PERTURBATOR + HEALTH + AUTHOR & PUNISHER – TAVASTIA, HELSINKI – 01/11/2022

por Emil Gil Bretón · 15/11/2022

Lustful Sacraments

The Excess European tour – which includes French synthwave musician PERTURBATOR, US industrial noise band HEALTH and one-man band AUTHOR & PUNISHER – came to Helsinki after being postponed last year due to the already known to all global pandemic. We must emphasise that each of these bands during 2022 had concerts in the first half of that year in this city. Here we will tell you what happened that night at Tavastia, the oldest live music venue in Helsinki:

AUTHOR & PUNISHER

The first performance of the night was American musician and mechanical engineer Tristan Shone, better known as AUTHOR & PUNISHER, who kept us very entertained for around thirty minutes with his industrial metal loaded with diverse elements such as experimental music, drone and doom metal.

The native of the city of San Diego (USA) was accompanied by live drummer Douglas Sabolik (from the band ECSTATIC VISION), who served as an excellent complement to give more forcefulness, heaviness and density to the instruments/sound machinery manufactured by Tristan himself.

The incisive guitar riffs and drone machinery helped enormously to capture that cold, thunderous and visceral sound of the artist’s latest albums: “Melk en Honing” (2015), “Beastland” (2018) and “Krüller” (2022). Only six songs were performed by the duo, but it should be noted that the best of the set was the cover of the song «Glory Box» by the trip-hop band PORTISHEAD, and of course the great reaction of the audience upon hearing that song. What a set from the American musician!

HEALTH

Later that night it was the turn of the American trio HEALTH, who already had a large legion of devoted fans mingling in the audience. Who were looking forward to enjoy their favourite band: Jake Zuzsik on vocals and guitars, John Famiglietti on bass and sound effects, and BJ Miller on drums.

The band started their set strong with a handful of songs (“IDENTITY”, “GOD BOTHERER” and “Zoothorns”) loaded with electronic samples with a lot of distortion and industrial noise but with rhythm and melodies that lend themselves to dancing. Both the group and the devoted fans took a few dance steps. In summary, HEALTH delighted us with an incredible set of more than forty minutes and a total of 15 songs that can be found on their studio albums: “DISCO4:: PART II” (2022), “VOL4:: SLAVES OF FEAR” (2019), “DEATH MAGIC” (2015), “GET COLOR” (2009) and “HEALTH” (2007).

Finally the trio ended their performance with the song «EXCESS» with PERTURBATOR himself accompanying them on electric guitar. A closure in style in which HEALTH showed us that their industrial, alternative and electronic rock has no limits or barriers that can contain it.

PERTURBATOR

And finally it was time for the main artist of the night. And we must admit that the performance of the French musician James Kent, better known on stage as PERTURBATOR, was a set without waste. Quality sound with powerful and mesmerising electronic-gothic rock instrumental anthems that emulated the sound of analog synths and dark drum machines. A mostly young audience and heavy metal fans in general filled the venue Tavastia that had already hung the sold-out sign for weeks. The Frenchman used live drummer Dylan Hyard to emulate the synthetic and electronic sound that is heard on each of his studio albums.

The stage had a gloomy and dark decoration, right at the bottom of the stage, up in the middle part, there was a huge inverted pentagram that was changing color at all times. On the left side of the stage was PERTURBATOR surrounded by synthesisers and just behind one of these keyboards was an electric guitar that he used in some of the songs performed. While on the right side a well-lit battery set the pace at full steam.

In conclusion, a good performance by Kent on keyboards/guitar and Hyard on drums. Likewise, the lights, the inverted pentagram and the sound helped enormously to create the perfect atmosphere so that the concert was a complete and unique experience. PERTURBATOR has been able to catapult the new wave of dark synthwave or darksynth, together with other artists such as CARPENTER BRUT and GOST. This tour of PERTURBATOR, HEALTH and AUTHOR & PUNISHER is the perfect trilogy for lovers of alternative sounds created from electronic instruments, but without leaving heaviness and darkness aside.