Let me take you back to 2021, watching Eurovision at my friend's house. After countless pop acts, it's time for Finland's entry, Blind Channel. Millions of viewers are about to be treated to something a little different than the average entry,
"Put your middle fingers up, take a shot, throw it up and don't stop."
I remember screaming with excitement, finally a good metal entry! Fast forward to 2024 and I'm here at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton for Blind Channel's headline show. I had seen them live at Download Festival the year prior, and whilst it was great I feel like you can't fully judge a band by a short festival appearance.
Tonight's support would be from fellow Fins, Rock Band From Hell, who provided a very upbeat self proclaimed 'emo anthem' filled set, as well as GHØSTKID, a electronic metalcore band hailing from Germany who quite literally got involved with the crowd.
Prior to Blind Channel's set, I thought someone had accidentally left the radio on over the tannoy as a DJ presented the music that was playing such as 'Numb' by Linkin Park and 'Enter Sandman', but actually this was a planned part of the night. 'Radio Exit' was the bands curated radio show to hype up the already excited crowd. "The Backstreet Boys of Metal" (the DJ's words, not mine) took to the stage with the anthematic 'DEADZONE'. Immediately I noticed great syntonisation between the two frontmen Joel Hokka and Niko Moilanen, whose clean vocals complimented each other greatly, but also were able to create contrast when one or the other took the screams and rapping.
The vocalists encourage the crowd to crouch down and jump on their command, and boy did the crowd follow their orders. The crowd is eating every moment up, singing every word, especially as the band head into 'Over My Dead Body'.
Giving the crowd a little rest they slowed things down with "Die Another Day" before speeding things up again with the fast paced, rap heavy "Violent Bob (Deju Fu)", which seamlessly transitioned into a cover of System of A Down's 'B.Y.O.B'.
The final song was the one most probably know, of course, the Eurovision entry, 'Dark Side'. All in all, a tremendously intense performance enhanced by an amazing light display by a band who have got their image and aesthetic down to a T.
Comments