LIVE FROM THE PIT: Korpiklaani, Finntroll, Heidevolk, Trollfest and The Dead Crew of Oddwood
- Will Freeman
- 24 hours ago
- 4 min read
Metal is truly at its finest when it has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek.
The tour was billed as Heidenfest, a celebration of all things folk metal with a lineup of five bands, and it would be no stretch to say the evening could be categorised somewhere between a festival and a standard gig. The crowd was a collection of metal heads who just wanted a fun time.
The first band of the night was THE DEAD CREW OF ODDWOOD, bringing their acoustic folk metal to open and set the mood. Their setup was built on double bass, accordion, flute and metal drums. The music is what you want to open a night of folk metal with - tales of drinking and fighting epic monsters. It was a short set of everything you would expect. Despite being an acoustic band, they still retained their metal feel through passion and speed, and it is not every day you see someone shred on an accordion.
Next on the lineup was TROLLFEST, who hit the stage dressed in pink flamingo inspired garb. Their set was simply just fun chaos. Songs about flamingos and - in a true folk metal style, drinking. The band brought an infectious energy of pure joy through every track they played. Musically, they primarily stand out thanks to the use of saxophone, which gives their music an extra dimension of chaos. The band led the crowd in dances and a record attempt for the longest conga line at a metal gig - the record was not broken, but the line nearly crashed into itself from its length. If this were a more traditional festival, this would be the part where everyone ran through muddy pits to be a bit silly, but luckily at this time of year it was indoors.
The third band of the night was HEIDEVOLK. The band utilises the power of two vocalists, making the stage seem more dynamic than usual. Their style is on the heavier end of folk metal, yet they were not the heaviest band on the bill. Unusually the majority of the band’s lyrics were in Dutch. Thematically it was folklore based, complete with the band using shields on stage. It was another shorter set as there was the challenge of fitting five bands into one bill. The set featured a range of tracks from their discography, including some of their rare English language tracks. The band showed who they are and what makes them HEIDEVOLK.
The second to last band was FINNTROLL, who brought their mixture of folk and black metal. Unfortunately, for this tour their vocalist Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns was unable to join them, but luckily was replaced by the more than capable Mathias "Kistelach" Dahlsveen, who blended into the band seamlessly. The microphone stand was decorated with skulls and featured a built-in smoke machine, creating some interesting visuals. The music was heavy, which whipped up the crowd into a frenzy. The whole venue seemed to join in on some level with the pit. The band’s stage getup featured them wearing elven ears which hopefully allowed them to hear how loud the crowd was. At first glance they could be the night’s headliners with how the crowd seemed to enjoy them.
Their music is uniquely “FINTROLL”, as it has a certain dynamic quality other folk metal bands seem to lack. As the heaviest band on the bill, they managed to keep their power for the entire set. As it contrasted with the rest of the lineup, it did make the bill seem more festival-like by standing out musically. FINNTROLL are everything you want from a combination of black metal and folk and they put everything they can into bringing it live.
The headliners of the evening were the folk metal legends KORPIKLAANI. The best way to describe them would be a metal party band. Their music is as folk metal as it comes, songs about drinking featuring violin and accordion, after all their biggest song is called Vodka. They brought a true party atmosphere to the stage as soon as they started. Early in the set they played the fan favourite The Man With the Plan which caused the audience to sing and dance along with every lyric, as it is one of the band's few true metal classics. KORPIKLAANI are one of those bands that are a staple of metal festivals, so headlining their own mini festival makes a lot of sense. They know how to entertain on stage. Everything is the right side of cheesy, just enough to make you smile enthusiastically.
As the band’s set went on they used the middle of the set to play some of the lesser known tracks. Although these were not as popular or really sing-alongs, the crowd still enjoyed them as it was all distinctly KORPIKLAANI. The set did lose a slight bit of momentum at this middle point, as the band’s better known songs stood head and shoulders above the rest in the minds of metalheads. As the set drew to a close they ended on the legendary track Vodka, which left the crowd to have one last burst of energy before departing to their normal live. It was the well deserved finish after six hours of metal on a Tuesday night in the middle of February.
Words: Will Freeman
Photos: Katerina Stepanikova
Comments