PAGAN FEST 5/1 Review!!!!!!!
- Thread starter Diabolik
- Start date
eppst1
Member
I didn't think Try was bad, hopefully my comment didn't come across like that. I think their problem was their music isn't as energetic as Elueities and that hurt them a little with the crowd reaction. I thought they were great and wished they could have played longer.
DoomsdayZach
The Professor was right
skyrefuge
Member
I arrived right around the 6:30 start time to see plenty of others streaming in from the parking lot. When I tried to pick up my will-call ticket, they couldn't find it, which always gives you a bit of a shot in the pit of your stomach. But the girl was exceptionally cool about it, simply taking down my credit card information and letting me through (apparently I wasn't the first one). Now, hopefully I don't get charged twice!
Inside, there were CD vendors to the left and right, but neither was doing as brisk of a business as the tour t-shirt stand. The crowd was the largest I'd seen that early at the Pearl Room; the balcony was open and well-filled along the rail, and the main floor was occupied (in decreasing density) all the way back to the sound booth. I heard the number 700 being thrown around, and I wouldn't argue with that as an estimate of total crowd size.
Earthen:
This is my second time seeing this band. First was at Heathen Crusade II, where they had an interesting approach to acoustic-driven folky metal, but rather poor execution. By now, their execution was much better, except for their female vocalist, who at least has her heart in the right place even if her voice isn't. However, their style seems to have changed considerably, having dropped a violinist, and with only one song (the best one) featuring acoustic guitar. So now it was fairly conventional doom-death, which was a disappointment. I would have much rather seen them continue to develop their previous approach. Though it's interesting to see that they seem to be recreating the path of fellow Chicagoans Avernus, 10+ years later. I should note that their singer wasn't there (because he had to work!) so vocals were handled by the band leader. I'm a bit confused as to what role he would have played had the singer been there, since he only played guitar on one of the songs.
Eluveitie:
A crew of eight onstage is quite a rarity for an opening international band on a four band tour, but here they all were. Drums, bass, two guitars (one borrowed from Tyr), violin, hurdy-gurdy, pipes/flute guy, and a lead vocalist. Much like their albums, I greatly preferred their older songs, where the songs are folky both in instrumentation and approach. Their newer stuff is simply In Flames-style death metal with the folk melodies sitting on top as a gimmick, completely disconnected from the chugga-chugga below. Still, In Flames chugga-chugga isn't bad to see live, especially when it's performed by eight entertaining and unkempt medievalists. I admit to falling in love with the girl playing the hurdy-gurdy. Most of the time while spinning the crank on her instrument, she would sway back and forth in a complete chilled-out hippie way, but then would occasionally break out the full-on helicopter hair in convincing fashion. Too bad the hurdy-gurdy could only be heard rarely over the din, but overall, their sound was quite good for that many people. Finally by their last couple songs, a jolly heathen pit got going, which took longer than I expected, but I guess despite their good fit on this tour, they were still three bands from the top.
Tyr:
On record, this was the most interesting band of the tour for me, because their style is really quite different from the other bands, taking a more unique, almost prog-metal writing style, and connecting it to the pagan theme only by lyrics, and perhaps vocal melodies. Unfortunately, this was their downfall in the live situation, particularly since they completely refused to pander to the crowd looking for a simple, headbanging good time. They do have some songs that would have had the ability to get the crowd going quite well, but they really only played one of those, with the rest being either new, slow, or both. So while they gain some points for sticking to their guns, that wasn't enough to counterbalance what they lost. Still, they played well, and it was especially nice to see a band that makes extensive use of two vocalists doing real harmonies; that's a fairly rare sight in the metal world these days.
