Rising from the North 2024 – Helsinki

Three Swedish heavyweights – Soilwork, Arch Enemy, and In Flames – culminated at the Helsinki Ice Hall on 5.11.2024. The trio had been touring Europe for about a month, and the 25th and final show of the tour was set for Helsinki.

Before the concert, the event organisers advised attendees through social media to arrive early, and when I reached the Ice Hall, the line at the entrance was already massive, and similar queues could be found inside as people waited for coat check, merchandise stands, restrooms, and bars. If warm-up acts don’t typically draw the average concert-goer, arriving early offers little reprieve.

The organisers kept the line-up schedule as a secret, but it was obvious that Soilwork would launch the night. The second of the night was Arch Enemy and In Flames ended the show.

The highlight of the final moments was the singer’s announcement that In Flames would return to Finland next summer for at least the Tuska and Provinssirock festivals.

None of the three Swedish metal flagships delivered a bad performance. Yet, each seemed to lack their peak energy, as one after another gave a decent but not stellar show – far from the best I’ve seen from them. Nevertheless, the final concert of the “Rising from the North” tour ended more as a sigh of relief than a grand finale, as the members of all three bands and their teams looked forward to well-deserved rest after a month of touring.