~ * ~

Thunder tore the already tense silence, as everyone prepared mentally for the final showdown.
“Do we really have to?” asked warily an already exhausted Aleksi.
“You know we don’t have a choice,” answered Paavo, completing a bandage on his leg. “We can’t let it continue any further.”
Aleksi turned to Alarik, who was snoring softly on the floor. “I fear we might not come back from this one…”
The bearded hero regarded his companion gravely.
“I know, but this is the life we chose. If we backed up now, would you be able to live with yourself, knowing everything that is at stake? People trust us, we have to live up to their expectations, or perish trying to protect them.”
His friend sat down beside their sleeping partner. Poking him distractedly, he answered in a tired voice, “…I know.”
Lightning brightened the inside of Dog’s Home for an instant, highlighting their worried faces as Alarik stirred in his sleep, annoyed by Aleksi’s poking.

~~~

“Your evil days of frightening people are OVER!”

The statement hung heavy in the air, to be soon chased away by the wind. Rain had ceased, for now at least, you know the weather in Tampere, and a fresh breeze reminded of the nice summer days and strawberries sold by the street.

The blond hero stood defiantly in front of his enemies.
“…you think you can stop us?” asked Kimmo, his eyes squinted in a mild glare.

Theon replied with a duck face.

“…alone?” added The Scary One, stretching his arms.

From his mighty dolphin steed, Iso T refused to flinch.
“I vowed to protect the people and I will risk my life to fulfill my promise!”

The Glaring Finns glanced at each other, careful not to wound themselves by doing so.
“Very well,” replied Grumpy Antti. “If you are willing to give your life, we’ll gladly take it.”

Thunder rolled again, and rain resumed pouring, extracting a loud “SHIT!” from everyone present. Theon was introduced to the ground as his fearless dolphin ran for cover, cursing the freaking rain that would ruin his hair.

Already, Kimmo, Oskari and Antti were glaring at the sky, scaring the clouds away. When the sky proved empty of everything, they had to threaten the sun to go back in place, after finding it hidden behind a building.

They were all ready to pick the fight where they had left it – Theon had straightened his costume while his enemies were arranging the scenery – when a voice was heard.

“You didn’t think you could begin without us, did you?”

Theon looked up in disbelief.

“…is that you, GOD?”

Through the loud clap of simultaneous facepalms, the voice added, ignoring the previous question,

“We are the Flying Potato Junkies, and we shall not let you rule this Earth with your Evil Glares!”

Eyerolls from the enemies’ side.

“You again? I thought we’d gotten rid of you french fries like, an hour ago!” answered a very annoyed Antti.

Alarik looked suddenly alarmed. “WHAT? Really?? Did I miss that again??”

Aleksi comforted his friend as Paavo flew to Iso T’s side. He placed a hand on the young hero’s shoulder, declaring solemnly, “I will not let you down.”
His blond associate looked at him, bewildered. “Who’re you??”

The Glaring Finns snickered, which was almost scarier than them simply glaring. A moment later however, everyone was in position.

Alarik, decided to make the best out of this one, would take on The Scary One. It might ressemble a bitch fight with drumsticks, but the best drummer would win.

Aleksi would take on Antti, though he wasn’t completely sure his frown and middle finger would be able to defeat the drummer’s grumpiness. It would be a tight match.

Paavo would bravely go against the Glariest Finn of All Finns, though the outcome was far from obvious. Used to bear with Aleksi – who had luckily stayed on the Good Side, he might be able to resist Kimmo’s glare.

Theon had run off after Vivian, because he’d already lost his duck, not his dolphin too.

The air was charged with electricity. Everyone was jumpy, and thus everyone almost had a heartattack.

“What is going on here?”

All eyes turned toward the source of the question. A purple-haired girl, dressed vaguely punk, was looking pointedly at them.

Antti gulped and replied, in a tiny voice, “….nothing.”

The atmosphere was heavy, and soon everyone slowly inched away toward their respective home. An eyebrow raised, the girl continued to watch them without another word, until her eyes fell on the Glariest Finn.

Frowning, she said warningly, “Kimmo… your beard.”