Turisas:
After the stripped down and unornamented performance by Tyr, it was quite a contrast to jump to the fully war-painted, fur-clad wildmen in Turisas. They followed the prototypical rules for a pagan-metal lineup, also seen in bands like Skyforger or Manegarm: the short, blond, not-quite metal-looking guy plays violin, the tall bearded guy is on guitar, the bright-eyed skinny guy does the vocals, and the jolly teeth-baring fat guy is, of course, on bass. The only oddity was their accordion player, who looked less like a Finnish warrior princess, and more like a corn-fed American college co-ed, all painted up to go see a Seminoles game. Well, except that you don't see those girls playing accordion very often, and never so enthusiastically. So obviously, they really got the crowd going, even though they also will sometimes will forgo obvious straight-rocking opportunities in favor of bombastic Hollywood-metalism.
Ensiferum:
Compared to Turisas, their war-paint was minimal and they were all shirtless (except the female keyboard player in the back!), although the bass player was still the portly one. With just three guys up front, there was no room for gimmicks, which meant that all they could do was play straight-ahead ass-kicking music. One of their great advantages seemed to be that both of the guitarists in the band are leaders. At first, the all blond guy in the center seemed to be the obvious focus, but then I started noticing the second guitarist more and more, both from his playing and his attitude. Only later did I learn that the second guitarist is the true leader of Ensiferum, whereas the "frontman" is the leader of Norther. The only downside was their drummer, who gave most bored-looking performance I've ever seen! I seriously think that he had a small TV down on the floor next to his kit, and he spent half the show looking down at it to watch the Cubs game while he played. Still, the rest was enough to get the crowd to its most excited point all night, and they proved themselves the clear headliners. Best band of the night for me too, and I've never even really listened to their stuff before.
Top to bottom, it was one of the better shows I've seen in a while, which is really what I expected from this lineup. The great thing about "pagan metal" (or a Heathen Crusade) is that you can put together a tour where all the bands are linked by theme, and thus by audience, even though within that theme the musical variations can actually be quite large. So you have a situation where all the bands are well-liked, and that just gives a healthy spirit to the whole event.
I wore my Einherjer t-shirt, and got several comments throughout the night, but none more memorable than from the war-painted guy who nearly wanted to kill me for possessing such an awesome shirt. Odd thing was, while my shirt said "Einherjer" on the front, he had "Einherjer" on his back. No, not on the back of his shirt. On his actual back, in a big tattoo. Uh, dude, I think you have me beat, you hardly need my shirt to show your dedication!
Inside, there were CD vendors to the left and right, but neither was doing as brisk of a business as the tour t-shirt stand. The crowd was the largest I'd seen that early at the Pearl Room; the balcony was open and well-filled along the rail, and the main floor was occupied (in decreasing density) all the way back to the sound booth. I heard the number 700 being thrown around, and I wouldn't argue with that as an estimate of total crowd size.
Earthen:
This is my second time seeing this band. First was at Heathen Crusade II, where they had an interesting approach to acoustic-driven folky metal, but rather poor execution. By now, their execution was much better, except for their female vocalist, who at least has her heart in the right place even if her voice isn't. However, their style seems to have changed considerably, having dropped a violinist, and with only one song (the best one) featuring acoustic guitar. So now it was fairly conventional doom-death, which was a disappointment. I would have much rather seen them continue to develop their previous approach. Though it's interesting to see that they seem to be recreating the path of fellow Chicagoans Avernus, 10+ years later. I should note that their singer wasn't there (because he had to work!) so vocals were handled by the band leader. I'm a bit confused as to what role he would have played had the singer been there, since he only played guitar on one of the songs.
Eluveitie:
A crew of eight onstage is quite a rarity for an opening international band on a four band tour, but here they all were. Drums, bass, two guitars (one borrowed from Tyr), violin, hurdy-gurdy, pipes/flute guy, and a lead vocalist. Much like their albums, I greatly preferred their older songs, where the songs are folky both in instrumentation and approach. Their newer stuff is simply In Flames-style death metal with the folk melodies sitting on top as a gimmick, completely disconnected from the chugga-chugga below. Still, In Flames chugga-chugga isn't bad to see live, especially when it's performed by eight entertaining and unkempt medievalists. I admit to falling in love with the girl playing the hurdy-gurdy. Most of the time while spinning the crank on her instrument, she would sway back and forth in a complete chilled-out hippie way, but then would occasionally break out the full-on helicopter hair in convincing fashion. Too bad the hurdy-gurdy could only be heard rarely over the din, but overall, their sound was quite good for that many people. Finally by their last couple songs, a jolly heathen pit got going, which took longer than I expected, but I guess despite their good fit on this tour, they were still three bands from the top.
