NUMMIROCK
19-20.06.2009, Nummijarvi, Finland

words by: Christina Dimitrova, photo: Christina Dimitrova

Nummirock is one of the numerous metal festivals in Finland (each weekend from the end of may until around the middle of August, somewhere in the country is held a metal festival), but positively this one is the most picturesque.
For 23 years, each year in the Juhannus (Midsummer) weekend, in the forest by the Nummijarvi lake, which is about 400 km north-west of Helsinki, thousands of metalheads gather to listen to some music, get drunk and take a swim in the lake.
Unfortunately, this year it has been unusually cold even by local standards (it was 6 degrees C at noon), so only a few too brave, too hardcore or too loaded with vodka dared to bathe in the lake, but either way the fun was great.

DAY ONE,В FRIDAY -В 19 June.

Officially the festival had started the night before with three Finnish bands in the beer tent, but, having in mind the weather forecast, we decided to spare ourselves another freezing night, so we arrived on Friday around 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

Medeia had just started playing on the main stage, but after picking up our accreditations, we decide to find a camping spot and pitch up the tent and go to the nearby shop for beer. Either way Medeia are playing the next weekend at Tuska Open Air in Helsinki.
At 5 p.m we're at the main stage to watch Diablo – a Finnish melodic death metal quintet, which plays hard and doesn't stop headbanging in front of the relatively few and astoundingly calm people – perhaps it's either too early, too cold or too wet for the party to start.

At 7 p.m. Before the Dawn get on the Inferno Lava stage in the pine woods by the lake. I have to admit that I only discovered this band recently but I like tremendously and I start enjoying myself in spite the nasty drizzle.
The main brain of the band, Tuomas Saukkonen, who recently put out the first album of his other project, Black Sun Aeon, growls like there's no tomorrow, whilst the Norwegian bassist Lars Eikind sings the clean vocals.
Fortunately for me, all the talking between the songs is done by Eikind, so I understand everything. The song 'Away' is dedicated to the bad weather, but it's not very impressed by this and just keeps on raining.

The crowd finally gets moving and even starts moshing and even though the security is not delighted, they just take care that the going doesn't get too rough.

Songs from both the older albums and the most recent one, 'Soundscape of Silence'. The set traditionally ends with the massive radio hit 'Deadsong' and, though it's still light, darkness, sad beauty and sorrow descended upon the lake.

After Before the Dawn we go to the bar by the lake, while the main stage is taken byВ HATEBREED.

Since I am no fan of hardcore, I'd rather go to the camp to hang out with the neighbours by their fire. After a quick cold dinner and a few beers, we rush back to the main stage, where the NAPALM DEATH set was just starting.
It's raining again and the cold is nightmarish. Barney is twitching like a spastic and running in circles on the stage. Stops for just a second to thank the people who came to see them “in this quite frankly, freezing fucking cold” and rushes back to the set with insane aggression and energy.

The setlist includes both old stuff and songs from their most recent album 'Time Waits for No Slave'. Between the songs, which are the usual less than two minutes concentrated brutality, Barney gives his usual sermons on politics, religion (religion is really fucking stupid) and life and society as a whole. The set ends with the Dead Kennedys cover 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off', which is enthusiastically sang by the crowd.

We walk back to the Inferno Lava stage, where at 1 a.m. Ajattara have to put an accordingly dark end to this festival day.

Due to the latitude and the summer solstice, it is not exactly dark but only gloomy, but the stage lighting creates a grave-like darkness. The former Amorphis vocalist Pasi Koskinen is shrouded in the hellish orange-red lights and smoke and looks more like a daemon. It is hard to believe that this is the same guy, because he looks quite different and has grown a potbelly, a beard and dreadlocks. The music is more like the sound of the netherworld – growling, cacophony and two violoncellos. Even though I don't speak a word of Finnish, I still get the whole idea that it's about death, deamons, insanity and other jolly subjects, and have to grant Ajattara that – it's a job well done, if it conveys the meaining without the words.

