LIVE REVIEW: Ville Valo @ Royal Albert Hall, London

After rising from the dead following HIM’s departure, it’s time for VILLE VALO to disappear into the night again. In London’s storied Royal Albert Hall, he brings to close a successful second act that has seen him play upwards of 140 shows on the back of Neon Noir, his solo record that elevated his love metal legacy. The only nod to this sense of occasion though is when, before heading off to who knows where to do who knows what, he says it’s “on to pastures new” and “we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”



Zetra live @ Royal Albert Hall, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

Before all that, spooky synths from ZETRA turn the palatial venue into something altogether grimier. Their industrial crunch is paired with otherworldly visuals; imagine THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE abducted by aliens. The duo dress in ceremonial black robes, hide behind black metal corpse paint, but like GHOST, they use these extreme aesthetics as part of a vibe to amplify the mysterious character of their 80s-infused synth rock. Two robed dancers add to the psychedelic weirdness, contorting in staccato rhythms as if possessed or in worship. Serena Cherry of SVALBARD joins them for the recently released Starfall, who complements the band’s tuneful hooks with some guttural ferocity. ZETRA have been putting the reps in as they build to the release of their debut full-length in September, opening large rooms on this tour and smaller clubs on a recent run with CREEPER and with A.A. WILLIAMS in 2023. Committing to a shtick has worked for the likes of SLEEP TOKEN, and ZETRA appear to be making all the right moves.



Rating: 7/10Eivør live @ Royal Albert Hall, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

Back down on earth, EIVØR plays music to be felt, not understood – literally, she introduces a song with “it’s all in Faroese, you won’t understand it”. She opened for HEILUNG on last year’s UK tour as a solo act, but tonight she has a full band, giving depth to her cinematic Nordic folk. Her voice was built to fill arenas and is the star of the show, her crystal clear vowels ring out among the rafters before warping into deep growls and bird-like cheeps. It’s all very classy and would fit on a multitude of bills, as comfortable here on a night of gothic anthems as at a folk festival. She pounds on a shamanic drum like nature’s heartbeat, calling to mind her work on the God Of War video game and The Last Kingdom TV show. Where ZETRA pair with VALO’s rocking side, EIVØR is a fine fit alongside the beauty and elegance he has always favoured in music. It’s spine-tingling stuff.



Rating: 8/10Ville Valo live @ The Royal Albert Hall, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

Speaking ahead of the final date of the Neon Noir tour, VALO said he wanted to light the Royal Albert Hall up, not hide it away like so many bands do with vast backdrops and intricate lighting rigs. Sure enough, other than the glowing Heartagram variant (with two Vs instead of HIM’s one), the major production prop is a disco ball that illuminates the whole room. It is simple but beautiful, which sums up VALO’s oeuvre as a solo musician and in HIM.



The night’s set alternates between a solo track and a HIM track, an effective way of maintaining momentum by never being more than one song away from a signature tune, but it also has the added benefit of highlighting his newer work’s strengths. There’s no real dip in quality between the one-two punch of Join Me In Death and The Foreverlost, the former a timeless classic, the latter an up-tempo goth-pop banger. When offered to take the lead, the crowd shout “kill the light” in solo hit Echolocate Your Love just as eagerly as when given the mic for a chorus of “buried alive by love”. One last time with Neon Noir cements it as a worthy addition to VILLE VALO’s catalogue, particularly when held up alongside HIM’s latter-day output which hinted at a creative force running out of steam. Here, at another finish line, he sounds full of life.Ville Valo live @ The Royal Albert Hall, London. Photo Credit: Karolina Janikunaite

His presence has changed from the seductive poster boy of the early 2000s to a middle-aged crooner, dressed darkly in a flat cap and smart blazer. His songs are the show as he says and does very little, letting the music do the talking while occasionally bowing to his musicians in thanks after a solo. Despite the occasion, there are no real thrills. Yet the devotion he continues to inspire requires little else other than those songs, which he fires through without pausing for breath. Each one – old and new – is greeted with exhaustless fervour, fuelled by the gratitude that he returned after HIM and the sense of one last hurrah before his unknown future.




