Both bands have been around for about 20 years, both bands are hailing from the capital city and are even sharing the same rehearsal place at Club Nosturi. All this would mean little if they were not both commercially successful and highly respected acts – as two of the very few survivors of the Suomi Rock and Metal-boom occurring during the last decade. HIM and Amorphis – two truly unique bands from the Thousand Lakes which never bothered to follow any trend from the continent, but, on the contrary, were setting trends for countless other acts to follow both abroad and back home in Finland. With having released a new album each in April 2013, they were (and still are) heading out to set the festival stages on fire. But make no mistake – the omen for the show at Ruisrock could have been barely less contradictory.

Whereas AMORPHIS have been constantly releasing albums and touring their asses off all over Europe in recent years, at the same time HIM was almost dealt a death blow by destiny. Ville Valo's alcoholism tainted the band's live shows for years (as it did to their reputation as a respectable live act), and then a hand injury of drummer Gas Lipstick forced the band into a year-long break. Even after having released the band's 8th studio album, "Tears on Tape" last April, there was a spanner in the works. The US-tour had to be cancelled due to frontman Valo suffering from pneumonia, and all in all, a really glorious return could not be attested to the band. Would the gig at Ruisrock, one of the very few festival appearances HIM would make in their native Finland, get the band back on track and reconcile them with their fans? What would the atmosphere be like? Are HIM still not only national icons, but a Rock phenomenon of such high international profile that they would turn this into a night to remember? And would Amorphis, with their surprisingly good stage slot between 9pm and 10pm, right next to the beach, be able to create some magic – despite the fact that they are not exactly an exclusive or rare sight on the stages of this world?

Ever since Tomi Joutsen joined the band back in 2005, AMORPHIS seem to go through their second adolescence. 5 high-quality studio albums full of anthems and fireworks of musical ideas and constant touring all over the world speak volumes. Amorphis are the working-class heroes of Metal. Usually pulling off one hell of an energetic live show, they have been expanding their territory gradually, and were also reliable in terms of the publication cycles: Every other year a record by the inventors of Kalevala-inspired Melodic Folk Progressive Metal has seen the light of day – with no end in sight. The only problem that the band's commendable work ethics have created is the one of satiation. If the fan never gets to get a break from a band, if an act never disappears from the public eye and seems even predictable in its behavior, the band can easily find itself stuck in a routine. Critics have been claiming that Amorphis are not bringing any new ideas to the table as their growing success has supposedly lured them into copying the same songwriting-formula over and over again. The same critics have also been arguing that the band's shows are predictable and too workman-like nowadays – with little chance to ever be mind-blowing. Certainly, omnipresence is not exactly lending a helping hand to excitement – but if Amorphis shows have ever been predictable for me in any way, than only in the sense of being awesome. In fact, Amorphis is one of the few live acts that have never let me down. Never drunk on stage, never a cacophony of false notes, never a lack of communication or presence on stage – whenever you went to see Joutsen and his men, you were to expect to be treated with respect and the band would show you full commitment for your hard-earned money.

Those who have claimed that AMORPHIS – despite their almost Viking looks (with the exception of rhythm guitarist Tomi Koivusaari and drummer Jan Rechberger) have turned into a Pop Metal band that has lost all its edge, are wrong. Simple as that. Not only does their latest effort, "Circle", surprise the audience with a significantly heavier and more guitar-and-growl-oriented sound (thanks to producer Peter Tägtgren). Also did the live show at Ruisrock send a clear signal: This is a Metal band. And they are still acting like one. Sure, there are the catchy-as-fuck-anthems that could easily seduce any mainstream listener (such as "The Smoke" or "House of Sleep"). And yes, of course, they had to be included in the Ruisrock setlist as well. After all, these are the songs that laid out the foundations for success of the Tomi Joutsen-era Amorphis, also outside of the Metal scene. And naturally, the crowd's euphoria culminates always in "House of Sleep" in particular, when they get to deprive Joutsen of his duties to sing the XXL-Stadium-Rock-chorus. Ever since the song had entered the live set, it had been like that. But Amorphis refused to play a Pop Metal show nonetheless.

Instead of playing catchy tunes and providing the soundtrack for cuddling couples ("Silent Waters", "Her Alone", "You I need", and "Mermaid" would have been perfect for the job), they rather concentrated on the heavier tracks of the new record. Be it the crunchy, dark, yet anthemic lead-single "Hopeles Days", the heavy-as-fuck opener "Shades of Gray" or the Black-Metal-bordering "Nightbird's Song" – the band certainly found the right balance between the romantic, sentimental elements in their sound and sheer brutality. As usual, it was hard to take the eyes off energetic frontman Tomi Joutsen whose custom-design microphone (still reminiscent to a hairdryer) has just as much become a trademark as his butt-long dreadlocks and his mind-blowing growls. The unforced change between clean vocals and thunderous growls was carried out as effortlessly as ever, and he found again enough time for cool posing. Not being a too charismatic guy when it comes to the spoken word (he certainly has no entertainer qualities in terms of playing with the audience), all his stage presence rests upon his high level of energy, his impressive visual appearance and, most importantly, his flawless vocal performance. You simply forget yesterday and tomorrow when you see Joutsen's stage acting – in fact, the entire band was quite mobile – and the tight playing of all the band members never lets you down. Esa Holopainen's filigree lead guitar riffs and melodies are still shining the brightest and certainly define the essence of Amorphis' music.