Tyr:
On record, this was the most interesting band of the tour for me, because their style is really quite different from the other bands, taking a more unique, almost prog-metal writing style, and connecting it to the pagan theme only by lyrics, and perhaps vocal melodies. Unfortunately, this was their downfall in the live situation, particularly since they completely refused to pander to the crowd looking for a simple, headbanging good time. They do have some songs that would have had the ability to get the crowd going quite well, but they really only played one of those, with the rest being either new, slow, or both. So while they gain some points for sticking to their guns, that wasn't enough to counterbalance what they lost. Still, they played well, and it was especially nice to see a band that makes extensive use of two vocalists doing real harmonies; that's a fairly rare sight in the metal world these days.
Turisas:
After the stripped down and unornamented performance by Tyr, it was quite a contrast to jump to the fully war-painted, fur-clad wildmen in Turisas. They followed the prototypical rules for a pagan-metal lineup, also seen in bands like Skyforger or Manegarm: the short, blond, not-quite metal-looking guy plays violin, the tall bearded guy is on guitar, the bright-eyed skinny guy does the vocals, and the jolly teeth-baring fat guy is, of course, on bass. The only oddity was their accordion player, who looked less like a Finnish warrior princess, and more like a corn-fed American college co-ed, all painted up to go see a Seminoles game. Well, except that you don't see those girls playing accordion very often, and never so enthusiastically. So obviously, they really got the crowd going, even though they also will sometimes will forgo obvious straight-rocking opportunities in favor of bombastic Hollywood-metalism.
Ensiferum:
Compared to Turisas, their war-paint was minimal and they were all shirtless (except the female keyboard player in the back!), although the bass player was still the portly one. With just three guys up front, there was no room for gimmicks, which meant that all they could do was play straight-ahead ass-kicking music. One of their great advantages seemed to be that both of the guitarists in the band are leaders. At first, the all blond guy in the center seemed to be the obvious focus, but then I started noticing the second guitarist more and more, both from his playing and his attitude. Only later did I learn that the second guitarist is the true leader of Ensiferum, whereas the "frontman" is the leader of Norther. The only downside was their drummer, who gave most bored-looking performance I've ever seen! I seriously think that he had a small TV down on the floor next to his kit, and he spent half the show looking down at it to watch the Cubs game while he played. Still, the rest was enough to get the crowd to its most excited point all night, and they proved themselves the clear headliners. Best band of the night for me too, and I've never even really listened to their stuff before.
Top to bottom, it was one of the better shows I've seen in a while, which is really what I expected from this lineup. The great thing about "pagan metal" (or a Heathen Crusade) is that you can put together a tour where all the bands are linked by theme, and thus by audience, even though within that theme the musical variations can actually be quite large. So you have a situation where all the bands are well-liked, and that just gives a healthy spirit to the whole event.
I wore my Einherjer t-shirt, and got several comments throughout the night, but none more memorable than from the war-painted guy who nearly wanted to kill me for possessing such an awesome shirt. Odd thing was, while my shirt said "Einherjer" on the front, he had "Einherjer" on his back. No, not on the back of his shirt. On his actual back, in a big tattoo. Uh, dude, I think you have me beat, you hardly need my shirt to show your dedication!
Vereor
New Metal Member
Wow, great reviews. I was there Thursday night also. I'm new to this forum so it's unfortunate I could not meet up with the regulars.
