By Henry Groves
To many people, Blind Channel will be known for appearing in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest where they represented Finland. Since then, they have been trying to make a name for themselves away from the competition and this year have tried to push that further afield. With the release of their latest album ‘Exit Emotions’ the band were on tour across Europe.
Midway through their European tour, the band were playing London’s Scala for the last date of the UK leg before they went back into mainland Europe. They were joined on this tour by Finnish band Rock Band From Hell and German band Ghøstkid.
By the time Blind Channel appeared on stage, the venue was as full as I have ever seen it, with people trying to get onto the main part of the dance floor for the gig. From the moment the lights went down, and the crowds excitement roared, the energy in the venue was electric, and it did not let up for the entire show, with every Blind Channel member giving their all for the whole set. Especially frontmen Joel Hokka and Niko Moilanen, who were constantly jumping and running around the stage. I am not sure any band would beat Blind Channel for energy in their performance. From start to finish, Blind Channel’s set was flawless with the crowd matching the energy on stage. For a band wanting to make their mark outside of Finland, based on the crowd I think they already have.
During their set, Røry joined them for their song ‘Die Another Day’ which features on their latest album, which was a personal highlight of the set for me. Røry’s voice is phenomenal and only added to the already great show. As well as songs from their album, the band also played a cover of System of a Down’s ‘BYOB’, with the crowd somehow becoming even more energetic.
My only negative of the show was the 2 encores. I always question whether having an encore is forced anyway, but I get why bands do it. However, having 2 encores and going off stage twice did feel quite unnecessary. However, it did not detract from the rest of the show with their set being entirely flawless, even if it was dragged on.
