Tuska 2010

[pollution]

So they finally announced the first bunch of bands for this year's Tuska festival here in Helsinki. Figured I'd post it here since some people at the forum have been over earlier years and some have been considering it this year too..

Personally at least I'm very happy about these first announcements! Not that many prog/power bands but lots of other quality stuff. More to be announced on March 15th. Oh and this year's fest takes place the first weekend of July (2-4th).

Devin Townsend – Ziltoid The Omniscient, world exclusive (headliner Friday)
Megadeth (headliner Saturday)
Mastodon (headliner Sunday)
Satyricon
Testament
Kamelot
Devin Townsend Project
Finntroll
Hypocrisy
Pain
Tarot
Nile
Swallow The Sun
Overkill
Cannibal Corpse
Obituary
Bloodbath
Trigger The Bloodshed
Warmen
Sotajumala
Holy Grail
Rytmihäiriö
Torture Killer
Barren Earth
Insomnium
FM2000
[Amatory]
The Arson Project
So who wants to come this year for some good music and lots of beer? Might have a place to stay for some too as I live just one commuter train stop (=10 mins) away from the festival area (which is right in downtown Helsinki).

 

[AMBR]

Devin Townsend, Megadeth, Testament, Kamelot, Finntroll, Tarot, Overkill, Warmen, that's enough for me right there. Tuska is a damn good time. Hope I can make it back this year.

 

[nomisofsiman]

This would be awesome to see, but no way in my budget. Is Devin really that popular in Europe? I just find it a little odd for him to headline a festival with that many bigger names.

 

[Perditions Ghost]

That lineup is overflowing with awesome, but, like nomisofsiman, no way is it in my budget.

 

[freakchylde]

I'm so tempted to take the weekend off for this, and drag the Pastry with me. I love Tuska, and will give me a chance to go hang out in that graveyard we found....and talk to the Kebab guys again.

 

[J-Man]

Since we will not be going on either of the metal cruises(to expensive) we might just take our yearly vacation in Finland this summer around Tuska time.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Fucking killer lineup. Good Finnish death metal there toward the bottom of the list. Sotajumala and Insomnium RULE.

 

[Stingray11214]

Mastodon as a headliner at Tuska??? Never thought I'd see that. Has American metal become THAT popular over there? I mean, they used to laugh at Cannibal Corpse.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Mastodon as a headliner at Tuska??? Never thought I'd see that. Has American metal become THAT popular over there? I mean, they used to laugh at Cannibal Corpse.

That's because Cannibal Corpse is laughable. Dude, comparing Mastodon to Cannibal Corpse is like comparing apples and oranges. Mastodon is pretty much gaining headway everywhere practically. Headliner worthy? That I don't know, but then again, Devin is headlining which I still find odd as I didn't think he was that popular. While he's popular on this forum, he's still a fairly underground name unless you're talking about SYL.

 

[Pellaz]

In fact, I read that listing to say that Devy is playing twice, once as "Ziltoid" (and performing the CD in its entirety) and also as Devin Townsend Project, which would include Ki, Addicted and hopefully more from his lengthy solo career.

 

[St Enigma]

For those who wonder why Devin Townsend and Masdoton area able to headline, let me tell you about Tuska.

First... Tuska is not an ordinary metalfest. :Smug:

The festival was started and built up in late 1990's by a bunch of empty-pocket but enthusiastic local metalheads and it is still run by the (almost) same core group with help from a lot of volunteers working free for the cause.

Their initial idea was to put up a special metal festival for those who never could imagine to see their favorite extreme goth/grind/core/thrash/death/doom/power metalbands playing on the numerous big and small "rock festivals" we used to have and still have around the country every summer. These people thought they'd start thinking out of the box: "People live in the city, why not bring the festival among them instead of the usual remote rural sites."

The first couple of 1-day festivals were held at the old railway magazines (now torn down exept one small piece left) located only some 1000 ft from the House of Parliament in the middle of downtown Helsinki. (Happened during the MPs' summer vaction, though )

It became an instant success leaving the site too small for the growing crowd, hence in a couple of years they had to move 500 yds east over the railroad to the Kaisaniemi Park. The park became a perfect home for the annual 3-day downtown metalfest with limited 11000 daily attendees. In recent years we've seen open air pop and rock concerts taking place in the park as well. (erm... Pink next summer... )


My rambling about the past is to explain why the organizers of Tuska do not need to calculate quite everything for profit's sake. Balancing the accounts is a must to keep the festival going, of course, but maximizing profit isn't the #1 driving force when selecting every single band. People still appreciate quality over commercial popularity, at least the local metalheads do.

As the original idea was to make a metalfest with bands no other fest will ever sign, they have every year brought up a handful of "oddballs". Even completely unknown/starting but quality bands are seen every year inhabiting the opening slots on the two sidestages.

But as the sold out fests show, organizers can count on the fans to return and buy tickets even when proposed with a "strange", noncommercial headliner like Devin (who definitely hasn't sold truckloads of CDs here - if anywhere). Mastodon then, they aren't so unknown on these latitudes, they have visited us several times in recent years and peaked #6 on charts with "Crack The Skye" last year.


Tuska can be seen like a huge darker and genrewise wider version ProgPowerAmerica, a metalfest where people of a kin gather to meet old and make new friends, listen to good bands, drink beer and and have fun together creating an atmosphere which immediately hooks you and makes you return year after year.