The bassist knew what was at stake. He also knew he only had a few seconds to make a move, but that he would never have the time to remove his facial hair.
His eyes widened, and upon uttering a terrified “OH SHIT”, he ran for his life.

Immediately, the purple-haired girl called for her associate, and soon the two of them were gone after the poor Kimmo.

The remaining fighters looked at each other.
“Again?” asked a very annoyed Aleksi.
“I thought the Selo were supposed to hold them back!” replied apologetically Oskari, just as confused.
“They’re going to be grumpy at me for the rest of the week,” whined Antti, who didn’t manage to get anyone’s sympathy.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to try again next week,” concluded Paavo.

Exchanging greetings and drumstick hits on the head, both camps departed back home, flinching as they heard the fallen King of Glare scream in terror.

~ * ~

The above would have been utterly epic if I had been able to pull it off as a comic, but alas, backgrounds and I do not mix well (failed my classes as a chameleon, see). It was inspired by my friend Las’s awesome name mixing ability, which transformed “The Potato Junkies” (the name of the Therapy! cover band Paavo, Alarik and Aleksi formed after Bloodpit imploded in 2007) into “The Flying Potatoes”. It sounded so much like a superhero league that I did the above sketches, and eventually found them “villains” (the Glaring Finns) and wrote the above story.

                          

On to the news! There’s lots!!

***~***

Apocalyptica has recently released the video for “Broken Pieces” featuring Lacey Mosley from the American rock band Flyleaf. You can watch it off YOUTUBE. You can also see the making of the videoclip, as well as some new webisodes,on their WEBSITE.
They will be on a short tour in North America from November 25th until December 18th (playing Montreal on December 2nd – and I’m heeeeeeere T_T), followed bywhat seems to be, at the moment, a two-month break.

Bloodpit is still on hiatus, but Alarik is now also part of Jalava (CountryPopFolkAmericana, of their own description), which you can hear on their MYSPACE. You can also become a fan on FACEBOOK.
(You can also check out his other band, The Cloudycators, on their MYSPACE)

There is finally some fresh news about Flinch! They released their first single “Roosa”, which you can listen to on YOUTUBE and buy on METELI.NET.
Become fan on their FACEBOOK PAGE, where you can see a few new promo pics: ONE, TWO, THREE.
By the way, if you’re going to dismiss them because you didn’t like their previous work, think again. I love “Roosa”, and I’m definitely not a fan of Ville’s voice :3

It’s done! “Watch Out!”, the upcoming Lovex album, has been mastered and will soon be released. Their WEBSITE is being revamped, so keep an eye on it for more info ;D
In the meantime, you can go to their Royal Artist Club MOBILE BLOG for some videos from a fewrecent shows in Russia. Note Vivian’s and Theon’s new haircuts. Discuss.

It’s finally time to get Naked again! Their new single “Back to haunt you” has been released last month, and you can see the video for it on YOUTUBE. Note: this is their first videoclip in color! Enjoy!
You can buy the single and pre-order the new album, “Double Down”, through one of the links on their WEBSITE. “Double Down” is being released on Wednesday (10th of November), so you know you want to get your hands on it ;D

Negative is still surfing on the Neon wave (pretty image, don’t you think). A few more concerts in Finland this year, among which the now traditional New Year’s HulluPoro convert in Levi (INFO at the bottom of page).
I’ll be in London, England at that moment, enjoying 2 more hours of 2010 ;D
They will continue the European tour in January. Info on their WEBSITE.

Drums are done recording for the new Nightwish album! All is going smoothly, from their recording diaries, so we can keep counting days until the unspecified release date! (doesn’t that sound pointless )
While you’re impatiently waiting, you can check out the new Escapist Competition on Tuomas Holopainen’s OFFICIAL WEBSITE. Entries are open until November 21rst.
If you understand Finnish, Anette and Tuomas are featured in a 7-page + pics article in October’s Soundi Magazine (Finland). They’re still in stands!
