TURISAS, NORTHER & ALESTORM
LEEDS COCKPIT, 07/03/08
Armed with swords and fuelled with mead, Turisas make a welcome return to British shores and this time isn’t such a fleeting visit as they destroy cities from Brighton to Aberdeen in their current conquest, with tonight’s battle occurring in Leeds. Joined by fellow Finns Norther and Scottish pirates Alestorm, this was one package I had been rather looking forward to for a while.
With Alestorm’s debut making an early contender for album of the year, they certainly have a lot to live up to and I wasn’t sure whether this performance would have the same impact on me as the record, or if they would turn out to be a complete disappointment. Taking to the stage long before security have managed to herd everyone through the doors, I made it in just in time to catch the last couple of songs, arriving mid-way through a mass sing along moment to ‘Nancy the tavern wench’. Utters one guy in earshot, “The pirate costumes are a bit disappointing!”, and true enough, the pirate costumes aren’t quite as outlandish as one might have imagined, with them channelling most of their energies into the performance as opposed to kitschy stage props. Cap’n Christopher Bowes does a fine job of working the crowd in-between his vocal parts (not that this crowd need much encouragement tonight!) and songs like “Captain morgans revenge” and “Wenches and mead” are played with dynamism and accuracy. As I write this review the breaking news is that Alestorm will be making an appearance at this year’s BOA, making as quite the compensation for missing most of their set tonight.
Norther are one of those bands whom I’ve heard a lot of things about but always dismissed without really giving them a chance, and so I wasn’t entirely sure whether or not I would enjoy their set tonight. With their melodic death metal style they offer something a little different to the other two bands on the bill. With Petri Lindroos having taken over vocal duties for Ensiferum in 2007, I instantly recognised him having seen his other band last summer. As the band throw out songs like ‘Blackhearted’ and ‘Death Unlimited’ an obvious comparison to Children Of Bodom draws in my mind, with Petri’s harsh style of vocals being broken into by sporadic clean vocal melodies of guitarist Kride, who leaps across the stage trading mic stands with bassist Jukka Koskinen, appearing to have enough energy between them for the entire band as they interact with the front rows. A duel attack of crunchy, speeding riffs and an incursion of melodic blasting from the back of the stage provide a solid, heavy sound which is gently infiltrated by a sparse dusting of glimmering keyboards that adds an air of sorrow to the mix. A tight performance from a band I have no compunctions about watching.
My last (and only!) live encounter with Turisas was in 2005 when they visited Manchester in support of fellow Finnish monster men Lordi. Having just released their debut album Battle Metal at the time, they seemed to have a good proportion of the crowd singing along to the catchy chorus of ‘One more’. Lordi, at the time, being shrouded in Eurovision hype garnered a colossal and diverse crowd ranging from the typical Bloodstock-dwelling veteran to the nuclear family on an evening out who probably wouldn’t be able to tell a Turisas song and an Anthrax song apart if their lives depended upon it. It’s interesting to see how Turisas have grown in stature since that gig two and a half years ago; okay, their name may not pop up in family conversation during Sunday dinner, but tonight’s crowd is made up of some unlikely sorts dotted amongst the black t-shirt clad long hairs and the plastic scimitar wielding, face painted fanatics.
With his fearsome onstage persona, I have difficulties believing that the Warlord Nygard I am seeing in front of me is the same one as the laid back guy I had interviewed two hours previously. From the opening bars of ‘The Dneiper Rapids’ my senses are met with an overwhelming plethora of thunderous sounds that appear ten times greater than on CD. I quickly find myself immersed in the grandiose soundscapes which are powerful enough to knock out every opponent in its path, while the flouncing violin melodies mellifluously soar across the dynamic infusion of assailing drums, rich bass and guitars that strike heavier than a bar of iron. We journey on through ‘Holmgard and beyond’ and into the ‘Portage to the unknown’, as it appears The Verangian Way is the way we’re heading tonight, only straying twice away from the beaten path, finishing off with ‘Battle metal’.
A subtle dig at the venue’s selection of on sale beverages results in an exaltation of acquiescence from the crowd, as the Warlord proclaims that he “will just have to settle for the Aussy piss beer” despite England being a famous beer loving nation. This leads towards a crowd chant of “Nu-kee-brown” and one crowd dweller was on hand with a bottle of the brown ale for the warmonger to imbibe. This spiel, it would eventually occur, was actually going somewhere as a violin solo intrudes the banter which leads into the anthemic ‘One More’.
It is only on the Eastern-European tinged ‘In the court of Jarisleif’, saturated with its electrifying accordion melodies, where accordion player Netta Skog really sparkles as her fingers flutter across the keys with ease. At only 17 years of age, Netta has a kind of youthful sprightliness and enthusiasm that is really enchanting to watch as this young sylph jigs around the stage playing off against violin maestro Ollie in a duet. As she valorously steps up to the mic performing backing vocals in sync with the rest of the band, it is hard to believe that she is not a permanent entity within Turisas.
As the fur clad warriors plunge into ‘Miklagard Overture’ (their lengthiest song to date, as we are reminded), I am once again sucked in by the intense cinematic soundscapes which dart around the hall. Nygard evolves further into his role as the warlord, emitting rapturous war cries whilst pounding his fist to the ground as though brutally pulverising adversaries he encounters along the road. As the song maunders off down a progressive side-road we are introduced to the band members in all their epic glory, swinging back into the thick of the battle as the band members all join in once again for a choral passage as the song is brought to histrionic climax.
As the place erupts into a heavy metal disco during the cover of Boney M’s ‘Rasputin’ this just sums up the atmosphere in the house tonight, with hardcore metal heads linking arms to do-ci-do. Unfortunately an encore is not on the cards tonight and a 10:00 finish leaves plenty of time for catching the last train home.
Luci Herbert
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