However, if a good Metal-show is about escapism and great entertainment, then AMORPHIS certainly are a reliable force to give you just that. These guys make you raise your fist and have a good time, they are catapulting you away from the here and now, maybe even from the modern world in general. In fact, if you want to understand how contagious the band´s (and especially Tomi Joutsens) high energy level is on stage, then let me illustrate that by one example. If you have never learned how to produce guttural sounds a certain way, then growling is definitely bad for your throat. And still I found myself growling along more than once – with fervor and volume that did not only struck me as a surprise. Where, if not at an Amorphis gig would a pretty girl in the audience complement you for your growling-along and even join in? A situation which, ironically in contrast to how I just tried to emphasize the edginess and the balls of the show, even did justice to all the romanticism Amorphis also stand for. The perfect match-makers for growl-and-melody-loving fan-boys and fan-girls. Not that I would have seized that opportunity though! 

When it comes to match-making and romanticism, most people would certainly agree that HIM are suited much better for that task. Not only is the music full of longing and eroticism – also front man Ville Valo has been portrayed as a sex symbol for many years. Sometimes ridiculed as a band only for little girls (at least Germany), HIM have still grown into Finland's biggest music export. And as I could witness for myself, the audience was by no means limited to females. On the contrary, based on clothes and gimmicks that were brought along, a great deal of guys seemed to be die-hard fans of the band as well. In fact, the anticipation in the crowd was almost palpable. It felt as if Ville Valo was regarded as a long lost son, that one great artist almost everyone agrees on being proud of. Even I have always seen this man as Finland's one larger-than-life-musician who had opened so many international doors for bands all over the country. But his alcoholism and apparent lack of professionalism and enthusiasm for his fans had tainted that image dramatically in recent years. I was all the more hoping that he could live up to his fans' expectations tonight, including my own.

When the band entered the stage after midnight, suddenly all hell broke loose. The enthusiasm all around me, the gazillion of hands reaching out for that amazingly slim and fragile man there on stage left me with only one sensation: The masses were blown away by the coming of their savior. It was an extraordinary thing to experience. Whereas Ville tried to act like a young Billy Idol back in the day (around the big break-through with 2000's "Razorblade Romance") and feigned a very mobile and energetic stage performance (which clearly isn't in his nature), he is retreating into an utterly static performance in 2013. Looking like a Goth-Version of AC/DC's Brian Johnson and acting like a somewhat withdrawn romantic dandy, there was little Ville Valo actually did that night to trigger all the craziness in the crowd. Except for singing of course. His slightly-out-of-tune improvisations and modulations were as annoying as ever, and so were the exaggerated sighs, but if truth be told, his vocal performance was hard to judge – because the thousands of fans were singing every single word anyway, drowning out most of his actual singing. And I admit it, I was no exception. So even though there was no effort to interact much with the audience, even though Ville did only seem to do his job and did not seem to enjoy being there in the first place – nothing of it could taint the atmosphere. AMORPHIS might have come across as much more committed on stage, but there was simply some magic about Ville Valo and HIM that cannot be gained through mere working-class attitude, as laudable as it may be.

Certainly the magic of HIM's show unfolded in vast parts due to the songs they brought on stage. With songs such as "Join me in Death", "Right here in my Arms" and "The Funeral of Hearts" and there is little you can do wrong actually. And yes, even though this kind of implies that the band is resting on its laurels, it worked out perfectly well that night. In fact, those of the new songs that found their way into the set have good chances to remain there – even on future tears...uhm, tours. A bombast ballad as "Tears on Tape" might exactly be the kind of song Valo had tried to compose back in 1997 when writing "When Love and Death embrace", only had he lacked the skill to do so in his early twenties. Now everything has fallen into place. The Goth Pop catchiness of the aforementioned songs, the doomy feel of "Passion's Killing Floor", the XXL-romantic bombast of "Tears on Tape", the Classic Rock vibe of "All Lips Go Blue", "Into the Night" and "Hearts at War" – every single nuance in that particular "Love Metal"-flavor that HIM have created throughout the two decades of their existence got to shine intensely that night. Interestingly enough, the only song of their three poppiest albums "Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights", "Dark Light" and "Screamworks" was "Wings of a Butterfly"– maybe that can be seen a statement for future shows as well, who knows.

In any case it was remarkable to see how aura, charisma and the sheer brilliance of songs can keep an audience excited throughout a show of 75 minutes. Of course one has to take into consideration that HIM had disappeared from public view for more than two years and that they hardly play in their native country anymore – but still one should give credit when credit is due. It was interesting, to say the least, to be part of a crowd that got so electrified by a rockstar who is neither a great entertainer nor a particular skillful singer. But, and that it is the lesson learned that night, there clearly is something about Ville Valo and his artistic vision which exceeds good work ethics and commitment in the realm of Rock’n’Roll. Not to belittle AMORPHIS here, but HIM made it clear once again that they are still the biggest band from the Thousand Lakes – and they will go down in history as the most important Rock act from Finland, regardless of HANOI ROCKS and NIGHTWISH. It is a gift if you can "convert" people into adoring you despite themselves. There was not much to be adored about Ville Valo that night, and yet I loved him no less than anyone else in that electrified crowd did. I can´t even put the finger on it – but maybe that is the beauty of it after all. As a Romantic, I am certain Ville would agree.

01. All Lips Go Blue

02. Buried Alive By Love

03. Wings of a Butterfly

04. Right Here in My Arms

05. The Kiss of Dawn

06. Hearts at War

07. Join Me in Death

08. Your Sweet Six Six Six

09. Passion's Killing Floor

10. Tears on Tape

11. Wicked Game

12. It's All Tears (Drown in This Love)

13. Soul on Fire

14. Into the Night

15. The Funeral of Hearts

Hendrik Behnisch – 11.07.2013

Photos: Terhi Ylimäinen (1), Joonas Brandt (2), Hendrik Behnisch (3-8)