Speed Metal Party 2025 - Part II
- Jay
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
So, this thing sure took a while. Plain forgot to publish it due to workstuff and life - I'll get that beer now.
PRESTIGE
Prestige are Finnish thrash metal lifers and the other side of the coin behind the whole Speed Metal Party madness since the late 80's. When the fellas (and Dethrone, the other force behind the event) took the stage we all knew what was coming and it kinda felt like whipping up that comfort food after a b!tch of a day.
The congregation of speed and thrash diehards is something some folks have been coming for (on and off) decades and I got to talk to some a great deal - since I plain forgot to ask their permission to post anything with their mugs and mine I'll just congratulate myself publicly here instead.
TANKARD
Regardless of the love for our local boys Dethrone and Prestige, undoubtedly the heavyweight of the night was the beer-a-holics known to many as Tankard.
There's something so fundamentally different about bands who make it and who don't, regarding their live performance and stage presence. Some groups simply just take the stage. Maybe it comes from experience, because lets face it: these fellas have been around.
Or, maybe its the beer.
RADUX
The afterparty had us skip the yard and enter the depths of the cultural centre Maanalainen (meaning Subterranean) where Radux and Hidden Intent hit the stage.
By now I did welcome a seat under my arse. I had been up and around, moshing and photographing and talking with people for more than five hours. So, I was happy to drink beer and watch the young fellas go.
Yet again, a local band: Radux, with their worship of old school speeeeed metal, opened the club. They're as loud as they are sharp. I've bumped into their live performances here and there but for some peculiar reason I haven't checked their actual albums - not to self: correct that when their next sh!t hits.
Juho Vaarala's vocals are tight and certainly relentless, and something that could get some getting used to. But, isn't that the case with bands with singers who ain't exactly run-of-the-mill phlegm?
HIDDEN INTENT
Our Australian guests, Hidden Intent, gave a trifectious grunt from the beginning to the end.
You just gotta appreciate the heck out of bands which are trios. Like the man himself (Dave Mustaine) have said many times, trios are either amazing or plain suck. You absolutely need to sound bigger than you are to take care of the empty seat of the (usual man missing) second guitarist, but also carry your own weight while at it. Nothing reveals your skills as musician as cruelly as trying to make it as a trio.
The fellas released their latest album 'Terrorform' in 2025 so this was a release celebration, too!
So with that I'm expecting 2026's event with interest!
PS. Big thanks to Örkki of Prestige to arranging my fat ass to have a free pass into the event!
PPS. I recorded the video with binaural microphone just to test it out - turned out to be not ideal for in-doors use. At least the one that I had.
