Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
The second day of Ankea festival dawned somewhat bleaker than the previous one. Whereas the day before the sky had been overcast, with strong winds and a slight threat of rain hanging in the air, on Saturday those threats were fully realized. This was old news for anyone who’d bothered to check the forecast, however, and rain ponchos were available to buy at the festival for those who hadn’t brought their own. Sweetening up the day of lousy weather were bands such as Rioghan, Textures, A. A. Williams, Sylvaine and Katatonia.
Royal Sorrow celebrated their first year as a touring act at Ankea festival. Formed in 2024, this group released their debut album “Innerdeeps” last year, and have toured somewhat actively in support of it. Despite their early start at 12.40 p.m, a sizable crowd had gathered to witness their set. This band was a complete unknown to me, and yet it didn’t take more than a few minutes of observing their talent to see the attraction. Royal Sorrow successfully incorporates lighter elements into their progressive metal to make it accessible to a wider audience, resulting in scores of eager listeners to brave the early hour and the dreary weather of Ankea’s final day. In addition to songs from their “Innerdeeps” album, Royal Sorrow performed a brand new song as well to their fans’ delight.
Rioghan was one of the most anticipated acts of the weekend for me, and after Royal Sorrow’s excellent set I was ready to see how my expectations would be met. Though I had previously listened to their albums at home, I’d never before seen Rioghan live, so I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for. Rioghan came to Ankea festival with apparent intent to impress the crowd, as evidenced by the fact that they’d recruited outside talent to join them onstage. Together with dancer Hanna Härkönen, vocalist Rioghan Darcy performed choreography during most of the set. Impressive as it was to watch two professionals express the moods of the music through movement, the overall added value of the gimmick was a bit questionable. Rioghan’s heavy musicianship coupled with the more tender vocals captured the crowd’s attention for the full forty five minutes of their set, and I will definitely be on the lookout to catch this band live again in the future.
After the heavy one-two punch of Rioghan and Royal Sorrow, it was great to relax a bit with something more easy-going. What better way to rest one’s ears than to listen to Bruce Soord of The Pineapple Thief strumming and singing for one hour? It was a truly bare-bones performance, with Soord on guitar and vocals, and Jon Sykes on bass guitar. The setlist was comprised of ten songs, half of which were The Pineapple Thief covers, the other half being Bruce Soord’s solo material. Being a huge fan of Katatonia, I knew of the friendship and previous collaboration between Bruce Soord and Jonas Renkse. Thus I had teased myself with the possibility of the two men joining forces onstage as they were performing on the same day, but alas, it was not to be. For those interested, Bruce Soord will be returning to Finland with The Pineapple Thief in early July.
Up next on the main stage was IHLO, a progressive metal band formed in the United Kingdom in 2016. IHLO visited Finland for the first time back in February as a supporting act for Leprous, and this time they were back in Tampere for a festival gig. IHLO seemed intent to make the most of their hour in the spotlight, with the whole group playing with a gusto that remained somewhat unmatched by the audience. Vocalist Andy Robinson especially did his best to keep the mood jovial with this uninhibited chatter, but the crowd just weren’t biting. This is not to say the audience would’ve been outright hostile towards IHLO, but a certain listlessness, perhaps in anticipation of oncoming rain, endured during most of the gig. As a shoutout to Ankea festival, Robinson was sporting the official t-shirt of the event. IHLO departed the stage with a promise to return soon, so perhaps the Finnish crowd will get another chance to show these guys the love they deserve.
I had my first encounter with Vermilia back in January when they were playing in Tampere wtth Swallow the Sun, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from their show: deeply atmospheric heavy music with a hefty dose of folk elements. Even though the surprise factor wasn’t there anymore, Vermilia still did not disappoint this time around either. As usual Vermilia herself was the focal point of the show, her versatile vocals and shamanistic demeanor conjuring a mood of some ancient and primordial ritual. After a bit of rain the skies cleared up and even a ray of sunshine broke through; a moment of respite that unfortunately didn’t last very long.
After the familiarity of Vermilia, it was time again for a complete unknown for me. Hailing from Norway, Green Carnation turned out to be the biggest find for me from the festival. Formed in 1990, the group has had several years of hiatus during their existence, but ever since regrouping in 2014 they have returned to the fold with several albums. The latest of these, “A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis”, was released last April, and the third part of the trilogy is expected to be out pretty soon. Green Carnation’s brand of prog rock is more adjacent to traditional heavy metal rather than overtly complex musicianship. The melodies were bountiful, and the band performed with a quiet charisma and a faint touch of vulnerability. The setlist included a song they’d never before played live, “Sweet to the Point of Bitter“. I can only hope Green Carnation returns to Finland by the time I’ve soaked up their discography and be better prepared for them.
