Finland

Moonsorrow have come from a garage in Pukinmäki, to a worldwide fan base and even an Australian tour. They were one of the Finnish Folk bands that built up their country's reputation. They're even in a museum in Hungary. But they hadn't played a home crowd in two years when they headed back to the Virgin Oil Co in Helsinki.

For the first time since 2012, Moonsorrow played their home crowd in Helsinki and days later words are still failing me when I attempt to describe the night. The longest set ever, fans from all over the world, and the long brilliance of Tulimyrsky. 1065: Aika was played for the first time in Finland. It was also the first time a lot of people saw Crimfall live with their new female vocalist, Sara Strömmer.

Sonisphere was a day of A-list metal acts on the beach, and the locals didn't let the gloomy rain spoil their fun. Metallica played a By Request set to finish off a day of metal with fellow Big Four thrashers Slayer. Also on the bill were Danzig, Mastodon, Ghost and Gojira.

Battling a dreary spring day, we took out the telephoto lens to the massive beach stage for Sonisphere Finland 2014 to capture Mastodon, Ghost and Gojira in action.

Insomnium launched their new album Shadows of the Dying Sun to the Helsinki audience, filling the venue with the harmonious echoes of their Finnish melodic death metal to culminate in their "best show ever". Opening for them was melancholy death-doom act Kuolemanlaakso, and the melodic power metal of Shear.

Friday night calls for beers, and last Friday night delivered that with a good dose of local Helsinki metal at the PRKL club in Helsinki. Headlining was Magenta Harvest, with Ceaseless Torment and Enthring. The Finns may have long dark winters, but it makes for solid tunes.

Friday night brought a feast of local Finnish metal to the PRKL club in Helsinki. First up were symphonic death metallers Enthring, followed by the brutal thrash of Ceaseless Torment. Headlining the evening was Magenta Harvest, featuring members of MyGrain, Chthonian and Finntroll.

The second night of Metalheim IV delivered a mixture of Death, Grindcore and Thrash, with the evening headedlined by the Viking Metal of Ereb Altor and the supergroup, which started as a Bathory-tribute, Twilight of the Gods. Also in the lineup were Hooded Menace, Milking the Goatmachine, Feastem, Convulse and Avra.

The first night of Metalheim IV stormed forth with a night of quality metal from the Nordic region. Held at Nosturi in Helsinki, the evening was headlined by Thyrfing and Einherjer, with notable tributes made to Quorthon (Bathory). Other notable performances of the night included local band Shear, headlined by the talented Alexa Leroux, and the new solo project of Tuomas Saukkonen, Wolfheart.

Held yearly over three days of midnight sun during the Finnish midsummer, the Nummirock Metal festival summons pilgrims from all over the world to three days of music, camping and partying in the wilderness. With a Finnish-band heavy line-up, this festival delivers lasting memories and is well worth the trip if you find yourself in the Nordic region one summer.