From Finland to the Forest of Forgetting for Eye of Melian’s Album Release Show
Album Release Show @ Poppodium Hedon, Zwolle; February 20th, 2026
So, by this point it should come as no surprise to learn that I am easy to lure out of the house with good music and good company, even if I prefer to not go to concerts these days if and when I can help it. Also, if my friend Kathy Criswell is coming over to Europe, I’m going to put in an effort to come meet up with her, because shows are more fun when she’s around. Happiness is only real when shared, after all, right?
This time, we met up at the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam before making our way on February 20th, 2026, to Zwolle and Poppodium Hedon to see Eye of Melian’s album release show for their new album, “Forest of Forgetting.”
Stay tuned in March for a new interview with the band, and you can listen to Kathy and I talk about Eye of Melian’s discography at length here!
The Endless Delays of Winter Travel
While Kathy didn’t seem to have too much trouble getting to Europe, fortunately, the rest of us had all sorts of delays. For myself, coming into Amsterdam on the 19th, my flight was pushed 2 hours because the plane was delayed arriving to Finland, for whatever reason. However, for my friends over in Vienna who were flying in on the 20th, they had an even more exciting trip, because they had, I think over 3 hours of delay, meaning that they had to haul ass to their trains to arrive right as the show was starting. It was quite a chaotic mess in poor weather, but luckily everyone made it on time.
Entering the Forest of Forgetting
I love this international clan of absolute music dweebs (I say that with all the love in the world) and how completely unhinged they all are… like going to queue obscenely early. Look, don’t get me wrong, I’m a shorty and so I like to be able to see the stage at a show. But Hedon reminds me of Nosturi in Helsinki back in the day, only way better designed, so I know that there are steps in the back and a balcony to assist me if I end up in Dutch Hell (AKA behind people that average a meter taller than me).
My friends, however, felt the need to go to queue already well before 16.00. Let me remind you that the doors to this show were not opening until 19.30 and the show wasn’t until 20.30. So, I let these maniacs go do their thing, while I made sure that I didn’t do unnecessary damage to myself outside in the rain, though I did come hang out for a little while before the rain started. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Johanna Kurkela and everything she does, but I’m not willing to get sick just to be in the front row.
Before the Music
It’s worth mentioning, before I get into the show itself, how truly diverse this crowd was. Earlier in the day, I met an English fellow, at least a decade or two my senior, at the hotel who was also in town for the show. There were also a few children present, so the age range was truly spanning the spectrum. From my own crew, there were people from the US, Finland, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Denmark, and so many more. It’s really nice to see this music spreading to all corners of the world and all types of people. Fantasy and magic are for everyone, after all!
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Another thing worth mentioning before the music is how much I appreciate Johanna Kurkela’s dedication to her bands being complete packages on all frotns. It was the same with the Altamullan Road and Auri shows—the stage decorations and lights create a magical dreamspace and the outfits only add to the imagery. On this instance, the stage was decorated with lanterns and fake plants, I think specifically indigo-colored pansies.
The band was, of course, a little bit different than the originally-planned act. For one, Kai Hahto was meant to be on drums and percussion, but he had gotten sick, and was replaced by Sander Zoer and Ivar de Graaf a mere week or two before the show. This meant that most of the songs relied on backing tracks for the low-end, but fortunately, the show did not suffer for it. Fortunately, all of the vocalists, including Robin la Joy and Timo Kurkela were still in shape to perform.
There appeared to be some technical shenanigans still nagging as showtime approached, as the chin rest on Johanna’s violin seemed a bit loose, and the best efforts to get it back in place were not quite sufficient. Fortunately, it seemed to behave itself after a song or two.
The Show Itself
When the clock finally struck 20.30, the band took the stage: Johanna, Robin, and Timo up front, with Martijn Westerholt and Mikko Mustonen on two different white pianos on either side of the sadly empty drum riser. It’s worth saying that it was a bit of a bummer that they had to mostly rely on backing tracks, but that said, I don’t think the show suffered from it. Rather, I think the next shows will simply be enhanced thanks to the extra oomph, and I’m really looking forward to going again in March.
“Lady of Light” and “Child of Twilight” were the first up on the set, with the former being a pretty and gentle way to get things going, though Johanna’s chin rest revolted yet again before one of her solos. Sander Zoer joined them on stage for “Child of Twilight,” which really enhanced the feeling of one of my favorite album tracks. As predicted, the added percussion really brought the song to life, which was a welcome treat.
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“Wings of the Dawn” was one of the songs I foolishly underappreciated on their debut album (it comes after my favorite album track, so it had a hard time getting my attention), but have more recently come to appreciate, so I was grateful for the opportunity to hear its power and emotion live. This was followed by “The Bell,” which felt dark and moody and ambient in the best sort of way, and I particularly appreciated the violin additions.
The fan-beloved cover of Bruce Dickinson’s “Tears of the Dragon” came surprisingly early in the set, and the main thing that stood out to me was how much extra effort Johanna seemed to put into making the song as hard to sing as imaginable, by adding extra little arpeggios (am I using the right word?) into notes in the chorus. Good grief that woman is phenomenal… it’s already a hard enough song to sing.
Returning to the first album, they next performed “Doorway of Night,” at which point I finally stopped staring at the band long enough to notice the backdrop had an open spot in the center that was changing to be song-appropriate each time—delightful! I was a bit disappointed to note that I couldn’t really hear Timo in the mix, and only a very little bit of Robin, though hopefully that was an issue of my location and others could hear them better. Fortunately, we had special guest Troy Donockley to step in and bring an extra dimension to the song.