An ancdote to showcase the great Tuska spirits (pun intended):
For the recent 5-6 years the Police have confirmed Tuska as the "most peaceful and least troublesome festival" held in Finland.

Now, ain't that a tr00 image of the "dangerous, evil, troublemongering metalheads", especially considering the fact that unlike at any other festival in the country all people over 18 are allowed to bring their own alcohol drinks through the gates in plastic bottles and consume them in the area. And beer flows in the official beer-gardens.


.

 

[nomisofsiman]

For those who wonder why Devin Townsend and Masdoton area able to headline, let me tell you about Tuska.

First... Tuska is not an ordinary metalfest. :Smug:

The festival was started and built up in late 1990's by a bunch of empty-pocket but enthusiastic local metalheads and it is still run by the (almost) same core group with help from a lot of volunteers working free for the cause.

Their initial idea was to put up a special metal festival for those who never could imagine to see their favorite extreme goth/grind/core/thrash/death/doom/power metalbands playing on the numerous big and small "rock festivals" we used to have and still have around the country every summer. These people thought they'd start thinking out of the box: "People live in the city, why not bring the festival among them instead of the usual remote rural sites."

The first couple of 1-day festivals were held at the old railway magazines (now torn down exept one small piece left) located only some 1000 ft from the House of Parliament in the middle of downtown Helsinki. (Happened during the MPs' summer vaction, though )

It became an instant success leaving the site too small for the growing crowd, hence in a couple of years they had to move 500 yds east over the railroad to the Kaisaniemi Park. The park became a perfect home for the annual 3-day downtown metalfest with limited 11000 daily attendees. In recent years we've seen open air pop and rock concerts taking place in the park as well. (erm... Pink next summer... )


My rambling about the past is to explain why the organizers of Tuska do not need to calculate quite everything for profit's sake. Balancing the accounts is a must to keep the festival going, of course, but maximizing profit isn't the #1 driving force when selecting every single band. People still appreciate quality over commercial popularity, at least the local metalheads do.

As the original idea was to make a metalfest with bands no other fest will ever sign, they have every year brought up a handful of "oddballs". Even completely unknown/starting but quality bands are seen every year inhabiting the opening slots on the two sidestages.

But as the sold out fests show, organizers can count on the fans to return and buy tickets even when proposed with a "strange", noncommercial headliner like Devin (who definitely hasn't sold truckloads of CDs here - if anywhere). Mastodon then, they aren't so unknown on these latitudes, they have visited us several times in recent years and peaked #6 on charts with "Crack The Skye" last year.


Tuska can be seen like a huge darker and genrewise wider version ProgPowerAmerica, a metalfest where people of a kin gather to meet old and make new friends, listen to good bands, drink beer and and have fun together creating an atmosphere which immediately hooks you and makes you return year after year.

An ancdote to showcase the great Tuska spirits (pun intended):
For the recent 5-6 years the Police have confirmed Tuska as the "most peaceful and least troublesome festival" held in Finland.

Now, ain't that a tr00 image of the "dangerous, evil, troublemongering metalheads", especially considering the fact that unlike at any other festival in the country all people over 18 are allowed to bring their own alcohol drinks through the gates in plastic bottles and consume them in the area. And beer flows in the official beer-gardens.


.

Thanks for the info. Very interesting. That last part especially.

 

[Pellaz]

For those who wonder why Devin Townsend and Masdoton area able to headline, let me tell you about Tuska.
(....)
My rambling about the past is to explain why the organizers of Tuska do not need to calculate quite everything for profit's sake. Balancing the accounts is a must to keep the festival going, of course, but maximizing profit isn't the #1 driving force when selecting every single band. People still appreciate quality over commercial popularity, at least the local metalheads do.

Hmm, this sounds vaguely familiar.....

As the original idea was to make a metalfest with bands no other fest will ever sign, they have every year brought up a handful of "oddballs". Even completely unknown/starting but quality bands are seen every year inhabiting the opening slots on the two sidestages.

...and so does this....

Tuska can be seen like a huge darker and genrewise wider version ProgPowerAmerica, a metalfest where people of a kin gather to meet old and make new friends, listen to good bands, drink beer and and have fun together creating an atmosphere which immediately hooks you and makes you return year after year.

BINGO!

Now, ain't that a tr00 image of the "dangerous, evil, troublemongering metalheads", especially considering the fact that unlike at any other festival in the country all people over 18 are allowed to bring their own alcohol drinks through the gates in plastic bottles and consume them in the area.

Wow, yeah, they really DON'T care about making money hand over fist.

 

[AMBR]

An ancdote to showcase the great Tuska spirits (pun intended):
For the recent 5-6 years the Police have confirmed Tuska as the "most peaceful and least troublesome festival" held in Finland.

Guess they don't count that law-breaking American boy raising a little bit of a ruckus. Where was his mother?!

...especially considering the fact that unlike at any other festival in the country all people over 18 are allowed to bring their own alcohol drinks through the gates in plastic bottles and consume them in the area. And beer flows in the official beer-gardens.

True story. I was amused to see that when me and my partners in crime were pouring out sodas in a restaurant and adding liquor to them to bring into the festival, no one thought it the least bit strange. Oh, but if you bring your beer into McDonalds, put it under the table! Yea, that's what the policeman told me.

I'm so tempted to take the weekend off for this, and drag the Pastry with me. I love Tuska, and will give me a chance to go hang out in that graveyard we found....and talk to the Kebab guys again.

Think he'll remember us? He sure got heavy handed with the serving ladle as time went on. I don't think we needed to eat anything else.