Check out what the Blackoustic show was like at the Sesc Theater in Porto Alegre
Finland, land of Santa Claus, very cold weather, great keyboard players, the highest number of headbangers per square meter in the world, and Blackoustic, the perfect setting for acoustic guitar classics in front of the fireplace.
The evening of April 21st resulted in a rather unconventional experience, with Nordic metal acts performing for a relaxed and comfortable audience – just over 100 people sat in the seats of the Sesc Theater in the center of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul.
Blackoustic, a project by Timo Kotipelto (vocalist of Stratovarius, certainly one of the emblematic names of Scandinavian metal) and Jani Liimatainen (former guitarist of Sonata Arctica), brought a format that is quite familiar to us, born tropicalists: voice and guitar.
A sure bet for Abstratti, the Nordic tour is only just beginning, this being the third (and last in Brazil) of 17 dates that cover Latin America.
It was shortly after the 8 PM bell rang that the introduction, an epic composition, summoned musicians and audience to the anticipated moment. The two members ascended the stage of the theater (therefore below the level of the audience), modestly adorned with the flag bearing the project's logo.
Without further ado, the duo began with "Black Diamond," an absolute Stratovarius classic, raising expectations sky-high. The acoustic guitar version immediately set the tone for the show, with adapted arrangements and an intimate atmosphere between the musicians, the audience, and the compositions. Liimatainen complemented the vocal harmony with a high-pitched, frequent, and consistent second voice (another detail very familiar to us, and even to our more commercial radio stations, if you know what I mean). At the end of the version, the guitarist took over the main line of the classic and displayed an enviable tone.
The next song was “Sleep Well,” from the album Serenity , Kotipelto’s latest solo release. Without a full band, the vocal harmonies were highlighted, much to the delight of fans of the melodic genre.
Next, the musicians from Blackoustic delivered a beautiful version of "Out In The Fields," by Northern Irish musician Gary Moore, who composed the classic "Over The Hills and Far Away" (once immortalized by the Finnish band Nightwish). Even with a small mistake by Liimatainen, including an interruption and resumption of the song, the version remained one of the highlights of the evening.
Next up was “Shine In The Dark,” arguably the best choice to represent Stratovarius' current phase. Despite visible fatigue, seemingly related to the flu, the vocalist displayed his usual charisma: a warm voice and passionate delivery, always demanding a wide vocal range in his performances.
From then on, the musicians began to melt the ice that separated the audience and the performance. Curiously, they adopted a self-deprecating stance. "The next song is very... 'artistic', very long, very boring... very Stratovarius ," said Kotipelto, who, after general laughter, added: "We are very good at our self-anti-promotion .
The song “Seasons Of Change” was indeed long, but it reached its peak at the end, in an arrangement that shone brightly on the steel strings of the folk guitar, a perfect backdrop for the singer's meticulous vocals. At the end, the vocalist complained about the air conditioning: “It’s colder here than in Finland .
The show continued with "Million Light Years Away" by Stratovarius, and "I'll Build You a Rome" by Cain's Offering (the official band that unites the two members with other musicians from the Finnish scene), which ended up fading into the background compared to the best song of the night, "Perfect Strangers," a classic by Deep Purple, performed with great seriousness and received with enthusiasm.
Kotipelto's vocals really improve from this point on, perhaps because the rest of the show involved singing standing up, perhaps because this song actually inspired him to demand even more from himself, or perhaps because of the excellent response from the audience. The set also included "My Selene," a contribution from Liimatainen on the excellent album Reckoning Night , when he was still a member of Sonata Arctica.
Finally, a sequence of anthems. The thrilling "Forever" by Stratovarius was met with applause from the very first notes; Dio's "Holy Diver," in an approach reminiscent of Tenacious D, had everyone headbanging, even those seated; "The Trooper," a classic by Iron Maiden, raised the spirits of the theater. At the end, with a rise in tone, Liimatainen takes on the high notes and thus shows himself as a potential frontman, demonstrating expression and range rare among vocalists.
The final song was "Paradise" by Stratovarius, and the musicians left the stage to the same applause that would bring them back for the encore.
For the return, the musicians brought the newly added "Coming Home," also by Stratovarius, which, thanks to the original introduction, worked perfectly.
“Hunting High And Low” featured the audience singing along and provided the final touch for Stratovarius at the concert, but the real grand finale was a version of “Final Countdown,” an absolute classic from their neighbors Europe, which was met with a standing ovation from the crowd.
However, the end of this song incorporated some lines from Motorhead's "Killed By Death." "We're Finnish, we can't close with a song by a Swedish group ," says Kotipelto, referring to the cultural rivalry between northern countries, adding even more references and weight to the closing of the night.
The Blackoustic set brought moments of nostalgia and honesty, entertainment and high-quality sound, eliciting more smiles than screams, and even reworked in an acoustic format, proved the omnipresent (yet versatile) strength of Metal in Finnish blood.
Photos by: Marina Reitz Text by: Rust Costa Machado