MonsterSpank is one of my favorite bands, and I had heard only good things about Maple Cross, so when I heard that they were going to play at club Foxia, I immediately decided to go and see this show come hell or high water. I was a little ill, probably having fever and all, but I kept my decision and didn’t have to regret it, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the place wasn’t very crowded.

WENGELE - rating 5 / 10

I did not know a thing about the third band Wengele (formerly known as Mengele), and therefore wanted to familiarize myself with their music, as well. They opened the night with their traditional eighties thrash metal that leans a bit on the German direction. The music instantly made me think of Kreator and Destruction, and there was nothing terribly wrong with it, but it wasn’t anything new and exciting either. The songs lacked memorable hooks, so they probably weren’t good for someone like myself, who had never heard them before. Technically the band played amazingly well, and I cannot say a bad word about their skills with their instruments. The drummer particularly impressed me, and I found myself focusing only on his playing many times during their set. In spite of their lengthy history, the band obviously weren’t experienced performers, or then they were extremely bored.

They did not seem to know how to put up a show and only stood still with apathetic looks on their faces. The singer was an exception, but not necessarily a positive one. He looked like some comedian, wearing boxers, drinking alcohol and bouncing all around the stage. When he spoke, it reminded me of Mikko Alatalo or Jaakko Teppo (Finnish humor singers) doing the introductions for a thrash metal band. It was a little bit too humorous in a weird and awkward way (especially for a thrash band). However, the band wasn’t all bad, and they could briefly rise above the average every here and there. My overall opinion places them exactly in the average, thus 5 out of 10.

MONSTERSPANK - rating 9 / 10

MonsterSpank, the band that I had especially come to see, was next to play. I could hardly wait for their monstrous stoner/death/rock metal to grace my ears. MonsterSpank is truly a charismatic band, so it really was a delight to see them get on the stage after mediocre performers like Wengele. I was banging my head and making metal salutes as soon as the first monster note came out of the guitar amp. They played much faster than on records, which was actually rather nice, because it added some extra intensity to their material, and made all their fans dance like maniacs. MonsterSpank’s metal is rather unique and extraordinary, for it really makes you want to dance, and not merely bang your head. Along with their earlier material, all of which was available at mp3.com until recently, they introduced four new songs from their upcoming EP. Being in total fever-infested ecstasy and ringing, my ears caught only one of the new titles, "Birth", which is probably their best song ever.

Other new songs were also most excellent, and therefore my expectations of the EP are unusually high. All songs were unbelievable, but my absolute favorites out of their earlier material were Baby Got Fangs, Give Me a Tank and U.F.O. All Night. They also played an unbelievably fast version of Umeå Swampthing, which, along with Birth, was the highlight of the whole evening for me. Never have I heard such relentless rocking before in my life. The only thing that possibly can be complained about is that their set was so short, and they didn’t even do an encore, although we loudly demanded one. I would have very much liked to hear my favorite Spank tunes "Hhell Hhell Hhelll" and "Slutrella", but they refused to play them. This was the only disappointment in their otherwise so spectacular gig, and it drops the rating by half a number, along with the fact that not all people (i.e. those who only came to see Maple Cross) were partying with the rest of us. I still give it a rock solid 9.

MAPLE CROSS - rating 9½ / 10

Maple Cross were the main treat of the evening for half of the people in the venue. They used to be a kind of a big name in the metal underground in the late eighties and early nineties, having such names as Sentenced opening shows for them. Now they are making a come back, and from what I heard that night, for a good reason. I hadn’t heard any of their material before, and according to many so called experts, they were supposed to play doom metal. My surprise was unspeakable when they started to play very thrashy, but yet melodic death metal. The band were very skillful in everything they did, and the lead singer was undoubtedly the most charismatic person on stage that night. At first, people who didn’t know their material just stood quietly and watched, but only after a few songs, he had won the whole crowd over and everybody cheered. Their songs were really strong and memorable, and I am going to buy their new record, so I can listen to them at home, as well.

Not many times have bands that I haven’t heard before made me a fan in their concert. Maple Cross is one of the few. You could definitely tell that these guys are very experienced performers, and that really really shows. As well as their atmospheric and violent music, their live charisma was really impressive, and it even compares to that of Children of Bodom. Since they were a totally new band to me, and thus a very positive surprise, I will have to say that in my experience they were even a bit better than MonsterSpank. Had there been more crowd, the atmosphere would have been perfect. Now it falls a little short, but definitely not much. I recommend Maple Cross (especially their live shows, since I still haven’t heard them on record) to every metalhead. I dare to say that I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Nine and a fat half.