A. A. Williams, a British solo artist, had perhaps the least fortunate slot of the day for her performance. Not that there would be anything innately wrong with the hour between 18:25 to 19:25 p.m., it’s just that for this part of the day the skies tore apart with the heaviest rain seen all weekend. No matter how enticing her blend of heavy riffs, tender keyboards and vivid vocals was, there was no denying the dampening effect the downpour had on the mood. Figuratively and literally. Despite the lousy weather the gig itself went well, and a decent crowd remained to witness and support the artist. Whether this is entirely due to the pull of A. A. Williams or the fact that there were precious few covered spaces to escape to is anyone’s guess. I truly hope for a chance to see A. A. Williams live again under better conditions.
Even though the rain eased up a bit after A. A. Williams was done, I can’t say my experience of the festival improved immediately afterwards. As sure as there is something for everyone, I can say with perfect certainty that Textures is not for me. Vocalist Daniël de Jongh suffered some technical difficulties, but once he got going, he performed with aggressive intensity and urged the crowd to move any part of their body to shake them out of inertia. Textures drew decent enough of a crowd to the main stage, but their ill-defined brand of alternative metal just didn’t appeal to me at any point. Kudos to the band anyway for keeping up the intensity for a full sixty minutes.
Before the day’s, and for me the entire festival’s, main event, Sylvaine from Norway showed the people of Tampere her own take on her country’s most notorious musical export. Incorporating elements of black metal, blackgaze and something entirely her own, Sylvaine took the listener through an hour-long journey of blissful melancholy. There could be many ways to describe the experience, but those two words are what come to my mind first. Even though her music is arguably on the gloomy side, Sylvaine let another side of herself come forth when addressing the crowd between songs. Sounding rather cheerful, Sylvaine did not hide her excitement at performing in Finland for the first time, and sympathized with the audience by repeatedly remarking on the rainy weather. This is starting to become a theme, but here is another artist whose show I’ll gladly revisit whenever they might come around these parts again. A festival has surely done something right when you get to say this of most of their roster.
Now it was time for the band I had most looked forward to the entire weekend. Or, more accurately, ever since they were announced to play at Ankea festival last December. Whenever Katatonia, one of my absolute all-time favorite bands ever, is around this part of the world for a concert, it’s the safest of bets that I’ll be there. Katatonia began their set punctually at 21:40, and from the first moment it seemed like all the wear and tear of the weekend just melted away. The rain had ceased to fall, and what remained was a dark and overcast sky that fit just so for the music that the swedes were there to play.
As I’m sure most everyone had gotten the memo, the evening’s agenda was “The Great Cold Distance”, Katatonia’s classic album from twenty years ago. From the opening notes of “Leaders” the crowd was fully onboard with what was to come, roaring their support between the songs. Katatonia’s music doesn’t lend itself too easily to moshpits or crowd surfing, but the headbanging and fist pumping were very real, and vocalist Jonas Renkse even trusted the audience to sing a part of “My Twin“. The concert flew by as I marveled at my old favorites, such as “Rusted” and “In the White“, and rediscovered less remembered tunes like “Follower” and “Increase“. Nico Elgstrand delivered an achingly soulful guitar solo on “Journey Through Pressure“, and as the final song drifted away I wondered what the band would do with the fifteen plus minutes they still had to their set. I was sorely disappointed when Katatonia opted for the standard goodbyes and a special thank you -note on the stage-adjacent video screens. Of course the shortened set didn’t ruin the whole experience, but after enduring through horrendous weather and scores of unfamiliar bands, a full set from my favorite on the bill would’ve been just what the doctor ordered.
The idea of skipping the final act of the festival, Oranssi Pazuzu, had been simmering in my mind for most of the day. After Katatonia I knew nothing would top it and I was thoroughly spent, both physically and mentally. Thus I made my way to the tram stop just as Oranssi Pazuzu began with their dark ambient noise, satisfied with how the weekend had gone. Overall I’d rate the first edition of Ankea festival as a tremendously successful effort. The lineup was exquisite, and everything was organized quite smoothly. One thing I hope the festival will look into in the future is the possibility of an indoor- or a tent stage for eventualities such as torrential rain. If you were at the festival and would like to give feedback to the organizers about anything, you can do so via this questionnaire or Facebook.
Cheers, and until next time!
