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The Lamb of God vocalist, Randy Blythe, cooling off before plunging into heated moshing at Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki, Finland on June 26 2015. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
Tuska, the annual three-day open air metal festival, kicked off for the 18th time on Friday. Thousands of heavy metal heads across the country summoned at Suvilahti, formerly an energy production area, a present-day venue for festivals, flea markets and graffiti, located in Helsinki’s Sörnäinen district.
The sky was cloudy, the temperature about 14 degrees, and the sun took an occasional peak, when it felt like it.
The crowd was dressed in black. Some wore masks, others face paint. Some had long hair, others short – but what unified them all was the moshing head and the sign of the horns held high in the sky.
The first day brought to the stage bands such as Enforcer, Exodus and Lamb of God (LoG), the American groove metal band from Virginia.
“Lamb of God!” “Lamb of God!” The crowd shouted on repeat when the time was due at 18:35.
When the drummer Chris Adler grabbed the sticks and started banging toms adding accents with the crisp, trashy china cymbals, anyone familiar with the band, knew it was on: Desolution from their 2012 album Resolution.
And the steady rhythm of the double bass drums carried the audience to trance . . .
A heavy metal fan arriving at Tuska, dressed appropriately. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
John Campbell, the bassist of Lamb of God, in the zone. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
Randy Blythe giving a death growl. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
A fan living every tone. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