Walking the halls of the Royal Albert Hall before and after the show, the number of Heartagrams on t-shirts and skin go some way to explaining what VILLE VALO means to the thousands in attendance. His listeners want to identify themselves to him, to each other, to the world, and across almost three decades, that love has only deepened. When HIM dissolved, it felt time for the band to be put to rest. As VILLE VALO brings another chapter to a close, he might just well be on the creative form of his life.

Rating: 8/10

Check out the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here:








































































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HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Shadows Of The Dying Sun – Insomnium

Today, Finland’s INSOMNIUM are considered one of the flagbearers of melodic death metal. Having formed in the closing years of the 1990s, a time where the likes CHILDREN OF BODOM, SOILWORK and AMON AMARTH built upon the foundations lain by AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILITY, the Joensuu natives would lay their claim for the throne throughout the early 2000s with a slew of top tier melodeath.





By the turn of 2014, INSOMNIUM had built their reputation by weaving thundering metal, dancing twin guitar leads with poignant emotional themes of darkness, loss, sorrow and pain. Following the release of 2011’s One For Sorrow, akin to a well-oiled machine, the band quickly turned their attention to what will become their sixth full-length record; Shadows Of The Dying Sun.

But, it wasn’t necessarily straightforward. Long-standing guitarist Ville Vänni, who had been in the fold since 2001, departed the band shortly after the release of One For Sorrow and although such a loss could have derailed the band’s solid foundations, the recruitment of Markus Vanhala would prove dividends. Vanhala would contribute significantly to the album, effectively stepping into the void left by Vänni‘s departure ensuring that Shadows Of The Dying Sun would stick to INSOMNIUM‘s mission objective.


And how it did. Shadows Of The Dying Sun would showcase the traits and musical characteristics the band had displayed on prior records whilst slightly pushing the band’s soundscape to alluring new pastures. “Fans can rest assured that it is still classic INSOMNIUM,” vocalist/bassist Niilo Sevänen would state. “Of course there’s also some new flavors here and there, and maybe it’s even more diverse compared with the last album. The easy stuff is easier than before, the heavy stuff is heavier. The contrasts between the songs are probably bigger than on any of our previous albums. That’s what we aim for, to have an interesting, diverse, long-lasting album that you don’t get fed up with.” Album opener The Primeval Dark and the epic While We Sleep is classic INSOMNIUM with scorching twin guitar harmonies, exquisite vocals that dance between growls and pained cleans, and the melancholic bedrock is ever-present. Similarly, doomy Lose To Night demonstrates the band’s poignant themes as clear as day and The Promethean Song is an emotional giant that pulls on your heartstrings masterfully.


But perhaps the greatest strength that contributes to Shadows Of The Dying Sun‘s impeccable legacy is the excellent pacing that is displayed throughout the album’s near hour-long runtime. Black Heart Rebellion‘s flirtation with black metal-esque blackbeats and lengthy runtime sits as an anchor between Revelation and Lose To Night, with the latter being arguably the softest song the band had penned to date. And then with Ephemeral, INSOMNIUM display an almost positive aura as the wholly uplifting song surges and adds a glimmer of hope to the melancholic mood in the album’s latter stages. Indeed, reflecting ten years on, Shadows Of The Dying Sun demonstrate INSOMNIUM at the top of their game.



Upon its release in April 2014, the record received critical acclaim from critics and fans alike. Metal Injection would state that “Shadows Of The Dying Sun is an album that will reward the listener for years to come. Each composition is both sweeping and evocative, as dressed in elegant majesty as it is steeped in fearlessly executed heavy metal grandeur,” whilst Loudwire would declare that the record is “a masterfully crafted work that never allows a grain of boredom to fall from compositional cracks”. And summer festival slots, including appearances at Summer Breeze in Germany and Tuska in their home country, as well as a lengthy European album promotion tour in the closing months of the year would cement the songs from the record into the hearts and minds of their fanbase.

Whilst subsequent records (such as 2016’s epic concept record Winter’s Gate or 2019’s monolithic Heart Like A Grave) demonstrate INSOMNIUM‘s consistent form of crafting top tier melodeath, Shadows Of The Dying Sun sits as perhaps their magnum opus. From the moment the record unfolds through to its epic finish, ten years on, the record is considered a jewel in the band’s crown with material from that record still being present in their live setlist to this day. Whilst previous records had showcased the Finns’ melodeath credentials, Shadows Of The Dying Sun established INSOMNIUM as a true titan of the genre.



