Paganfest Recap! TYR and Ensiferum at The House of Blues on 4/02

The LA metal scene loves European metal and I am no exception to the rule! Paganfest has become one of my favorite annual concert series because they always book a solid lineup and it's always so fun. This year's lineup was Helsott, Trollfest, Heidevolk, TYR and Ensiferum! The House of Blues was jam-packed with excited fans and I was right in the thick of it. 

Please tell me you didn't miss this!

 
At long last I finally got to see TYR play some songs off of the Eric the Red album! Now I know that when I die, my ghost won't angrily haunt the Faroe Islands, demanding to hear a live performance of Regin Smidur. No one else does viking metal like TYR! This is the band to go see if you like Norse mythology told through artfully composed riffs and archaic Scandinavian chants. They have a completely original (and amazing) sound! I swear this band's guitar tone resounds with the blessings of Valhalla.

Somehow, the moshpit was raging during the entire TYR set, even during the slower songs. It's just proof that LA loves TYR and they need to headline their own serious North American tour!

Ensiferum was the headliner on the Paganfest tour, and they played a bitchin' set, too! They're one of those incredible folk metal bands that's come out of the spectacular Helsinki, Finland music scene. 

Be sure to check out TYR and Ensiferum on Facebook, Reverb Nation, and most importantly, on their next tour!

The next event on my concert calendar is Ascendancy, tonight, at the Smoke and Metal event.

Turisas at The Key Club on 2/22!

Man, oh man, what a show! Turisas put on an incredible performance last Friday night at The Key Club! Any fan of power metal or Finnish folk metal should check out this band. They take the best elements of viking, folk, power and symphonic metal, and blend them together into the stunning amalgamation they call "battle metal".  And from what I can tell, their epic movie soundtrack feel is created live by keyboards and a violin, not from a cheater backing track. These guys had tremendous energy and really know how to get a crowd excited! There were tons of dudes in the pit sporting the red Turisas warrior facepaint.

Olli Vanska shreds the hell out of his violin!

I'll have to make it out to Helsinki, Finland one day because there are just too many good bands over there! Be sure to check out Turisas on Facebook and watch out for their next US tour!

The next event on my concert calendar is Scattered Hamlet at The Viper Room on Monday, March 4th. I might also make it over to The House Blues to catch The Future Villains right before Scattered Hamlet plays.

Eluveitie and Wintersun at The House of Blues on 11/29

The House of Blues was SOLD OUT for Eluveitie and Wintersun last Thursday. I feel sorry for anyone who missed out on this ragin' folk metal party! I waited in line for about 25 minutes and completely missed the first band, Varg (not to be confused with Varg of Burzum). Hope I get a chance to check them out the next time they visit the states.

Apparently Wintersun had never played a U.S. show before so they had a huuuuge turn-out of eager fans. It seems like European folk-inspired metal is the most popular kind of metal in Los Angeles since every time a band from Finland plays, the show sells out. Good for them! It's great to see people support touring bands. I was totally new to Wintersun and they blew me away with their over-the-top sound and amazing performance. Lots of sweeping arpeggios, double bass, and a mix of clean and death growl vocals. If you're into Moonsorrow or Children of Bodom you'll probably also be a Wintersun fan. They played a pretty long set, too, which was very cool since there were as many people there to see them as there were for Eluveitie.

                                 Wintersun! So glad I remembered my camera.

Swiss band Eluveitie finished off the night with a truly epic folk metal set. If you're not familiar with this style of metal, Eluveitie is a great place to start exploring this myth-invoking genre. Since there are eight members in the band there are a lot of different instruments competing for your attention but they manage to pull it off really well, without it sounding like an orchestra or a bunch of noise. Flute and fiddle actually carry most of the melody in their songs but the band is definitely still metal, with the vocals split between a standard male death growl and clean female vocals. The band put on a tremendously high energy show and performed a lot of their new material, which happens to be totally bitchin. Can't wait for them to visit LA again!

 Frontman Chrigal Glazmann was leading the musical charge with some kind of crazy flute.

Be sure to check out Wintersun and Eluveitie on Facebook, Spotify, Pandora, or whatever it is that you use. And if you really like them both, you might also want to check out some other folk metal bands that are playing on the next Paganfest tour.

The next event on my concert calendar is 3 Inches of Blood on December 11th at The Whiskey (they're also playing a free show on the 9th in Fullerton). I'll be missing Megadeth in Pomona on the 7th because of an unavoidable work conflict. Noooooo!! 

TYR at The Whiskey, with Moonsorrow, Korpiklaani on 9/12

After almost three years of being a huge fan, I finally got to see TYR live at The Whiskey! As soon as Metsatoll completed their set, I squirmed up to the very front of the stage to maximize my viking metal experience. And what an experience it was! Sure, there are plenty of other folk metal and viking metal bands out there, most of which I've seen, but no other band comes close to sounding like TYR. Ah, the bright clear guitar tone, the Faroese chanting, the ancient rhythms of old Norse songs... all of these attributes and the feelings they impart are unique to TYR. Their songs conjure up images of viking long ships navigating the foamy oceans centuries long past during the great Norse expansion.... sigh. As expected, their live show was nothing short of breath-taking and it exceeded every expectation I had. Now, all of my metal dreams have come true!

Korpiklaani and Moonsorrow also played great sets and I'd say all around it was a stellar show. Major props to whoever managed to put together such an amazing line up! Sometimes a concert is just a concert, but sometimes a concert is a mind-blowing, time traveling journey into an age of epic sagas and glorious, heathen adventures! 


Check TYR out on facebook https://www.facebook.com/tyrband

The next event on my concert calendar is Accept and Kreator at The Avalon on Wednesday, September 26th.