APRIL 26th 2026
JOE LYNN TURNER
Review by:Dmitry Sukhinin
Photos By: Polina Kulikovskikh
Full Gallery:
http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/joe-lynn-turner/
The living legend Joe Lynn Turner is back in Oslo, and it is my first time to see him. I am a bit surprised that the venue is not that big, but John Dee is a great place.
Our locals Chasing Embla are opening tonight. It is an energetic retro hard rock and they seem to have gathered a big share of the public. People say the sound is in the fingers. Beware that the fingers may ruin the sound even before one starts playing - for instance, with a wrong use of guitar processors. It is either Headrush or Line 6, but it definitely needs to be tested more in loud environments. The guitars sound very thin, as if there is no impulse response (simulation of a guitar cabinet that is a major part of the guitar sound). The solo guitar gets an enormous boost, but there is no noise gate so the guitar starts “feeding” - sending high pitch noise.
The bass sound is nice and boomy, and I also hear very good placement of keyboards, though the person behind is hidden somewhere on the side.
Chasing Embla have good backing vocals, but in general it is just not my thing.
On top of that they play longer than in the announced times, - which means that the next band gets less time for the change - a very unprofessional move. Great that the band obviously enjoys what they do and also attracts the audience, which is the most important thing.
Joe Lynn Turner has just one guitar and it sounds much bigger, and the band is on fire. Very engaged keyboardist, jumping bassist, very tasty guitar, the drummer is killing it too, and Turner is simply amazing.
Rescue You, the debut album released 41 years ago, is played entirely tonight, accompanied by Rainbow and Deep Purple songs.
Yes, the vocal tone has changed, but I would have never guessed that the stuff was released so many years ago.
The band totally nails it! The vocals are simply flawless, it is a great show for me who is not such a big fan of this genre - I would definitely go see Turner once again. And he is 74. It is not much moving on the stage, but the energy is there.
Appreciate the living classics!
Nerd alert: The pedalboard has Bluguitar Iridium compact 100W nanotube amp, Quad Cortex Nano pedal, some extra midi buttons and the pedalboard sends the signal to Marshall amp (why do they have Bluguitar?) and a cab. My assumption is that they use the preamp section of Bluguitar and send it to the “receive” input of the Marshall amp. And it sounds very good. Multiinstrumentalist Nikolo Kotzev has quite an unusual technique, but it is almost annoying how effortless he plays all the parts.
Turner is joking a lot and telling mini stories and hooks about the feelings while introducing his songs. There is a mandatory mention of bottle caps in Europe. Joe, you will miss a cap on your nose when you come back home after this European tour.
So. Same same but different, - Turner is class and I recommend not skipping him when he comes to a place near you!