FINNISH METAL EXPO Photos Posted Online

Kaamos.nl has uploaded photos from this past weekend's Finnish Metal Expo, which took place February 15-16 in Helsinki. The event is a consumer expo, which has been appropriately dubbed "the long-hair Disneyland." At the same time, it gathers the metal industry people from Finland and abroad. International Metal Meeting, the professional meeting within the Finnish Metal Expo, has established itself as a major annual get-together for the metal music industry.

On Friday, February 15, the Finnish metal media also hosted the Finnish Metal Awards at Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory) in Helsinki, Finland. Members of the general public were invited to cast their votes to select the winners, which were as follows:

Album of the Year: MOKOMA - Luihin ja Ytimiin
Band of the Year: NIGHTWISH
Rookie of the Year: Ari Koivunen
Cover art of the Year: MOKOMA - Luihin ja Ytimiin
Musician of the Year: Tuomas Holopainen (NIGHTWISH)
Vocalist of the Year: Marko Annala (MOKOMA)

Check out pictures of the Finnish Metal Awards at this location. Also available are photos of the the Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala (both of CHILDREN OF BODOM) guitar clinic, which was held during the event.