Colossus '99 Fabulous in Finland

Otaniemi, Finland may not be the place with which most people associate progressive rock, but on 24 September the small Helsinki suburb played host to a memorable day out for prog fans. Finnish progressive rock society Colossus managed to arrange the free, four-band segment in an autumn music festival at the campus of the local technical institute. Colossus effectively arranged a bill that promoted two up-and-coming Finnish bands, as well as an established prog star from Sweden and a most promising new Latvian band.

The open-air event kicked off just after noon in the main quad of the technical institute - much to the surprise of many students and staff. The opening act was Finland's own Rivendell. This young Finnish group caught the attention of many passers-by, both by their solid sound and the active presence and antics of vocalist Hannu Lepola. I must admit, I was quite lukewarm on the band before the gig, having heard some of the studio tracks. However, the band showed that they are much stronger live than in the studio. For a young band, they are amazingly tight - especially drummer Nicce Lindholm and bassist Mikko Mäkelä. Their 45-minute performance was very strong, very professional and error-free.

However, the one noticeable thing is the weakness of their songs' endings. Despite having excellent ideas and solid sounds, almost every song suffered with abrupt and anticlimactic endings. It's almost like a bad edit for a large number of the songs' endings. But this hopefully is just inexperience, as Dream Theater itself also had problems with less-than-dramatic endings on the much-heralded 'Images and Words'. However, the 45-minute performance was impressive and with some more-developed songs, this Finnish group can go places.

After the fine performance by Rivendell, the growing crowd was treated to the first big foreign gig of the most promising Latvian prog band - Holy Lamb. Holy Lamb played through all the material to be featured on their upcoming release 'Salt of the Earth' (release date in late October 1999) from Italy's Mellow Records. However, the show was hijacked very much by the massive technical problems faced by vocalist and guitarist Aigars Cervinskis. For nearly the entire concert, almost immediately following the opening instrumental 'On the Silent Wings of Sorrow', the lead guitar was almost inaudible or accompanied by screeches and plain noise -- disastrous for the guitar-driven melodic prog of the band (later we learned it was the amplification combo that faltered on stage). It was a nightmare for the band, though second guitarist Ludis Elerts and keyboardist Juris Rats improvised many segments to guide the music along. The new member of the band, the 19-year old drummer Miks Rullis, visibly enjoyed playing live and did his part to keep the music at top form.

Visibly frustrated, Cervinskis pulled off probably the most passionate and dramatic singing performance of the year -- pushing his emotional boundaries to its limits in a fashion most associated with the likes of Peter Hammill or Fish. The singing on 'My Star Untouchable' was nothing short of spectacular, a dramatic performance for a guy who claims he's not a singer. The audience positively responded to the emotional vocals and the professional conduct of the band, including its many improv sections when Cervinskis attempted in vain to resuscitate his guitar combo. Although damaged by the massive technical breakdown, the music was otherwise strong as ever and the captivated audience warmly voiced their appreciation for the brave and professional performance.

Cervinskis said that after the October release of the CD, Holy Lamb will likely make a few other foreign stops, including the Netherlands.
Following Holy Lamb came the headliner, the Pär Lindh Project. Armed with what the head of Colossus, Marco Bernard, called the "best-conditioned Hammond in Finland," Lindh pulled of his retro-styled keyboard-driven opuses much to the delight of the audience. Again, Bernard explained that "Finnish people loves symphonic prog," and they showed it during the spectacular set. Singer, keyboardist and violinist Magdalena Hagberg enraptured the audience with her fantastic singing -- which even caught the attention of the many admiring male audience members.

But with the spectacular Hammond working in fine form, Lindh excused Hagberg for half of the 90-minute set and played what he called "Hammond music" to the raucous cheering of the still-growing audience. Pulling through some well-known tunes and classical classics, someone would likely have confused him with Keith Emerson if they weren't looking at the stage. The only drawback in my opinion was the drumming of Nisse Bielfeld, whose excellent but over-busy style ate a bit too much into the music, even in the open air atmosphere. Guitarist Jocke Ramsell kept up with the showy Lindh and created some spectacular moments himself. The amount of people asking for autographs after the performance was indicative of the audience response to the successful set.
Though much of the crowd was by then exhausted from all the good music from the three bands, they were treated to the special style of the uniquely Finnish Uzva. Though most of its members look like young teenagers (most are!), the imaginative jazz-tilted instrumental pieces places this young band as one of the most interesting new bands in all of Europe. Led by guitarist (and an occasional accordion!) Heikki Puska, the fanciful harmonies with the clarinet of Heikki Rita and violinist Lari Latvala opened the spectrum of sound for the joyous home fans and newly-impressed foreign listeners, like myself. The use of "non-traditional" prog instruments like the accordion and clarinet showed off the skills of the multi-instrumentalists in this band.
Uzva stole the day for many of the prog fans. Though still at a demo stage in their recorded music, the live performance showed that these young players are dead serious and managed to follow a monster player like Pär Lindh with no difficulties. Despite their age, Uzva has often been compared to the legendary and uniquely Finnish Tasavallan Presidentti. Watch out for this band in the near future.
Overall, the free mini-festival sponsored by Colossus was a success. Four excellent bands played four memorable sets, showing that progressive rock - musicians and fans alike - is healthy and growing in the Baltic Sea Area. Finland is proving to be the focal point for the entire region, drawing from the better known bands from Scandinavia, as well as the talented but lesser-known bands from the Baltic. We will be hearing about Rivendell, Holy Lamb, Pär Lindh Project and Uzva for a long time - as well as Colossus, especially if more of such types of festivals are in the future.