I actually don't recall hearing Earthen play, I thought Eluveitie opened?
And what a perfect job they did at that. Eluveitie is most definitely an amazing band to see live. Their albums seems to catch maybe half of their overall sound, it really doesn't do them justice! If you have a chance to see these guys live, DO NOT HESITATE!
I noticed that the guitarist from Tyr (I forget his name) was playing with Eluveitie.. and the drummer Merlin Sutter (what an awesome name) from Eluveitie played drums for Tyr.. that made things interesting for sure, but they both still sounded incredible.
Turisas and Ensiferum blew the house down after that.. I am so glad Turisas decided to finally tour USA. I hope they think it was the right decision, despite our supposedly weak tasting "American" beer. Haha.
Overall, I am extremely grateful that I was alive to attend this event. It was awfully nice to see so many band members hanging around after the show and socializing with the fans. It really means a lot!
I actually don't recall hearing Earthen play, I thought Eluveitie opened?
And what a perfect job they did at that. Eluveitie is most definitely an amazing band to see live. Their albums seems to catch maybe half of their overall sound, it really doesn't do them justice! If you have a chance to see these guys live, DO NOT HESITATE!
I noticed that the guitarist from Tyr (I forget his name) was playing with Eluveitie.. and the drummer Merlin Sutter (what an awesome name) from Eluveitie played drums for Tyr.. that made things interesting for sure, but they both still sounded incredible.
Turisas and Ensiferum blew the house down after that.. I am so glad Turisas decided to finally tour USA. I hope they think it was the right decision, despite our supposedly weak tasting "American" beer. Haha.
Overall, I am extremely grateful that I was alive to attend this event. It was awfully nice to see so many band members hanging around after the show and socializing with the fans. It really means a lot!
Vereor
New Metal Member
Haha, yeah I noticed that guy. He was definitely a mosher. I stood behind him for a good part of the show.
I was there also so I say solid and very spot on reviews so far. This was one of the best shows I have seen. Period.
Of note. I remember hearing one of the guys from Turisas. Probably the vocalist, saying they'd be back in the fall. It got me to wondering if they might be planning on doing another tour.
Of note. I remember hearing one of the guys from Turisas. Probably the vocalist, saying they'd be back in the fall. It got me to wondering if they might be planning on doing another tour.
skyrefuge
Member
Ah, crap, I meant to mention that in my writeup, that was my favorite part of their whole set! I've certainly seen that routine from European bands before, but this one was uniquely hilarious because after taking a sip of the piss-water, he didn't show any exaggerated disgust; instead, he gave the bottle a look of utter bemusement. He simply had no idea what to think at all, and could not stop staring at the bottle, hoping that examining it would bring him some understanding.
But yeah, he still never figured out that the "American" beer he was drinking was technically Canadian (Labatt Bleue; they must have brought it down with them from their Canadian shows?)
Neil
Machine of Hate
Member
booB
Señor Member
Dolamite S. Biffle
Biffliest Person Ever
Turisas pwned! I will write a full review at some point. I could use an Ensiferum set list if anyone has one?
Rahn
Etiam
- May 4, 2008
- 1
- 0
- 1
Greetings, all. First post on this forum, though I've been trolling about the community for a while (Powerfest/Progpower/Heathencrusade) keeping an eye on things. Norm is responsible for finally getting me to join up...
I think you overestimate me a bit, but I'll do what I can. Was a strong show, overall, I thought. General consensus seems to be that Turisas was the surprise success and that Tyr disappointed a little, energywise, and I can't say I disagree. Enjoy both bands thoroughly, but Tyr didn't seem to have the same presence, unfortunately.
Regardless, here are my photos from the night for...
Eluveitie: http://thegauntlet.com/photos/4005/Eluveitie.html
Tyr: http://thegauntlet.com/photos/760/Tyr.html
More coming in the next couple days for Ensiferum and Turisas.
Is there an introduction thread that I should hit up or would this place do?
