I was very excited to learn that there was going to be a Pagan Metal tour that I could attend during my stay in London. I've been to so many concerts in the United States that I've lost count, but I've never been to any metal show in any other country I've visited. The tour was Heidenfest, “heiden” meaning “pagan.” I was excited about this opportunity because a lot of these bands do not usually tour anywhere other than in Europe. I was somewhat upset to learn that my personal favorite folk band, Ensiferum, would not be part of Heidenfest this year. My second favorite folk metal band, Korpiklaani, was to be on Heidenfest, but they would not be playing the London show. The bands that were featured were Skalmold, Trollfest, Arkona, Alestorm, Finntroll, and headlining was Turisas. This was Heidenfest's third year running and I was still really excited to go.
Heidenfest was at the HMV forum this year which was, in my opinion, a perfect venue for the show. It had a lower stalls area closer to the stage, and a higher one towards the back. There were two bars in the back, and they got a lot of clients throughout the show. The HMV forum does have a balcony, but this area was closed off for this show.
I got to the show late because I did not really want to go see Skalmold, or Trollfest. My intention was to arrive at the forum before Arkona's set, to be in time for Alestorm. I learned shortly before the show that Arkona was not going to perform, so the other bands' set times were moved up. As a result, I arrived late and in the middle of Alestorm's set. I also got lost getting to the venue by accidently getting off the bus at the wrong stop, which also contributed to my late arrival. I feared I would miss Alestorm's set altogether.
When I got to the venue, Alestorm was on set. Alestorm is a Scottish Pirate Metal band, and holds true to their genre. The band is considered Pirate Metal because of their lyrics dealing with this theme. Their most popular lyrics deal with “wenches and mead,” being Keelhauled, swashbuckling, shipwreck, and rum. I made my way to the front right away. I was really surprised that for Alestorm, the entire front stalls area was almost completely all a mosh pit. This made for a very painful show, but I enjoyed every minute I was there. Alestorm gave a very good show, and engaged with the crowd. They asked questions of the crowd and stirred them up for pits, which I thought was great. Alestorm was fittingly in pirate costume, and so were many of their fans. Almost everyone was intoxicated during this set. At the very end, the singer dove into the crowd, and they carried him around the entire venue a whole three times.
The next band to take the stage was Finntroll. The change between sets for the bands was really fast, which I was surprised to see because they take much longer in the United States. The sound was good through all three sets that I got to see. Finntroll is a Folk Metal band from Finland. They mix Black Metal sound and vocals with traditional Finnish music. I had seen Finntroll in Los Angeles before, and thought their performance their was great. Their performance in London was even better than the last time I saw them. I think this was because the crowd was more engaged than they were in Los Angeles. I was surprised that almost everyone knew the words to their lyrics because most of the words are in Finnish. It was interesting however, because Finntroll did not engage with the crowd as much as the other bands. They did motion for them to “circle pit,” but no one seemed to understand. There was, nevertheless, a large pit for this band. My favorite song, “Trollhammaren” was what Finntroll closed with so I was very happy.
I was in the pit for most of the set for Finntroll. I liked it better than in the United States because I felt that people did not discriminate against me because I am a female. Usually they are afraid to touch me, but at this show it didn't matter. I was happy to learn that people were friendly to one another at this show. It's hard to explain how there can be friendliness in a pit, where everyone is pushing, and shoving each other, but it exists. When someone fell behind me in the pit, several other people and I tried to help them up. I fell trying to help this person up, and so did a bunch of other people. Some one helped me up right away though. Also, if someone finds something on the ground that someone has lost, they hold it up in the air to return it. This is what I refer to, when I talk about friendliness in the pit.
Turisas was the final band for the night. It was fitting because they were the band most in demand of the night. They were also the largest pit, and the longest set. Turisas is also a Finnish band, and their genre is Battle Metal. Their music is in more of an “epic” style, and symphonic with folk attributes. There is a lot more Viking sound in their music, as opposed to Finntroll. Turisas' costume consisted of painting themselves an earthy red, with black battle paint designs on their faces, neck, arms, and chest. All clothing worn was black. Many members of the audience were in this costume as well. Turisas was the unique band of the night because they featured a violin, aside the typical drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards.
Turisas was the band that engaged the most with the crowd. The lead singer asked questions several times, spoke about each song before it was played, and mentioned various times how happy Turisas was to be able to tour in London. Also, he mentioned that he was grateful that their album was selling so well in the United Kingdom, and also excitement that they were going to tour in the United Kingdom again in the next few weeks. The lead singer joked with the crowd as well, poking fun at the fact that the band that did not make it, Arkona, was stuck in France of all places. Turisas was the best set, and the entire lower stands were a pit. I was in the pit for most of the set for this band as well. I enjoyed Turisas the most because everyone was so into the performance.
I had the most fun at this show than I've had in probably my entire stay in London. I was really happy to learn that there was such a huge metal scene in London, as at this show alone there were about 400 people. It did sell out. The crowd was engaged for the entire time that I was there, which was refreshing. Although most of these bands were from different countries, it was evident that all these people in attendance were real fans who knew the music. I was happy to learn this because the Metal genre is so vast, and so many people are close-minded to the sub-genres. I had neck pain the next day from whiplash, which is always an indicator that I had a good time headbanging at the concert. I was happy to be at a sweaty, band t-shirt filled, stinky, drunk venue again. For me, it was like being home again. I felt comfortable, and not so much like an outcast.
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