I will spend the next 4 months using my basic Finnish skills, my dictionary and my friends to translate it

***Private Line just surprised the world with the news that their new album, “Dead Decade”, is ready for release O_O From their FACEBOOK FANPAGE. I’m very much looking forward to that…

If you want to turn the page on 2010 in style, Reflexion will be playing a concert in RAVINTOLA CASA in Kiiminki, Finland, on the last hour of December 31rst and into the first one of January 1rst. The concert will be recorded and filmed

The past month was spent in South America by Sonata Arctica. Starting next Monday, they will release a part of their video recordings of the tour every week. You can watch the trailer for it on YOUTUBE.

Uniklubi are continuing their touring in support of their latest album, “Kultakalat”. You can see the next concerts on their WEBSITE.
Also, they recently released the video for their new single “Maailma Puhaltaa”, which you can view on YOUTUBE.
(I’m aiming to make drawings to hopefully get signed on Friday at Tampere’s YO-Talo show – if I can make them in time >_>)

The 69 Eyes will soon be embarking on an acoustic tour in Finland during November and December. See tourdates on their WEBSITE.
I will be at their December 18th’s show in Valkeakoski

                          

I *DO* have stuff in the works, so, don’t despair!

In the meantime, have a music post

~*~

Apocalyptica are still on tour now somewhere in the world. They have been playing new songs live, and the videos found their way on the net…
Sacra and Beautiful (Youtube, opens in a new window)

~*~

No new from Bloodpit, but Alarik has new projects, The Cloudycators (MySpace and Facebook) and Jalava (MySpace).
Antti and Pietu also have a new project, Ravín And The Deceivers. They have neither a MySpace or a Facebook, but you can try to find online where they might be playing =3

~*~

Negative is still touring, and this Friday they’re at Nosturi in Helsinki. Pinkass and I are going =3 Yes, yes, I promise we’ll behave =3

~*~

This is actually making my night. Speaking of night, Nightwish just posted the answers to the latest Nightmail. Dead gameboy batteries is a good justification for starting to read =)

~*~

Personal recommendation: I got my hands on the new Poets Of The Fall album, Twilight Theater, and I love it. So does Pinkass. Marko recently has a throat infection and they had to postpone a few shows, but hopefully he’ll be back in no time

~*~

Now this will be old news for some of you, but I have to write it anyway
Many months ago, our dear Pinky Sir Christus announced that he quit his band (I don’t actually remember which one it was – SnoWhite?) to work on another project.
And so he did!
A few weeks ago, a new band went public: The Salvation (Facebook, MySpace).
Now don’t get too excited, there’s no music posted yet.
BUT. It looks pretty serious. For one, the other guitarist of the band is none other than Jack Smack from Private Line. For two, they’re already signed to Hype Records. For three, their manager is Tommi Liimatainen himself, who, after seeing Kris’s course to hell during the old Negative days, must have had a damn good reason (other than, he’s a damn good guitarist) to take this up again.
They are set to record this summer, and though many are hoping, no plan for a Tammerfest appearance has been made so far. They do encourage you to contact the festival’s organization though.
To celebrate the new band, Tommi has offered the city of Turku many hundred of thousand euros to blow up one of the bridges over Aurajoki. Though it’s been decided in the past few days that the bridge, currently out of order as the sides have partially sunk, would be replaced, no word has been issued on what would happen to the old one.
How exciting. I went to Turku with a friend around Easter and we took pics of the bridge. We officially crossed a new line: bridge stalking.
Stay tuned.

~*~

Finally, Uniklubi have been in the studios for a while now. You can follow their diary on the forum, in Finnish and in English.

                          

~*~

Apocalyptica have announced the title of their new album: 7th Symphony. Which is such a very fitting title, as it’s their 7th album
As a new album comes out touring starts again! First dates are in Finland, starting with Savonlinna. Of course, they’ll be coming near me, but in the middle of the week, so it means I won’t be able to see them. *sighs*
For all the dates (hopefully some near you! and more convenient than in my case >_>) click HERE.

~*~

Bloodpit is currently on a creative break.
Not completely sure what it means but we just have to wait. Hopefully new material soon
In the meantime, Alarik is having fun with a new band, The Cloudycators. According to their Facebook page, they’re currently recording a new song. You can here them on their MYSPACE.

~*~

Day Eleven put their third album out, Matador, at the end of January. It’s quite awesome, obviously (my favorite off it is Montage =3). GO GET IT!

