'Spinefarm Boneshakers Tour'
Nottingham Rock City 24/10/2010
Review By Mick (the beard) Staley

I have had the honour of covering some great events this year and here was yet another !!

I was looking forward to this as I love Kiuas and this was the first time I have had chance to see them headline any show.

This was a Sunday night in Nottingham and as I expected the turnout was not great, but the ones who were there, were certainly going to have a good time.
First up were Celesty and I must confess, apart from the odd track, I had not heard much from these guys. The six pieice outfit looked very cramped on the small stage but this did not stop them delivering a really good show of Power metal, and frontman, Tony Turunen, showed that he can really carry on the Celesty sound.

Next on stage were Metsatoll from Estonia, which I have to confess I'm clueless as to where it is.
I wasn't sure what to expect as all I knew (from the guys themselves earlier) was, that they were Slayer with bagpipes !!!!

The more Metsatoll played the more I liked them, they play a good blend of folk, metal, thrash and just about anything thrown in for good measure. They do however sing in their own Estonian language, but such things shouln't put you off, if its good enough for Rammstein then why not these. Fans of Turisas, Alestorm, Behemoth and Tyr will love these guys.
Lauri plays more instruments in one set than the Royal Philharmonic !! He even does a twist on playing the guitar behind you're head, when he does it with bagpipes no less !!
Metsatoll were definately my suprise package of the night, a band I thoroughly enjoyed, they even managed to get people singing back in Estonian, which is no mean feat.

Last but by no means least is Kiuas, who on the past four times I have seen them have never let my expectations down. They are currently publisising their 'Lustdriven" album the follow up to 'New Dark Age'.
Once Kiuas start their set you become totally enthralled whilst at the same time being amazed by the vocal talents of Ilja Jalkanen, as his range goes from death metal growl to operatic tenor. It is the first time I have heard tracks from 'Lustdriven' live, 'Kiuassault' was especially good.

'Warrior Soul', 'The Decaying Doctrine', 'Aftermath', 'The Visionary', and more, were all played to a very appretiative audience. You are always entertained when Kiuas are arround, as Ilja's speeches in between the songs are pure gems and wins over any crowd. The set seemed to fly by as you get wrapped up the energetic performance and as Kiuas left the stage cries of more rang out, and as all great rock stars do, they obliged with a final number.

This was a show that was put together well with each band complimenting each others styles, which is all too often not the case, well done Spinefarm.

New fans will have been made by Celesty and Metsatoll I'm sure, as both bands were excellent performers and Kiuas are fast becoming a true metal force.

For anyone who has not seen these bands then you have missed a treat, so keep a look out for them in the future, but in the mean time check out their Cd's.

Lets hope Spinefarm make this an annual thing as they have a great pool of talent they can draw from for future 'Boneshaker' Tours

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