Hollywood Metal Episode 20 (audio)

Friday May 9th 2008: PAGAN FEST was the most EPIC event EVER! My neck hurts from headbanging and my arms hurt throwing up the horns! Everyone was rocking so hard at the show, the mosh pit was violent, crowd suffers we’re carried to the front at regular intervals, all 5 bands sounded great!.. the show was perfect!

SUIDAKRA opened the show and I think they surprised a lot of people in the audience. The fast riffing and high energy stage presence of the band had the mosh pit rocking early on. People who were hanging out at the bar ran to the floor to join the madness. ELUVEITIE was next with what can only be described as a “wall of sound.” As you can see by the pictures there we’re six musicians across the House of Blues Stage supplying the crowd their fix of epic folk metal! I knew what to expect from ENSIFERUM and TURISAS going into the show. What I did not expect was the incredible performance by ELUVEITIE. The songs are heavy and fast but their are even heavier and faster live! The traditional folk kilts, pipes, flutes and dancing was reminiscent of a viking raid party on the shores of a conquered settlement… EPIC! By the time TYR took the stage the crowd was ripe for battle! The TYR songs are in a lot of ways more epic and powerful then most viking metal bands. The songs are slower folk ballads about the days of yore and the wrath of gods! A perfect fit for this heathen congregation called pagan fest. I’ve seen lots of footage of TURISAS in concert so I knew what to expect from the viking warriors from Hameenlinna, Finland. It’s one thing to see video… it is quite another thing to witness the theatrics and energy live! Dressed in northern battle gear, animal furs and leather armor the band assembled on the stage and began rocking. Warlord, the vocalist was the last to arrive on the stage and he was a sight to behold… blood face paint and huge shoulder armor.. TURISAS RULES! Warlord was a true pro at working a metal crowd… the heathen audience, including myself, rocked so hard throughout their performance. Everyone knew the words, especially on “To Holmgard and Beyond” and the closing song “Battle Metal.” After setting up the stage with image banners and unveiling the sword and shield fronted keyboard, it was time for ENSIFERUM to take the stage and bring the house down! Dressed in Finnish embroidered kilts the vikings did not disappoint. A great mix of new and old songs were played and the crowd was tuned into every note and every word. Obviously the guitars and drums rocked, Petri was a brilliant pickup for the band after Jari left so I knew the band would be great. I was curious to hear the keyboards because they were the only element I couldn’t reference from released material or videos. Emmi Silvennoinen, (former Exsecratus) who has taken over for Meiju Enho was excellent on the keys! She fit right in, didn’t miss a note and had excellent stage presence with her relentless head banging and hair swirling! Bottom line… ENSIFERUM is the best band EVER!

On the next episode of Hollywood Metal we will have some people in the studio with us who were also at the show and we’ll discuss the night further. Also, we’ll have some short video clips on our youtube channel soon.

As for this past week’s show the following was the setlist.. i’m tired of writing so just listen to the show!

DRUEIDA – “Natural Disaster”
BLASPHEMOUS CREATION – “They Come at Night”
WINTERSUN – “Beyond the Dark Sun”
REBIRTH – “Anthem of the Black Hearted”
CORPORATION 187 – “Question the Light”
SATYRICON – “K.I.N.G.”
DRAGONLORD – “The Curse of Woe”