Obviously they have a lot of fans too, as, in spite the late hour and the freezing cold, there is quite the crowd looking at the stage as if hypnotised.

People who had seen Ajattara before, told me that this time Pasi behaved himself instead of appearing on stage naked, and generally this has been their best show in quite a while. Guess I am lucky.

DAY TWO,В SATURDAY -В 20 June

The weather is slightly better and the sun is even attempting to shine through the clouds, which is nice, especially after the rain all night. As we're queuing up for coffee, we hear Paradise Lost on the wind and take it as a promise of a good day.
After a quick brunch and yet another trip to the shop for more beer, we go to watchВ POISONBLACK.

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They are definitely a pleasant band, but, as it is said: nothing to write home about and, besides, the main excitement for the day – Amorphis – is yet to come. While we wait for their set, we hang out at the beer tent where a bunch of cool guys, The Four Hoaresmen, are doing Metallica covers and even started their show with The 'Ecstasy of Gold'. Besides the usual all time favourites, they played 'All Nightmare Long'.

And so it is time for theВ AMORPHIS set. It is 6 p.m. and amid quite enthusiastic teenager girls' screams somewhere next to my right ear, Amorphis get on the stage.

'Majestic Beast' live sounds as well as expected and even better. Actually it kicks some serious ass. Tomi Joutsen growls like only he can growl, the crowd is happy and I am kicking at the fence with excitement. - After all, Amorphis are one of the more significant reasons I went from sunny warm Bulgaria to the distant and cold Finnish forest.

What follows is 'Towards and Against' and the fantastic 'Sky is Mine' from the new album 'Skyforger'. We're taken back in the classics with 'Magic and Mayhem' and then back to more recent times with 'The Smoke'. We're back to the new album with the opening track 'Sampo', which, logically, flows into 'Silver Bride'.

They are followed by 'The Castaway' and my personal favourite for the night – 'Greed' from the album 'Tuonela'. The stage and the crowd are electrified – growling, heavy riffs, hair flying, incredible energy.

I am seriously trying to kick in the fence, unhinge my head with headbanging and destroy my vocal cords with screaming, while the teenagers behind me look a bit taken aback. It seems that they are not very familiar with the earlier Amorphis stuff.
The one hour of Amorphis ends with the mandatory 'Alone', 'House of Sleep' and 'My Kantele'.

I don't want it to end, but it ends and we're off to the beach bar for a beer.
Entwine are just starting at the Inferno Lava stage and they are generally a very pleasant band, but after Amorphis they sound a bit bland to me and we have to save our energy for the other highlight of the night – ARCH ENEMY.

Angela Gossow is small and fragile looking woman, but when she opens her mouth it gets really scary. The energy she emits is infectious and her mother of a voice is monstrously amazing. The set starts with 'Blood on Your Hands', followed by 'Ravenous' and 'Taking Back My Soul'. The crowd is boiling. “Good evening Finland, I wanna see blood and bones flying tonight!”

Well, indeed there was blood and bones, figuratively speaking, though, comparing to the typically insane Bulgarian audience, the crowd was fairly tame.

What follows are 'Dead Eyes See No Future', 'My Apocalypse' and 'Revolution Begins', 'Burning Angel', 'The Last Enemy', 'I Will Live Again', 'Dead Bury Their Dead', 'Diva Satanica', 'We Will Rise'. The set ends with an encore of 'Snowbound', 'Nemesis'В and 'Fields of Desolation'.

After Arch Enemy, we go back to the camp for dinner, beer and social life.
My friends go back to see Stam1na, but I am dead tired and hit the sack, because we have to get up early to catch the rock'n'roll bus for Helsinki.
After the first dose of heavy metals, I can hardly wait for the next one at Tuska Open Air in Kaisaniemi Park in Helsinki next weekend.

GALLERY