~*~

Negative are preparing for the coming of their 5th album, Neon, in June (Finland: June 2nd). The first single, End Of The Line, is speeding up chart now!
(In my opinion it’s promising to be a very good album )

~*~

Nightwish didn’t really put anything news out there in a while, not directly concerning the band anyway. However, the Nightmail has been reopened (until today, sadly, it’s now closed) so the next answers will be published in the beginning of April.
In related news however, Anette proudly announced last week that she’s halfway through her pregrancy (surprise!) and that everything is going great. At 38, she’s already a proud mother to a boy who will be 9 by the time the new baby arrives. Though she insisted that it does not change anything regarding Nightwish, she has decided to push back the release of her solo material to an ulterior moment. Recordings for the new NW album will begin this fall, but she will probably only record her vocal in the beginning of 2011.
Marco, on his side, has been having fun in women’s swimming suits and braiding his hair. No, he’s not any madder than he always was. He’s just directing a choir for the Finnish TV show Kuorosota (“Choir War”) and seems to be enjoying himself very much. You can watch him on Nelonen if you’re in Finland, or HERE if you’re not.

~*~

Poets of the Fall released a new video a month ago now (“Dreaming You Wide Awake“) and damn, do I love that man’s voice <3 Their new album, Twilight Theater, is coming out on March 17. Stay tuned!

~*~

Private Line still haven’t updated their website from like, 2 years ago or something? They played Trashfest III in Helsinki last week though, which I couldn’t attend as I was being sick in Sweden. If anyone got pics or a review of it, feel free to send links or such ^_^

~*~

Finally, Sonata Arctica is currently touring North America, which is absolutely awesome since I’m not there to see them /sacrcastic. Check HERE to see if you’re on their way! (ARGH! Club Soda in Montreal! That was my first venue ever, for The Rasmus concert…. T_T)

                          

I mentioned the Bloodpit Intergalactic community to a friend – after converting her to their music, win – and she asked, “What is that, Bloodpit in space?”
And then I cursed cause I already have a long list of ideas D:

But! Here it is anyways. First original comic posted here

Btw, It’s BEER floating away from Paavo.

                          

(click to enlarge)

Please note the following:
the curtain poles and decoration made with clothes hangers;
the pictures on the walls from Closet Inc;
the toilet signs;
Jussi scurrying away on all fours;
Masa’s flushed look;
Rumors noticing the previous 2 events.

Also,
Closet Bar only serves iced tea. Don’t ask why.
The bartender is PB (Phantom Bartender).
[yes, it's PK, but you know, he needed a part-time job, and he deals well with annoying customers]
Rumors were made for that job.

                          

Full credits to Caitlin/Dvine Insanity for this one!
You can see her version of the event HERE.

The idea: in the new Bloodpit song, “The Price To Pay” (to which you can listen HERE), Caitlin pointed out that the chorus sounded like he was saying ‘coat’ instead of ‘call’.

Interesting images ensued =)

Also, the t-shirt Aleksi is wearing is not related to the ‘inc’ of Closet Inc, but to Incredible Nothing, with who he plays. Check them out on www.inctheband.com =)

                          

Alarik had seem to be all thrilled by Commodore when they met. But he needed a little accesorizing… ;D

                          

I let you guess what happened.
Well, let’s just say that 3 of the Bloodpit guys (forever Bloodpit guys in my heart) got very… friendly with the sheep.
Deeper realisation sank in a bit later. Ahah.
But no, that’s not exactl how it happened. But it’s always funnier in here.
You know that.
That’s why you’re here.
Aren’t you?

                          

This is a feature in two parts, one for Close Inc and this one for Eurobands. Their simultaneous publication on their respective site brought me the most visitors within 24 hours so far in the Closet’s 4-year history.

Among the featurees, 3 characters from worlds foreign to the Closet: Cat Casino (who, I learned later, actually DID sport a flaming sunburn at the time) from Swedish goth band Deathstars; Josey Strandman, from Finnish band To/Die/For; and Big Boy, Swedish/German musician featured on Eurobands (about who I can’t find anything anymore >_>).

You can find Closet’s part HERE.

Link to original post on Eurobands

To/Die/For on MySpace

Deathstars’ website