Havukruunu & Heretoir concert report 14/5/2026
Rage from the thousand lakes.
It’s been nearly two weeks, and I’m still buzzing over how good the concerts I attended were. Admittedly, my pace when it comes to writing does not quite reflect that, but rest assured that I’ve been incredibly excited to put this particular report together.
As I alluded to in my Conan report, the weekend was set to start on a thoroughly blackened note, with the first show that we were to attend being Havukruunu and Heretoir, at the Eightball Club, as per usual. I always talk about how attendance waxes and wanes depending on the genre, and this show proves that Thessaloniki has a blackened heart. For the first time in a good while, I saw the club almost filled to capacity, with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder. It’s always a pleasure to see that, even if it can in part be attributed to Havukruunu having exploded in popularity since the 2020s rolled around, with albums like Uinuos Syömein Sota and especially Tavastland having broken containment outside of the metal sphere. Further adding to that is the fact that this is the first time they’re setting foot on Greek soil, so that’s further cause for excitement.
What took me by surprise though was the fact that people actually showed up for Heretoir, who inaugurated the show. Post-black metal has been a surprisingly popular genre in the city, with Harakiri For The Sky coming over on a semi-regular basis to play shows at the Eightball. While most people here seem to be leaning towards the second wave and the Greek sound, they tend to show up for more
modern acts. The Greek heavy metal fan occupies a most peculiar spectrum, where they are either a hardline traditionalist who never grew out of the bands they listened to in their youth, or they just like anything that’s new and “progressive”, no matter how good the actual music is. Seeing such a band manage to draw a crowd that covers the entirety of said spectrum made for a fascinating sight, especially since most seemed to be into them.
It is at this point that I must also confess that I am not familiar with Heretoir’s music, nor did I have the time to really dig deep into them. As you can imagine, I opted to take a deep dive into Havukruunu’s stuff, as they were the main draw, and since I don’t really do concert reporting professionally, I didn’t let this type of “homework” dominate my listening habits. Nevertheless, the music was played right in front of me, and as such I can give an account of the experience, even if I can’t quite go into details regarding the setlist itself.
If I had to sum up Heretoir in a single word, it’d be “fruity”. Throughout the band’s hour-long set I was left to wonder why there was such a dearth of actual riffs, the material in question being closer to shoegaze and post-rock rather than black metal. Post-black has always been the subject of ridicule by the more “trve” parts of the community for lacking energy and being too whiny for its own good, and Heretoir are the exact type of band that makes such a stance hold water. Their music sounds as if you excised 90% of hard-hitting parts from a Harakiri For The Sky song, and left only the glimmering arpeggios and strums played on a clean
channel. The amount of times I felt compelled to even nod my head could be counted on one hand, and the frequency with which whined and moaned vocals appeared was far more than there should be at a black metal show. Sure, the band’s music is ethereal in nature, and they seemed to be grateful to be there, but I can’t help but find them to be a great mismatch in terms of stylistics when placed side-by-side with Havukruunu. Perhaps in a show further removed from metal music they’d make a more positive impression, but given just how high-energy the latter band is, it’s hard not to feel bad for being upstaged like that.
As you can probably infer from what I’ve written thus far, I was quite looking forward to seeing Havukruunu, and the excitement I felt was palpable. So you can imagine that when they launched into “Kuolematon lalunhenki” off Tavastland, I was floored. Although I am quite lukewarm on the album itself, its insistence in being mid-paced and emphasis on anthemic elements coming at the expense of the band’s more edgy riffing, I did hold the belief that it was an album whose songs would come alive in a live setting. Lo and behold, they actually kicked off the set with 4 back-to-back tracks, and they were just so much more fun. The crowd was going wild, and the melodies felt larger-than-life, the entire venue singing along to them. The title track becomes a certified banger when you can chant along to it.
