fondly: looking forward to their next live performance.

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, the headliner MAGENTA HARVEST. Even though the line-up suffered from two original members´absence (Timo Kontio, one of the two guitarists, and Jonas Frilund, the bass player) and they were forced to perform as a four piece, MAGENTA HARVEST delivered a crushing set: death metal at its best infused with few unique dark, black, doom, atmospheric and grind twists. The vocalist, Mathias Lillmåns, needs little introduction: involved in many projects as musician (such as Finntroll, Dispyt, Chthonian), but also as sound engineer and producer, never disappoints with his piercing growling skills. The setlist consisted mainly of tracks taken from their latest album “…And then Came the Dust“, released in September, 2017. I do recommend this band, especially if you are a fan of early Hypocrisy and/or Dissection: go and check it out if you haven´t already.

Setlist:

• Flock of Reckoning
• The Search for the Higher Water
• Spawn of Neglect
• An Abode of Ashes
• The Murderous Breed
• When Your World Turns to Glass
• Limbo In Rime
• The Pane of Eden
• …and then came the Dust

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the full gallery: