Live Review: Heathenfest 2009, November 25th, Vancouver, BC
November 27th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - Live, Shooting Gallery by admin
(Photo – Scott Alexander | ObsidianfoxPhotography.com)
Live Review – Heathenfest America 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Red Room, Vancouver, Canada
This past Wednesday up and coming metal promoters The Invisible Orange chose Vancouver’s Red Room to play host to the last North American date of the Heathenfest America 2009 tour. Stocked with an army of some of the best folk metal around –Eluveitie, Alestorm, Vreid and Kivimetsan Druidi with some death metal reinforcement courtesy of Belphegor- and acquiring the support of two of Vancouver’s best folk metal bands –Scythia and Trollband- Heathenfest descended on this cold, rainy night with the sole intention of drinking our city dry and raising some hell in the process.
Scythia hit the stage first. Having already garnered a lot of attention in the local scene for their energetic live show and distinctive take on the folk metal genre, this up and coming 6-piece got the show started right. Tearing through their much too short of a set, they made the most of the small stage, ensuring an entertaining performance and leaving a strong impression. Up next, Trollband picked up where Scythia left off kicking out a nice, dynamic mix of fast and slow songs. Although they were short one guitarist, the remaining members did a great job holding it down. Though their sound is varied, there’s definitely a more aggressive feel to these guys and their choice to end with one of the most brutal songs in their set definitely pleased fans with a bias for the heavy stuff.
Next, Kivimetsan Druidi, based out of Finland, mixed it up a bit with the operatic-style vocals of Leeni-Maria, not to mention her stage presence which varied at will between seductive and humorous. By the end of their set, she had the crowd worked up and ready for Norwegian black metal band Vreid. Though not quite as brutal as Belphegor, Vreid was the first band of the night to bring a consistently heavy sound. Unfortunately, many of their songs were pretty standard, each song resembling the next. Though they were heavy and fast, there wasn’t a whole of variety between tracks, which led to an overall unexciting set.
Darlings of the evening, Scottish pirate metal heathens Alestorm stole the show. Without a doubt, many people came just to see them as the venue was half cleared out the moment they left the stage. With some great drinking songs and an apparently never-ending supply of energy, they brought the Red Room to life. When they kicked into their first song, almost everyone in the venue made their way down to the floor, drink in hand. Front man Christopher Bowes proved to be quite the character, making jokes throughout their set and throwing down some sick solos on the keytar.
Next up, Belphegor stormed the stage only to find that half the venue had cleared out. Unfortunately, Belphegor, the only blackened death metal band on the bill were sort of the odd ducks on the tour and consequently the reception for them wasn’t the warmest. That being said, those of us who stayed, those of us who appreciate having our faces torn off by the Austrian quartet, were treated to a killer fucking show. Never one to disappoint, vocalist Helmut was in fine grotesque form, swearing at the crowd during sound check, taking pauses to make pig sounds into the mic while staring blankly at the crowd and pouring blood over himself during “Justine Soaked in Blood.” …
Finally, Eluveitie filled the stage beyond capacity with their 8 member line-up. While certain aspects of their sound could be categorized as a cross between the Black Dahlia Murder and Amon Amarth, their use of instruments seldom seen in metal music –i.e. mandolin, whistles, hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes to name a few- gives them a depth that helps them transcend these influences. With a seamless melding of brutal aggression and moments of contemplative beauty, Eluveitie are probably one of the most diverse bands to come around in a long time.
By Alxs Ness
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