I think you overestimate me a bit, but I'll do what I can. Was a strong show, overall, I thought. General consensus seems to be that Turisas was the surprise success and that Tyr disappointed a little, energywise, and I can't say I disagree. Enjoy both bands thoroughly, but Tyr didn't seem to have the same presence, unfortunately.
Regardless, here are my photos from the night for...
Eluveitie: http://thegauntlet.com/photos/4005/Eluveitie.html
Tyr: http://thegauntlet.com/photos/760/Tyr.html
More coming in the next couple days for Ensiferum and Turisas.
Is there an introduction thread that I should hit up or would this place do?
The Invisible Guest
Member
Going in I knew and liked Tyr's music the best, but live they are not a ball of a fire, and that stuck out a bit when sandwiched between a couple highly active groups. There was nothing wrong with Tyr's playing though .. sounded great.
Turisas and Eluveitie where the stand out all around performers to me. I had seen (sort of) Turisas in Germany, and they got a fantastic response. The people over there ate them up, and from what I could tell the American crowd did as well. Eluveitie was fun to watch .. so many crazy looking musicians with weird instruments .. very fun on the visual end. I also had a great spot in the balcony area for this one.
By the time Ensiferum hit the stage I had retired to the bar area .. I had simply had my fill of pagan folk metal for the night. All in all though .. a fun show ... glad I got to see this.
Britt
Vegetaman
Jagdpanzer
I went into this show only having heard a few select songs from Tyr beforehand, and I really enjoyed the hell out of Tyr and Turisas. That was amazing. The other bands were okay, as well (that one girl from Eluviete (sp?) was very attractive, too). It was a good night of music.
I found this vid of her playing "Dead to the world" by Nightwish, pretty cool vid.
[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=quSs_Ef4L94[/ame]
welcome............no need to do an introduction post....we will just all goof on you. feel free to get your hands dirty...join in on any of our battles.
DEADHEART
The Bringer Has Come
That was a really cool video. I talked to her for a couple of minutes after the show and she was an absolute sweetheart, very soft spoken and seemed really happy to be there.
I got to the show late and only got to see Turisas and Ensiferum. I have never heard anything from any of the bands on this bill and I was instantly hooked!!! Just the overall vibe of the crowd and the music was a nice thing to see, hear, and experience, you really couldn't resist wanting to raise up your beer and let out a "Hey!, Hey!, Hey!".
Paganfest stole the weekend for me. Best show I've had the pleasure of attending. Eluveitie was a rocking mindfuck. I was stage right behind some tall folks so I didn't get to see the hurdy gurdy, but crazy pipe man more than made up for it. Best stage presence I've seen...ever. Turisas was incredible...they played us like a fiddle, although I wish they would have played Fields of Gold. Ensiferum's musicianship was fantastic (so tight), but I resigned to listening and watching the crowd for their set (due in part to Turisas wearing me out!). Tyr would have been great before Eluveitie, but after...great vocal work nonetheless (three vocal lines...in tune...in balance...in metal...).
And just as a general statement about the entire night. I love that none of the bands overplayed the venue. I hate it when bands try to pump too much sound into a venue that can't take it. Sure, they may be loud and rock, but they sound like a jumbled mess as a result.
Anyway, absolutely fantastic show.
And just as a general statement about the entire night. I love that none of the bands overplayed the venue. I hate it when bands try to pump too much sound into a venue that can't take it. Sure, they may be loud and rock, but they sound like a jumbled mess as a result.
Anyway, absolutely fantastic show.
Dolamite S. Biffle
Biffliest Person Ever
Lineup: ENSIFERUM / TURISAS / TYR / ELUVEITIE / EARTHEN
My love for Folk Metal started with SKYCLAD and their excellent second album "A Burnt Offering For A Bone Idol" back in 1992. So, I was more than eager to cover Chicagos Pagan Fest for the METAL TEMPLE with the help of my fellow templar Ian. I got at The Pearl Room and met Ian who told me that I had just lost the local band EARTHEN who were the latest addition to the festivals billing.
