PAGANFEST - ENSIFERUM, KORPIKLAANI, MOONSORROW, ELUVEITIE & TYR
LONDON KOKO 06/04/08
By the end of the evening it was a case of re-naming this show as the Toplessmanfest! Ladies were swooning at the site of wobbly man flesh from all of the bands on display (and they sure were) apart from Korpiklaani who thankfully did not come straight from the sauna and gave us all a respite. Next time round can we redress (or undress) the balance please, what a shame the greatest topless pagan band Rockbitch are no more!
That aside we were there to jig rather than gawp and first up on stage on this chilly snowy afternoon were Tyr, probably the most well known band ever from The Faroe Islands. They had not let an injured drummer put them off in the slightest and found a 20 year old replacement in Amon Djurhuus (was his middle name Amarth?). On stage they lined up and looked like they would have appreciated it if the snow had laid properly so they could wrestle naked on it, scaring the lesser spotted Mornington Crescent bohemian and then get straight on the stage and ply their craft.
Now although not really liking this lot on disc (mainly due to the fact they are all incredibly long) a 30 minute set of Tyr went down with much more appreciation. They won me over with their fantastic vocal harmonies that had them sounding like a barbarian King Singers or a barber shop Viking Quartet (and imagine trying to get a Viking to have their hair cut)! Whilst singing there was plenty of choppy guitar shredding, dicing and slicing away, which got the enthusiastic and already very busy crowd stomping feet and clapping hands. There was a triumphant fervour on stage and Tyr exuded a proud heathen demeanour about them. All it needed was a nice beer to go with it. The beer was nice although at £3.80 a can it was a beer and not a ‘beer beer’ from this corporately inflated big boozer tonight.
Back in time, in many ways, to the show and Tyr were wrapping things up with the first number from their first album, ‘The Hammer Of Thor.’ Well with ancestors toasted, the gods would certainly have approved and the only thunder here was the applause.
Following this came the lightning and boy did it strike as the unknown (to me) Elueveitie from Switzerland were nothing short of a revelation. They were a spectacle as well with no less than eight on the stage and we goggled at lutes and flutes and a bagpipe that looked like it was made from a ram. There were a couple of elfin ladies, a pair of what looked like tribal tattooed (and obviously bare-chested) twins and a crusty dreadlocked singer and they instantly hit the spot when charging into ‘Inis Mona’. After getting photos I could concentrate better when we got to ‘Of Fire, Wind And Wisdom’ (Wisdom perhaps being not to eat such hot curry) with its penny whistle sounding chant leading us like rats from Hamlin.
To put it in layman’s terms this lot were Fun with a capital F. They injected an instant festival vibe into the austere high ceiling etched confines of the Koko and we felt like we had been transported to Stonehenge on the eve of the solstice. I seem to have scrawled down that I would like the new album Slania very much and will be tracking it down after finishing this review. We can even forgive the plastic paddy sounding weave of The ‘Somber Lay’ (is that akin to a depressing shag)? After all, one of the percussionists is called Anna Murphy and I guess she could derive from The Emerald Isle with her custom made hurdy-gurdy (not actually a lute). Anyway considering they were second of five bands they really did bring the house down and no doubt won a lot of new friends here tonight.
Sandwiched between the two not so serious bands were the very serious and first of the Finnish invaders, Moonsorrow. We were indeed somewhat blessed by their second visit in a very short time after their triumphant Children Of Bodom support. The whole venue rumbled as the strode out on stage bloodied and unbowed. We were instantly convinced that this was a band totally getting into the thrust of things, their swords as sharp as whatever message it was conveyed in opener ‘Sankarihauta’. Although not the most dynamic of bands to watch, simply blood-daubed and (yep) topless, their music was the complete antitheses of this. One second it raged and sounded like anger, revenge and hatred rolled into one, the next it seemed to mesmerise us with a sombre, sorrowful sense of loss, now that’s what I call emotive music (volume 1)!
‘Ukkosenjumalan Poika’ followed and this was a song where no doubt only the strong survived. Ever advancing and full of fighting spirit and icy keyboard splashes, this was an anthem that got hands clapping along in victory. Later there was a twanging swagger, Western sounding in scope and whatever way you look at it, this was music for heroes! Not sure what happened with the sound but by ‘Kivenkantaja’ the first number I properly knew, there were problems with the sound. Perhaps this added to the angry primitivism of things Perhaps not and many said that the Bodom support was the best of the two shows. Despite this even on a night when the odds were slightly against them Moonsorrow still slew.
Time to get like the bar prices silly, time for Korpiklaani. Tickling the taste-buds with ‘Wooden Pints’ there was probably nobody in the middle of the venue, everyone was no doubt either going crazy at the front or clinging to the bar like a dying man in need of their last drink. In the photo pit (thankfully with beer) I was confronted by daft hats, an accordion, a microphone stand made of an elk’s horn and wahey covered up Finns!
You have to think of the words “hey-ho lets go” between songs as this lots have the frenzy to blow you out your socks in a Ramones sort of folk way. The songs from brand new album ‘Korven Kuningus’ were seemingly kept to a minimum and classics such as ‘Cottages And Saunas’ were battered out and heated up the frenzied audience. There was a pause for breath with ‘Orbina’ where Jonne went into shaman mode and sat on a tree trunk hitting a drum between his legs and no doubt summoning the spirits of the forest down upon us. ‘Keep On Galloping’ is the infectious new number that was trotted (yeah sorry) out. Cantering away but luckily not leaving the singer horse (ok ok). Bodies were going over the top and security had their work cut out now. Highlight of the set for me was ‘Journey Man’ which had everyone singing along and the band clarting around on the stage and generally acting like loons. Excellent fun.
So onto headliners Ensiferum and one thing was evident that since they last played here at The Fridge, their popularity has really increased. No doubt this is due to the slick press machine and its battle metal tag that is making all these bands so popular now but as far as I was concerned Ensiferum were going to have to fight to warrant their position as headliners (well at least they had some nice canvas side-drops on the stage and a keyboard housed behind a shield and swords). The men were of course topless and wearing table-cloths or perhaps they were Finnish flags as skirts, the female member of the band Emmi was not topless before anyone asks.
As they oiled us up with ‘Lotion’ (hmm should I rephrase that) it was evident the sound was not spot on and things were clattering away like a tin man falling down the stairs. This was more than made up for by the group’s stage presence though and they darted all over the shop and then charged into the Victory Song that is ‘Ahrti.’ This was damn low in the mix but it did give the crowd plenty of chance to be heard singing along and it’s one of those songs that is difficult not to join in with.
In between songs the yell of “Turn it up” was flung in the direction of the soundman who just couldn’t seem to get things sorted. It sounded a bit better towards the back and watching the band through a gap it was rather like viewing them in widescreen and the dazzling lights really added to the effect. The EP song ‘Dragonheads’ was one that had hands clapping and there were some Iron Maiden riffs flung out cheekily in what was listed as ‘Medley’ on the setlist. Despite the sound problems a band knows they must be doing something right when people fall over at the back of the venue. I admit I left before the encore but cannot believe that they neglected to play the fantastic ‘Deathbringer from The Sky’ (unless they threw it in unannounced later). That aside tonight brought out the pagan in all of us and I left to ride home on Odins bicycle (well the number 31).
I seriously hope this Paganfest idea becomes a yearly event. A dream line-up would include Kampfar, Falkenbach, Aes Dana, Negura Bunget and Drudkh, well one can dream.
Pete Woods
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