HEIDENFEST
LONDON ISLINGTON ACADEMY 21/9/10
I do like these little mini indoor fests and even if it is early doors and a Monday night when this one swings into town there are still a fair few people jigging around to the happy, happy, joy, joy music coming out the PA. It made you want to drink, well it did until the sobering thought of £4 a pint comes into play, still you could at least close your eyes and pretend you were in a Bavarian beer hall rather than an overpriced London corporate venue.
First up on this five band bill were Heidenvolk, well they partly had their name on the festival so it’s only fair they should play. I just hoped they were not going to be on a heiden to nothing. The Dutchmen filled the stage and had two singers who interplayed some great vocal harmonising which went along nicely with the musical tumult. There was a bouncy melody flowing through songs like Saksenland and this was really keeping us on our toes. Party mood enforced and the audience were equally rowdy as they got into the swing of things. Not so sure about sore heads come the morning but there were likely to be sore arms from all the pumping in the air. An older song called Wodan Heerst had plenty of fighting spirit and a feudal backbone about and the amusing finale full of over the top huffs and puffs was a memorable finish leaving me with a smile on my face.
I had a quick listen to the newest Swashbuckle album prior to leaving for the show. I have to admit I was not expecting such a ferocious display from just a trio. The band looked amusing, a large pirate complete with parrot on shoulder and another with a big ginger beard kept us entertained at stage front as they pillaged their way into ‘Crewed By The Damned.’ This is far removed from the likes of Alestorm and it was obvious these seadogs were going to take absolutely no prisoners. I guess with just the three of them they needed a touch of something on stage to keep us fully occupied, this was achieved by a fight between a rubber shark and a giant parrot which was just the sort of nautical nonsense we needed. Perhaps if this set had gone over the half hour mark I may have wanted to walk the plank but as a short sharp keelhaul it did the job nicely and not a plastic cutlass in sight either, oooh arrrrr.
Having all their albums and never having seen them, Equilibrium were a main draw for me. As they came on I realised that I didn’t even know what they looked for and first thoughts were blimey, the singer is big and how the hell did the rather nice looking lady bassist keep her boots so shiny? Musically I was not disappointed in the slightest as they recreated their ‘round the world in a myriad of riffs’ which translated really well to the stage. Even those of us in the photo pit were trying to be serious but were forced to give in to headbanging and on leaving I realised the band had even got participation in the form of a pit. They played a good selection of numbers whose German titles I wont bore you with, descriptions are more interesting as I summed up one with an opening keyboard peel sounding like it was advertising chocolate down the deep, dark Inca trail. Next we were off to hurdy-gurdy land with trolls digging down the mines for gold and then it was off to snow capped Andes peaks borne on eagles wings. Of course it would have been nice if they did not rely on backing tracks for the incidental parts but hell there would never have been room for all the ethnic tribes to play their parts on stage. This was one hell of an enjoyable show and it left me with a shit eating grin that not even the beer prices could remove.
Ensiferum are no strangers to these shores and had a double headline slot of an hour long set, for many they were the main event and the barrier at front of stage was packed. The zeal of this bare-chested clan quickly spilled from it and infectiously spread to the crowd a couple of whom simply could not resist the thrills and spills of going over the barrier. ‘Stone Cold Metal’ is a song whose title more than succinctly summed up this tour de force and the whistling ‘man with no name’ signature was a dusky salute to all those great Westerns and for a second it was both cowboys and pirates in the house. ‘Abandoned’ took us back and slowed things down a notch but it was still a song forged in steel but perhaps not quite as mighty as Conan. What we needed was another fist-pumper and that followed with the storming victory song that is ‘Deathbringer From The Sky’ Counterpoising brutality and soaring vocal harmonies made this a case of total win and the group having whipped up the crowd kept things that way as they dashed towards the finish line with ‘Twilight Tavern,’ job done.
Well, many obviously thought so as Twilight Of The Gods were only witnessed by about half the people that saw Ensiferum. It was on the whole us older ones, many of whom had endured music they were not particularly comfortable with to get to see this all star tribute band to Bathory. I was probably not the only cynic here, I absolutely detest covers bands with utter contempt but this was a bit different and it was not like anyone had ever got to see Quorthon live. For those not in the know the formidable cast herewith copy and pasted was Alan Nemtheanga (Primordial), Nick Barker (Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth), Blasphemer (Mayhem), Frode Glesnes (Einherjer) and Patrik Lindgren (Thyrfing) they certainly had the skill and talent to pull this off.
Clad in ice cold blue lighting it was dramatic, stirring and evocative as drums crashed in and guitars and bass followed with precision. Alan’s passionate vocal clamour cannot be faulted even in the great boots he was filling and he seemed really into things hand out and beseechingly cast towards the audience. The atmospheric crackling of fire followed ‘Shores In Flames’ and here its scent hung heavy in the air. Then came the thunder and ‘Valhalla’ all the right boxes were being ticked and it was obvious looking around some people were really into this hearing these songs played live for the first time. The set stuck to the classic Viking era of the group and even if you are not a massive fan of Bathory it is impossible that you would not recognise some of the songs played here tonight. This was an evocative display and with numbers like ‘A Fine Day To Die’ and the concluding ‘Blood Fire Death’ a dramatic and legacy to a musician taken far too young. That said I think as far as I am concerned this was a one off. I would not be keen to see the band trotting out and doing this on tour on a yearly basis, it is not something that should be repeated and certainly not in London where it was obvious many did not have the good manners or taste to even appreciate it. A bit of a sombre not to finish on after a night of so much jovial frolicking perhaps but the Heidenfest was all round a great show and hopefully it will be back again next year.
Pete Woods
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