As I alluded to in my Conan report, the weekend was set to start on a thoroughly blackened note, with the first show that we were to attend being Havukruunu and Heretoir, at the Eightball Club, as per usual. I always talk about how attendance waxes and wanes depending on the genre, and this show proves that Thessaloniki has a blackened heart. For the first time in a good while, I saw the club almost filled to capacity, with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder. It’s always a pleasure to see that, even if it can in part be attributed to Havukruunu having exploded in popularity since the 2020s rolled around, with albums like Uinuos Syömein Sota and especially Tavastland having broken containment outside of the metal sphere. Further adding to that is the fact that this is the first time they’re setting foot on Greek soil, so that’s further cause for excitement.
What took me by surprise though was the fact that people actually showed up for Heretoir, who inaugurated the show. Post-black metal has been a surprisingly popular genre in the city, with Harakiri For The Sky coming over on a semi-regular basis to play shows at the Eightball. While most people here seem to be leaning towards the second wave and the Greek sound, they tend to show up for more
It is at this point that I must also confess that I am not familiar with Heretoir’s music, nor did I have the time to really dig deep into them. As you can imagine, I opted to take a deep dive into Havukruunu’s stuff, as they were the main draw, and since I don’t really do concert reporting professionally, I didn’t let this type of “homework” dominate my listening habits. Nevertheless, the music was played right in front of me, and as such I can give an account of the experience, even if I can’t quite go into details regarding the setlist itself.
If I had to sum up Heretoir in a single word, it’d be “fruity”. Throughout the band’s hour-long set I was left to wonder why there was such a dearth of actual riffs, the material in question being closer to shoegaze and post-rock rather than black metal. Post-black has always been the subject of ridicule by the more “trve” parts of the community for lacking energy and being too whiny for its own good, and Heretoir are the exact type of band that makes such a stance hold water. Their music sounds as if you excised 90% of hard-hitting parts from a Harakiri For The Sky song, and left only the glimmering arpeggios and strums played on a clean
As you can probably infer from what I’ve written thus far, I was quite looking forward to seeing Havukruunu, and the excitement I felt was palpable. So you can imagine that when they launched into “Kuolematon lalunhenki” off Tavastland, I was floored. Although I am quite lukewarm on the album itself, its insistence in being mid-paced and emphasis on anthemic elements coming at the expense of the band’s more edgy riffing, I did hold the belief that it was an album whose songs would come alive in a live setting. Lo and behold, they actually kicked off the set with 4 back-to-back tracks, and they were just so much more fun. The crowd was going wild, and the melodies felt larger-than-life, the entire venue singing along to them. The title track becomes a certified banger when you can chant along to it.
Given that we’re talking about a Finnish band, I’d be remiss not to discuss the characters on stage, who looked anything but black metallers. Bassist Humö
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| Lab-grown weird little guy. |
Unsurprisingly, this led to the occasional bits of stage banter that straddled the line between drunkenness and the deadpan tone the Finns are known for, with lines such as “This next song is the uhhhh, next song” being used to set up “Kuoleman ona”, and “We couldn’t bring any merch for you guys, so to make up for that we play next song really fast” preceding the lone track of Havulinaan, “Talven mustat tuulet”. While not exactly fitting the “black metal archetype”, they are a unit that takes its music seriously both on and off stage, while also having fun with it. It’s a very delicate balance to strike, and having them pull it off with aplomb was a joy to witness. For how cold Northern Europe is, they sure know how to bring the heat.
Although Tavastland dominated the first third of the set, the distribution was quite
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| Hype moments and aura. |
While Heretoir was set up for failure on this bill, I’d be hard-pressed to mask my excitement over how Havukruunu’s set went. It was a night full of joy on both ends, and I got to feel the communal concert spirit for the first time this year. Seeing as the Up the Hammers festival was no different, at least in terms of its energy, I think it’s safe to say that I can be a bit too pessimistic sometimes. But hey, I have to get the excess piss and vinegar out whenever it accumulates, otherwise I won’t be able to enjoy the good things in life. Look forward to the report for that one as well!
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