Having been postponed in 2023, Battle Beast returned to Manchester for the second leg of their Circus of Doom tour. They admitted that they love the UK and tour here frequently. That night was no different and the audience reception said it all as the Finnish power metallers proved why they’re so well-liked.
Brymir were first and unlike many gigs where the first band is sometimes the lightest to let fans settle in, those expecting a smooth entry were in for a shock. Noise regulations didn’t matter to them and you could probably hear them at the main Academy next door. While their set was only six songs, it was more than enough to make their presence known and latecomers will have missed an opportunity to enjoy some high quality melodic death/ symphonic power metal.
If you needed a wake up call to announce spooky season, then Viktor Gullichsen on vocals was the one for the job. As soon as he gave you that menacing look like a boss of a prison gang in ‘Death Race,’ a black eye was only a minor injury in his book of punishments when you messed with the wrong leader. His growls were potent enough to blow up amps and scare werewolves away but he could also chuck in a nice mixture of cleans. Antti Nieminen got a piece of the action on guitars with spotless shredded solos much to the delight of a fired up Manchester while some hurricane-force double kick blast beats by Patrik Fält built a climax that looked hard to topple when the next act started.
Serenity came on next and knew very well that they had a mountain to climb in order to maintain the hype. It did take some time to get energy levels back up due to a major contrast in sound but fortunately, they had what it took to retain engagement as their softer approach was ideal to give us a breather in preparation for Battle Beast. Georg Neuhauser stepped up to deliver a fine vocal performance by letting his bombastic voice ring out and widen people’s smiles. Serenity’s lyrical content is predominantly historical and Georg’s singing style definitely suits each tune such as ‘Lionheart’ which is about King Richard I. The epic, grandiose textures and phrasing very much paints a picture of knights charging into battle ready to die in honour of his majesty.
Joining him on backing vocals was Marco Pastorino. Whether it be in Temperance or Virtual Symmetry among others, this guy can smash it out of the park anywhere. Together, he and Georg formed an amazing duo whose unbreakable musical bond stuck like superglue. You could tell by his expressions that he was enjoying every minute of it and to add to his vocal abilities, he’s also a great guitarist. Pulling some technical solos out of the bag was second nature to him and to round it all off, Andreas Schipflinger nailed his parts on the drums, playing a wide range of beats and fills of maximum complexity to set the tone for what was to come later on.
Battle Beast hadn’t even stepped onstage and fans were already screaming their throats out as Manchester’s patience was running thin so a five star performance was a must. All eyes were on singer Noora Louhimo from the start as her magnetic presence combined with a Maleficent costume completely robbed others of a chance to steal the spotlight. Her piercing harsh falsettos were crystal clear and filled any vacuum of silence. While power is something she’s not short of, she can also smoothly transition between loud and quiet sections with minimum effort and ballads like ‘No More Hollywood Endings’ is concrete proof of that.
Joona Björkroth on guitars dropped out of the European leg but Atte Aho took over and delivered what was expected at the highest standard. His bright green instrument spread rays of ecstasy with lightning fast shredding that put Guitar Hero to shame. Janne Björkroth (Joona’s brother), one of the band’s founders kept the party going on keys and extra percussion. Knowing that Battle Beast love to make their music catchy, Janne knows every trick in the book. Consisting of synths and overhead drums, he can play it all and if a band goes missing, you can count on him.
A lot of Battle Beast’s songs average around 160-165 bpm and when played in a four to the floor style live, all that’s needed is to get a disco ball on the ceiling while Pyri Vikki leads the line on drums. You’d think that precise metronomes to the millisecond can only be achieved via a computer but he can do it all by himself without members having to worry about click tracks stopping. Technique wise, he got it spot on with excellent coordination during complex fills and high levels of endurance on double kick. The only drawback was the mix as the Academy 2 often turns kits up too loud and at times, Pyri’s kicks in particular had excessive boom in comparison to other instruments that could be heard clearly.
Since Battle Beast won the Wacken Open Air 2010 Metal Battle, they’ve taken the world by storm and we in particular just can’t put them off from visiting. If they continue to deliver performances like this, headlining major festivals is surely on the horizon.