(Ian talks) EARTHEN was the opening act and actually they were pretty good. An interesting mix of female and male vocals with the Folk Metal vibe that was consistent throughout the evening. It was in my understanding that the male vocalist was a fill-in since their original vocalist couldnt get off work; whatever the case was I thought he did a great job. The female vocalist had all kinds of stage presence with headbanging and actually getting the crowd involved.
(Dimitris reports) ELUVEITIE was the first band for me to watch and I can say for the very beginning I was totally surprised. During the preparation of the stage I counted 8 persons that were setting up their gear! They had some non-Metal instruments (some of them I could not identify) like the custom made "Hurdy-gurdy" (I learned about this on their website), a gaita, a violin and several types of flutes. The 8 piece band was full of energy and was dancing all over the stage that turned to be too small to hold them. The strong melodic lines combined to the harsh vocals and solid guitars really heated up the atmosphere. I really enjoyed the catchy and up-lifting melody of "Inis Mona" and banged my head during the groovy and faster "Gray Sublime Archon". I am sure that the band earned some supporters that night and they totally deserved it.
(Ian adds) I agree with Dimitris 1000% on ELUVEITIE. Lots of moving, lots of energy and lots of rocking out done by the crowd. Everyone in the place was moving in some way. Its truly awesome to see people having fun at Metal shows without having to mosh and do stupid shit even though there was some moshing that I could see. "Inis Mona" was totally the highlight of their set, which is why they opened with it. I was only familiar to 3 songs from their set list so I didnt enjoy the set as much as I could have.
(Dimitris speaks) Next, on the program were TYR a band that hails from the non-traditional Metal country Faeroe Islands (thanks Greg). This band was kind of unlucky to play after ELUVEITIE who had performed with that high energy and spirit. Although, they had a solid sound with some pretty good guitar leads they failed to follow the already high spirit by choosing mid tempo songs. This eventually held back the audience that seemed to have lost some of their interest. The only exceptions were the excellent "Hail To The Hammer" that made most of us sing the chorus lines and the Epic "Ragnarok". I bet that in different conditions the band would have a better luck. I will definitely check them out!
(Ian notes) I have been a fan of TYR for a long time and I was kind of afraid how they would go over after watching ELUVEITIE as well as the poor reports that was I hearing from the East Coast shows. I thought musically they were great, but they just followed the wrong band and lost the interest of the people. Though they did try to get the crowd involved with a decent amount of movement about the stage. The bassist made a variety of ridiculous faces that brought a smile to my face and a fist in the air.
(Dimitris words) I was kind of expecting to see live TURISAS especially after the very good impressions from "The Varangian Way" that sounded way better than their debut "Battle Metal". The band from Finland entered the stage in their barbaric outfits with leather and fur and painted with red based colors. The energetic entrance met the audiences excitement and created a really heated up atmosphere. Mathias Nygεrd turned to be a very good frontman who built a straightforward connection to the audience. The songs were excellent to sing along and so we did, during "To Holmgard And Beyond" and "A Portage To The Unknown" while we danced our asses off with the accordion driven "In The Court Of Jarisleif". Mathias said some bad things about the US beers (I totally agreed with him!) and praised the European ones just before "One More". Of course, the hit of their performance was their cover version to "Rasputin" that was enthusiastically welcomed by almost everyone. Their setlist ended with "Battle Metal" leaving excellent impressions to everyone especially with their vigorous on-stage performance.
(Ian says) Can you say "stole the show"? That is precisely what TURISAS did. They were absolutely amazing from the face paint and fur to the chanting choruses and overall presence on stage. They were everything I could have hoped for and more except they didnt play "Cursed Be The Iron". They redeemed themselves by playing "One More" and "To Holmgard and Beyond". The accordionist I was sure how that would work live, but of course it fitted just like a glove. You have to see this band if love to drink and have a great time at a metal show.
