BATTLE BEAST

This band from Finland has levelled up, and is now on its own headlining tour with one of the best singers in all of Heavy Metal

I sure do wonder what is in the water in Finland.  That country of roughly 5.5 million people produces some of the best quality heavy metal in the world.  And not just a few bands either! From the likes of Amorphis, Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Insomnium, Korpiklaani and many many more.

Tonight we check out another amazing band from Finland with Battle Beast who is at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver.  They also brought along some talented support from Blackbriar who are based in the Netherlands.   The last time we saw them here in Vancouver was back in October of 2019 at the Venue on their ‘No More Hollywood Endings’ tour supporting Kamelot

Battle Beast has been around since 2008 and after winning numerous awards in Europe, signed with NuclearBlast and have produced 6 albums, with the latest being 2022’s Circus of Doom.  The band is Juuso Soinio (Rhythm guitar), Eero Sipilä (bass), Janne Björkroth (keytar, keyboards), Joona Björkroth (lead guitar), Pyry Vikki (drums) and Noora Louhimo (lead vocals).   There have been no changes since the last time we saw them in 2019.

This power metal band starts off the show with “Circus of Doom” from the new album.   Right away fists are in the air and the audience is totally into this one.  Noora’s voice is absolutely fantastic.  This song could be a great James Bond movie song, her vocals are absolutely jaw-dropping as she hits so many octaves with her powerful singing.

“Straight to the Heart” from 2019’s “No More Hollywood Endings” album is up next, and if you thought the previous song was an incredible start, this one really puts Noora’s voice in high gear.  With the leg kicks and her dazzling outfit, I feel like I am at a show that would fit in at Las Vegas.  They only do 2 sounds from this album, the other being “Eden” which is the last song of the night, prior to the encore.   With all 5 five at the front of the stage for the most part, it looked a little tight on space with a bass player, 2 guitarists, a Keytar and a vocalist.

It’s a different story tonight as this is their first headlining tour through Vancouver and they have their own lights and stage setup as they move onto “Familiar Hell”.  Drum riser, better sound and alot fancy lights certainly make the difference and a feast for the eyes.

“Armageddon” from Bringer of Pain is up next and damn, is that a catchy little tune.   Sounded great at the Rickshaw too as really, they are concentrating ALOT on this new Circus of Doom album with 8 songs in this 17 song set tonight as “Eye of the Storm” is at song 7.  They did do 5 songs off Bringer of Pain, so the bulk of all the songs were from 2 albums.

At song 8, we saw Noora take a well deserved break and Eero does a Badfinger cover called “Without You”.   Its a little soft ballad that slows the show down a little but it’s a nice change up. 

Prior to song 11 “Russian Roulette”, we see this band likes to be playful as we get some fun hijinks from Joona who is pulling a keyboard on a wheel stand that Janne is trying to play at the same time.  Thereafter, they pull out a dozen red cups and fill them with Canadian Club Rum and coke and pass to the audience.   Now these are memorable moments that we will not forget.   Take note other bands, if you do this stuff, people remember how fun it was and are likely to come back or spread the word around.

After “Eden”, the band comes back with piece of a Star Wars theme, then do 3 more songs with Master of Illusion”, “King for a Day” and finally “Beyond the Burning Skies”.  Let me tell you that this was one of the most entertaining shows of the year.   The Rickshaw balcony was not open, so it was about 3/4 full I would say.  If you did not attend this show, you really missed out, as this new album is outstanding, especially Live, and Noora’s voice is something to behold.  We have seen a lot of female singers this year, and coming soon too as well, we have another with Brittany Slayes with Unleash the Archers coming at the end of the month.  But I will tell you I was completely blown away by Noora, she made an impression with me back in 2019 when I first saw Battle Beast and this new album really takes her and the band to the next level.  This was an incredible performance that I will not forget anytime soon!