It’s Wednesday night, hump day as some like to call it. So what better way to get over that hump than to head off to Rebellion and watch some Finnish Eurovision hopefuls? Yep, you heard that right. Finland’s 2021 entry are here tonight in a club that for some bizarre reason seems to get smaller every time I visit it. This time the comfy seats at the back so beloved of my Grumpy Husband have disappeared, there’s a maze-like screened bit to get in, and they appear to have demolished the toilets. No, really. Two large off-corridor loos are now steps down to a couple of cubicles and the outside. Don’t even get me started on the queues, for a moment I could have been in London waiting to see the Queen (RIP)! 

But never mind that, what about tonight’s musical offerings? Well for a start both bands are from Finland so that’s a point in their favour. Musically although both embrace the rather shouty nu-metal scene they approach it form quite different angles. Lost Society look like a glam band but sound like Slipknot. They are loud, fast, brash and in your face. They shout, they prowl, they exude menace. But they do it all in tight pants and guyliner, with perfect hair. It’s quite a contrast! Every now and again they forget to be evil and throw in some clean singing, some catchy chorus and even a ballad. We go from a circle pit forming to lighters (well phone torches) waving in the air in an instant. The sound is a bit iffy to start with and the (over) use of backing tapes is a tad irritating, but overall I enjoyed them. They have good stage presence, good songs and get a good reception from the crowd. Lots of energy, lots of fun. Nu-metal in lycra and I’m all for a bit of genre-bending on a Wednesday night!

You may be familiar with headliners Blind Channel, even if you don’t realise it. They were Finland’s 2021 Eurovision entry, and they came 6th. Again we have a crossing of genres as they come on looking like the Backstreet Boys but sounding like Linkin’ Park! The moves are choreographed, duo singers Joel Hokka and Niko Moilanen do a lot of the jumping, A fair amount of backing tape is used but rather than a drummer-operated click track they have a person on stage to do it. Not sure what you’d call him, maybe a dj, maybe a keyboard player but anyway even the recorded bits are done “live”. The sound is infectious and fresh, it’s upbeat. Booth singers can sing clean, and both sort of shout a bit too, so their combination just works wonderfully. 

There’s power and melody, is it metal, is it pop, or just both wrapped up in a bouncy nu-metal package. The sound is pin-sharp, the lights are spot on and they throw a bit of everything into the mix. On paper it shouldn’t work, and it definitely shouldn’t be my “thing”, but somehow everything they throw out sticks and I’m loving it. There’s a huge amount of crowd participation, it seems everyone else is loving it too. A drum solo performed to a techno backing track reminds me of the one Tommy Lee used to do, and watching a mosh pit form to this is a proper mind-blowing experience. As well as their own songs (including the Eurovision hit “Dark Side”) they also performed a couple of covers, a rocking version of Limp Bizkit’s ‘Rollin’ and a vamped-up cover of Anastasia’s ‘Left Outside Alone’. A spine-tingling ballad is introduced but mostly the set remains about movement, energy and happiness. The whole evening has been an uplifting experience (although someone is hot and sweaty) and I leave the venue feeling much more cheerful than when I arrived.