Also this year The Offering had the opportunity to be present at Porispere, the festival that has been held every first weekend of August for more than 10 years in Pori. The particularity of the festival is to offer a wide range of musical genres over the three days, ranging from metal to pop and everything in between. Notable names this year included Within Temptation, Airbourne, Stratovarius, The Rasmus, Beast in Black, Turmion Kätilöt, Diablo, and Stoned Statues to name a few. Sunday was the day dedicated to families called Minispere, for the occasion on the stage performed Käärijä, who represented Finland at the last edition of Eurovision, missing the victory by very few points with his “Cha cha cha”. The festival was sold out on Saturday and Sunday, the weather was also forgiving with summer temperatures and only an hour of rain on Saturday. Below the photoreport by Cristina Gregori and Miika Riikonen.
The celebration of Porispere’s 10th anniversary took place this year after the postponement occurred in 2020. The last weekend of July the festival was held in Kirjurinluoto, recording a sold out on Saturday. Like every edition, the festival has hosted artists of genres ranging from pop to metal; Ensiferum, Beast in Black, The 69 eyes, Stam1na and Apulanta are few of the most noted names.
We were there to capture the moments of this edition with our cameras.
Photos by Cristina Gregori & Miika Riikonen.
After a successful 2019, Beast In Black was ready for new opportunities but the pandemic changed their plans. We had the opportunity to have a chat with the mind of the band Anton Kabanen and talk about their music and what is coming in the near future.
Hey Anton, how are you doing?
I’m fine thank you.
“From Hell with love” was released in 2019, what can you tell about the composing process?
I work always like this first of all I go through my old songs and ideas, I select 20 or 30 and do some new ones, so it’s kind of a bridge between old and new stuff. When I have chosen 20 songs, I play them to the band members and they give me feedback and say which their favorites are, then we finally get the last 10 or 11 for the album. My way of song-writing is different from most rock bands as I write all the songs, it’s really personal to me, that’s why I take care of everything but I want everyone to feel part of it working together as a band.
Are you working on a new album?
Yes, I’m always working on new albums, it’s an endless process.
What can we expect from the next album?
It will be good (En. laughs). At least I hope so, we just do our best. It will definitely have the Beast In Black sound so when you will listen to the songs you will immediately recognize that it is our songs, I have a strong feeling that our trademark is really present there.
2019 was a successful year for you, if you had to sum it up with one word what would it be?
Success.
Due the Covid19 pandemic almost all tours have been cancelled, but many bands have opted for live stream gigs, what do you think about it? Is it something you would do too?
I don’t think Beast In Black would ever do this kind of isolated live stream, I mean no audience, it’s not something we’re excited about. There is so much work to be done in the artistic field, I prefer to spend that time working on something that we can create and that remains after the hard work, for example the new album. I spend my time thinking about the songs and visual stuff for the next album and stage production instead of just playing for the empty hall and sending over the internet. If anyone wants to do it, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I just think we wouldn’t have as much fun as when we play real shows.
In short time you have achieved success and won the hearts of many people with your sound, how is your relationship with your fans?
I think the word that describe it is warm. Every time we meet fans there is dedication, enthusiasm and kindness, they are really honest with all their heart they support us. We always try to meet them whenever possible, take pictures and sign autographs.
What’s on plan for the future?
Beside the new album, we are always working to improve ourselves, making things bigger and more professional. It’s like growing up, as children grow up, they get bigger and more flesh on their bones, the beast must be stronger and bigger. We hope to do much more gigs and bigger tours, but no one knows when this is going to happen.
We have done with this interview, thank you for your time! Would you like to say something to your fans?
Thank you to all the fans that are reading this, we hope to see you as soon as possible whenever we get on tour until then stay tuned for Beast In Black news, check out our Facebook, we always update when there is something worth updating. Take care everybody, stay healthy.
Rock In The City tour was supposed to take place to several Finnish cities during the summer of 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to organize the festival in only two cities; Joensuu and Pori.
We were present with our cameras in Pori on August 21st and 22nd.
The event was held at Kirjurinluoto, a park on an island in the center of the city already known for important music events such as Pori Jazz and Porispere, the age limit was 18, allowing alcohol to be consumed throughout the area. The organization did a great job of maintaining state-imposed restrictions, hand sanitizers were everywhere, there was enough room to keep distance, and security men were always on when needed.
Talking about music, the festival features only Finnish rock and metal bands, this year in Pori performed Amorphis, Battle Beast, Beast in Black, Andy McCoy, Michael Monroe, Sami Yaffa & Costello, Brother Firetribe, Stam1na, Mokoma, Turmion Kätilöt, Viikate, Kotiteollisuus and Klamydia.