Shadows Of The Dying Sun was originally released on April 25th, 2014 via Century Media Records.



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INTRODUCING: Cherym

CHERYM are more than just your average pop-punk band. They are a band of misfits seeking to explore genres while expressing exactly what is on their minds. Hailing from Derry, they entered the scene determined to make their mark. The spark was lit when founding members Hannah Richardson and Nyree Porter had the incentive to start a band in high school. Vocalist/guitarist Hannah comments, “we did it because we thought: the boys are doing it, so why can’t we?”





Like many bands starting out in the DIY scene, they did so without knowing what to expect. With a basic knowledge of the guitar, Hannah helped build a legacy from the ground up. Moreover, they sang to become the voice they wanted to hear growing up. They didn’t know what kind of music they wanted to put out there, but they knew they wanted to be part of the scene. Fast-forward six years, and their debut album Take It Or Leave It sees the light of day. The band have performed at American and UK festivals, and have recently completed on a UK tour of their own.

CHERYM represent the under-represented. While the representation of female, queer and non-binary musicians is getting better, there is still work to be done. The band wastes no time in claiming their space. They prove this while they, in their own words, are “unapologetically themselves”. Hannah says, “we do not tolerate a single bit of bigotry. We want to find the people who will resonate with our music and find themselves through it too.” Through doing so, the band have crafted a safe space for fans old and new.

When asked to describe their music in three words, “Punk. Rock. Realism”, are the words Hannah chooses. And they are right, their songs do revolve around those things. When talking about their latest album they say, “it has taken us a long time to get to the point where we can say exactly what we want to say. Our album is a wee bit more outspoken and I think it is way more exciting to see how it will resonate with the fans and anyone who has listened to our music before.” Musically, CHERYM is a band for hard-hitting topics that need to be voiced, made more palatable through a rock, pop-punk sound. “We stand for our politics,” Hannah says, meaning the politics of the band and what they have been through. Among such politics are religious trauma, the queer experience and being neurodiverse in a neurotypical world.


There is an endless amount of proof that CHERYM are here to conquer. ‘You can keep your comments, comments, comments off my body’ sings Hannah in Alpha Beta Sigma. The song name-drops Andrew Tate who should know drummer Alannagh Doherty is a trained martial artist with a blue belt – they reveal in a fun fact – should he decide to come for the band.




Undeniably, speaking on a breadth of personal topics is the key to their success. Musically, they are inspired by a range of artists. “We are influenced by the punk scene,” Hannah says. “I like a lot of music from Riot Grrrls because it was the first time I saw women doing loud, shouty music.” They are influenced by bands like BIKINI KILL. Meanwhile, drummer Alannagh draws inspiration from the likes of GREEN DAY, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and METALLICA. “As a drummer, you can’t just sit in the back – you need to put your stamp on things,” Alannagh comments. The amalgamation of bands makes CHERYM who they are today: rockers the world needs to see. And they mean business. They are evolving their sound. Alannagh says, “[Our] EP Hey Tori was like ‘let’s play around with ideas’. But our latest album [Take It Or Leave It] is more serious.”

You may ask: is their live performance as exciting? Well, the answer is yes. An attendee of a CHERYM live show can expect “Lots of energy and loud noise. A whole load of fun…All craic, no crap!” Alannagh says. A memorable show for the drummer was with NOVA TWINS at Glasgow’s King Tuts where the energy was particularly high. “People were bouncing and I was like ‘oh my god, they are gonna go through the floor!’” Evidently, adrenalised fans like those in that crowd live to tell the tale.

CHERYM’s plans for world domination involve new music “a lot sooner than people think, and a couple more surprises that we can’t talk about!” Alannagh hints. Furthermore, the band’s tenacity has earned them a support slot on the Irish leg of the ENTER SHIKARI tour. For a band going against so many odds, there is no stopping them yet.



Take It Or Leave It is out now via Alcopop! Records.

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