Naturally, I have a bit of a personal emotional connection to the song “Everstrong,” as to most of us who’ve experienced loss and grief in recent years. They didn’t play it live in Helsinki when they performed with Auri, so this was very special for me, even if I was trapped in journalist mode and couldn’t really immerse myself in the song like I would have wanted to. This was also the only song where Timo was brought up a bit louder in the mix, as he was largely taking on Martijn’s vocals from the album track. Honestly, I really look forward to hearing these songs in theaters and music halls!
Next was a pleasant surprise, “Ainiaan”… well, let’s say that I like the Finnish version of the song better than its English counterpart, “Adrift in Eternity”; however, I’ve actually heard the Finnish version live a few times already, as Altamullan Road performed it during their 2024 tour. So on that note, it would have been nice to hear the original at least once, but in the end, I’m not actually complaining, because there’s something that goes a bit deeper in the Finnish version somehow. Maybe that’s foreigner’s bias, but either way, it’s a gorgeous song in both languages.
The title track was just… overwhelmingly lovely, and I was surprised that they managed to play so much new material, while covering so many tracks from their debut as well, like “Vita Nova.” “The Buried Well” is a really evocative song that was really pretty live, and I really had no idea that Robin knew how to play violin, so that was cool.
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The percussion in “Blackthorn Winter,” was a treat—especially the shakers—and I just can’t get enough of the 3/4 waltz timing that’s common in a few songs on this album. I’m a sucker for a waltz. Admittedly, probably because of the lack of live drums, the backing track did feel a bit too loud in this song, resulting in a bit of loss of the oomph from the violin, as well as some of the lower vocal notes.
“Symphonia Arcana” is one of those songs that took a while to grow on me but is probably now the song that most gets stuck in my head. I’m not sure what you would call Johanna’s bracelets… are they bracelets if they attach to your fingers? Either way, they looked amazing and it was mesmerizing to watch them quiver with the vibrato as she played violin. Once again, shout-out to the stage outfits, and not just on Robin and Johanna—the gentlemen were looking dapper as can be too.
Troy made another appearance for “Elixir of Night,” which genuinely benefited from a bit of live texture—hopefully we’ll see him at some of the Finnish shows as well, if we’re lucky. It was very majestic. “Of Willows and Shadows,” which is the album’s opening track, worked surprisingly well in the middle of the set for a starting song, and Johanna and Robin both played violin, which was again a pleasant surprise.
As the show began to near its end, Troy came back yet again for “Under the Grey Sky” from the first album, which also had Sander Zoer again, and stuck around for the rest of the main set. It’s also worth mentioning that I didn’t notice until at least halfway through the show that Mikko was also playing acoustic guitar on a few occasions. Ivar de Graaf was present for the final two tracks, “Dawn of Avatars” and “Rainfall,” which also worked as spectacular enders. The former is my absolute favorite song from the album and was beyond spectacular live, while “Rainfall” is the final track from “Legends of Light” and is designed to end things on a powerful note.
They did, however, come back for an encore that wasn’t listed on their set, “Light,” which also had Ivar on percussion. These were perfect songs to end the set with, and I could finally actually hear Timo a bit at long last, so it was an extra good ending because of that.
All-in-All
So, was it worth it to cross Europe to see Eye of Melian? Yes, yes it was. If I was a gambling person—and I’m not—I’d tell you that expecting a good time at the show of any of Johanna’s bands is right about the safest bet you can make. Even better, if you’re a kind person who respects the band, their autonomy, and personal space, you can surely come say hello to myself or Kathy and we’ll be delighted to make your acquaintance! We’re more or less fixtures at some of these shows nowadays. And hey, we all got home safe after the show, with considerably fewer delays, so that’s something!
Ultimately though, this show was the complete package: appearance, music, performance… all of it was wonderful, and if we’re to believe the rumors, this wasn’t even the band at their best, as they were varying degrees of illness and dealing with last-minute troubles. So if this was the trial run, I can assure you that the upcoming shows in Finland will be nothing short of magical.
So with that in mind, I suppose I should leave this by saying that I’ll be seeing you at the shows! Catch you next month! ❤️🐻
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Setlist
Lady of Light
Child of Twilight (w/ Sander Zoer)
Wings of the Dawn
The Bell
Tears of the Dragon (Bruce Dickinson cover, w/Sander Zoer)
Doorway of Night (w/ Troy Donockley)
Everstrong
Ainiaan
Forest of Forgetting
Vita Nova
The Buried Well
Blackthorn Winter (w/ Sander Zoer)
Symphonia Arcana
Elixir of Night
Of Willows and Shadows
Under the Grey Sky (w/ Sander Zoer & Troy Donockley)
Dawn of Avatars (w/ Troy Donockey & Ivar de Graaf)
Rainfall (w/ Troy Donockey & Ivar de Graaf)
Encore:
Light (w/ Ivar de Graaf)
READ MORE: On the Record with Eye of Melian (2022), Gathering of Geeks - Trivia Showdown ft. Eye of Melian (2024)
Interviews: On the Record with Auri (2018); Off the Record with Altamullan Road (2024); On the Record with Altamullan Road (2020); Off the Record with Timo Kurkela (2024); Guest Interview with Altamullan Road (2024)
Live Reports: Altamullan Road Kitee (2024); Altamullan Road Hyvinkää (2024); Altamullan Road Porvoo (2024)
Travel Blog: Altamullan Road in Kitee (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Road in the Netherlands (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Roat pt.1 (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Roat pt. 2 (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Road pt. 3 (2024)
Reviews: Guest Listen Back: Auri I (2024), Bear & Kathy Talk Auri (2025), Bear & Kathy Talk Eye of Melian (2026)
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