(Dimitris...)The headliners were ENSIFERUM a band that also hails from Finland. I was quite surprise to realize that this band had some pretty solid fan base here at Chicago who were anticipating to watch them on stage. The five piece band entered the stage wearing something like kilts made of the Finnish flag. Even though their on-stage presence was nothing really special (especially the singer was kind of stationary) their performance and sound was solid as hell. One exception from the mediocre on-stage presence was the beautiful keyboard player that disappointedly remained on the back during the whole show. Without many or long pauses the band played songs like "Token of Time", "One More Magic Potion", "Victory Song" and "Dragonheads" that gave an the US metalheads the perfect excuse to form some mosh pits and sweat a little bit more. and "Battle Song" that comes from their debut album was the last of their setlist that I think satisfied everyone (including me).
(Ian talks) The Finnish Folk Metal masters ENSIFERUM were fucking great as well to continue the trend that was the entire evening. Easily the highlight was "One More Magic Potion" getting everyone that was in attendance (approx. 700) on their feet and shaking their asses. Their presence is where I have to disagree with Dimitris, I thought they did a great job even though there was little movement. Even when they were stationary they were still ripping apart their guitars. I would have liked to see the keyboardist come to the forefront though.
(Dimitris concludes) To sum things up Paganfest was way better than I expected with some of the leading bands in the growing Folk Metal scene. As a conclusion I can say that this kind of music is million times better to listen live since you can sing and why not dance to.
(Ian closes the report) Paganfest was one the best concerts I have been to and I thoroughly hope there will be a another Paganfest tour soon. And according to the rumors that I heard stirring about the venue was KORPIKLAANI will be headlining a tour this fall. :crosses fingers: I also want to thanks CR&J Promotions for bringing the show to Chicago and putting our metal asses on the guest list.
My love for Folk Metal started with SKYCLAD and their excellent second album "A Burnt Offering For A Bone Idol" back in 1992. So, I was more than eager to cover Chicagos Pagan Fest for the METAL TEMPLE with the help of my fellow templar Ian. I got at The Pearl Room and met Ian who told me that I had just lost the local band EARTHEN who were the latest addition to the festivals billing.
(Ian talks) EARTHEN was the opening act and actually they were pretty good. An interesting mix of female and male vocals with the Folk Metal vibe that was consistent throughout the evening. It was in my understanding that the male vocalist was a fill-in since their original vocalist couldnt get off work; whatever the case was I thought he did a great job. The female vocalist had all kinds of stage presence with headbanging and actually getting the crowd involved.
(Dimitris reports) ELUVEITIE was the first band for me to watch and I can say for the very beginning I was totally surprised. During the preparation of the stage I counted 8 persons that were setting up their gear! They had some non-Metal instruments (some of them I could not identify) like the custom made "Hurdy-gurdy" (I learned about this on their website), a gaita, a violin and several types of flutes. The 8 piece band was full of energy and was dancing all over the stage that turned to be too small to hold them. The strong melodic lines combined to the harsh vocals and solid guitars really heated up the atmosphere. I really enjoyed the catchy and up-lifting melody of "Inis Mona" and banged my head during the groovy and faster "Gray Sublime Archon". I am sure that the band earned some supporters that night and they totally deserved it.
(Ian adds) I agree with Dimitris 1000% on ELUVEITIE. Lots of moving, lots of energy and lots of rocking out done by the crowd. Everyone in the place was moving in some way. Its truly awesome to see people having fun at Metal shows without having to mosh and do stupid shit even though there was some moshing that I could see. "Inis Mona" was totally the highlight of their set, which is why they opened with it. I was only familiar to 3 songs from their set list so I didnt enjoy the set as much as I could have.
