Event:	Boneshakers Tour 2010
Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	25.10.2010
Galleries:	Kiuas, Metsatöll, Celesty - Sheffield, England, 22nd October 2010 by Baz Anderson (44)

Spinefarm's Boneshakers mini tour of the UK was just its second day on the road when the buses pulled up outside the Corporation in Sheffield. This time the show was in the smallest room of the venue, as only a few metalheads populated the room upon opening.




Finnish power metal outfit Celesty were first on to the half occupied room. The unmistakeable power metal that came forth excited only a few at this early stage in the night, but regardless of the quality of the music, it was the curse of being the first band of the evening on that did the real damage. The performance and audience alike were both stiff. The band have been joined by Tarja Turunen's brother as singer, the resemblance is clear, but also like his sister he didn't connect with the audience. The combination of "Euphoric Dream" and "New Sin" from the latest album proved to be the highlight of the set, as the band's 45 minutes soon came to an end.



Estonia provided the entertainment next, in the form of Metsatöll. Perhaps because the audience had gained in population and loosened up, or because the band were so engaging, Metsatöll impressed in a massive way. This band is all about the sound of the music. No cheesy choruses or gimmicks here, Metsatöll explored the far corners of the auditory universe and brought us some fantastic folk-influenced metal with some progressive touches. Part of the entertainment of the show was waiting to see which instrument Lauri would produce from his arsenal and play for us next. Despite the band's lyrics being gibberish for this audience, the enthusiasm of the band spoke to the audience much more than their lyrics would. Metsatöll genuinely surprised and impressed the majority of the audience on only their second tour ever in these territories. Ending with the atmospheric "Metsaviha 2", Metsatöll won't be forgotten this time.



Back to Finland for the headliners. Kiuas don't have a massive following over here, but they certainly have some enthusiastic ones. The room with a more respectable gathering of people, the band kicked off the show after the band's charismatic frontman Ilja announcing his underwear came from Primark. Kiuas are stylistically a strange band, but primarily blending power metal with metalcore, but with a few other progressive and extreme metal elements thrown in for good measure too. The band would not be the same without Ilja, firstly for his extremely wide ranging vocals that are extremely mature and quite unique in sound, but his growls are also top notch. Secondly Kiuas are a band that absolutely come alive in the live environment, and he is the main instigator of the fantastic connection the band have with their audience. The band played a range of songs not loyal to any album in particular, but it was old favourites such as "The Spirit Of Ukko", "Warrior Soul" and "Across The Snows" that brought the house down. Kiuas are a band that need to be seen live to fully appreciate, and with their set running a fair way over an hour, this Sheffield audience got their fill of this great band.



Thanks to all at Spinefarm for the accreditation.
Written by Barry Anderson.
Photos by Barry Anderson.