(Dimitris speaks) Next, on the program were TYR a band that hails from the non-traditional Metal country Faeroe Islands (thanks Greg). This band was kind of unlucky to play after ELUVEITIE who had performed with that high energy and spirit. Although, they had a solid sound with some pretty good guitar leads they failed to follow the already high spirit by choosing mid tempo songs. This eventually held back the audience that seemed to have lost some of their interest. The only exceptions were the excellent "Hail To The Hammer" that made most of us sing the chorus lines and the Epic "Ragnarok". I bet that in different conditions the band would have a better luck. I will definitely check them out!
(Ian notes) I have been a fan of TYR for a long time and I was kind of afraid how they would go over after watching ELUVEITIE as well as the poor reports that was I hearing from the East Coast shows. I thought musically they were great, but they just followed the wrong band and lost the interest of the people. Though they did try to get the crowd involved with a decent amount of movement about the stage. The bassist made a variety of ridiculous faces that brought a smile to my face and a fist in the air.
(Dimitris words) I was kind of expecting to see live TURISAS especially after the very good impressions from "The Varangian Way" that sounded way better than their debut "Battle Metal". The band from Finland entered the stage in their barbaric outfits with leather and fur and painted with red based colors. The energetic entrance met the audiences excitement and created a really heated up atmosphere. Mathias Nygεrd turned to be a very good frontman who built a straightforward connection to the audience. The songs were excellent to sing along and so we did, during "To Holmgard And Beyond" and "A Portage To The Unknown" while we danced our asses off with the accordion driven "In The Court Of Jarisleif". Mathias said some bad things about the US beers (I totally agreed with him!) and praised the European ones just before "One More". Of course, the hit of their performance was their cover version to "Rasputin" that was enthusiastically welcomed by almost everyone. Their setlist ended with "Battle Metal" leaving excellent impressions to everyone especially with their vigorous on-stage performance.
(Ian says) Can you say "stole the show"? That is precisely what TURISAS did. They were absolutely amazing from the face paint and fur to the chanting choruses and overall presence on stage. They were everything I could have hoped for and more except they didnt play "Cursed Be The Iron". They redeemed themselves by playing "One More" and "To Holmgard and Beyond". The accordionist I was sure how that would work live, but of course it fitted just like a glove. You have to see this band if love to drink and have a great time at a metal show.
(Dimitris...)The headliners were ENSIFERUM a band that also hails from Finland. I was quite surprise to realize that this band had some pretty solid fan base here at Chicago who were anticipating to watch them on stage. The five piece band entered the stage wearing something like kilts made of the Finnish flag. Even though their on-stage presence was nothing really special (especially the singer was kind of stationary) their performance and sound was solid as hell. One exception from the mediocre on-stage presence was the beautiful keyboard player that disappointedly remained on the back during the whole show. Without many or long pauses the band played songs like "Token of Time", "One More Magic Potion", "Victory Song" and "Dragonheads" that gave an the US metalheads the perfect excuse to form some mosh pits and sweat a little bit more. and "Battle Song" that comes from their debut album was the last of their setlist that I think satisfied everyone (including me).
(Ian talks) The Finnish Folk Metal masters ENSIFERUM were fucking great as well to continue the trend that was the entire evening. Easily the highlight was "One More Magic Potion" getting everyone that was in attendance (approx. 700) on their feet and shaking their asses. Their presence is where I have to disagree with Dimitris, I thought they did a great job even though there was little movement. Even when they were stationary they were still ripping apart their guitars. I would have liked to see the keyboardist come to the forefront though.
(Dimitris concludes) To sum things up Paganfest was way better than I expected with some of the leading bands in the growing Folk Metal scene. As a conclusion I can say that this kind of music is million times better to listen live since you can sing and why not dance to.
(Ian closes the report) Paganfest was one the best concerts I have been to and I thoroughly hope there will be a another Paganfest tour soon. And according to the rumors that I heard stirring about the venue was KORPIKLAANI will be headlining a tour this fall. :crosses fingers: I also want to thanks CR&J Promotions for bringing the show to Chicago and putting our metal asses on the guest list.
