Paganfest 2012: Live in Denver

What could be better than Paganfest on a Friday night? Nothing! With a lineup squaring off Pirates and Vikings, to Russian folk metal, and the thrashing of Huntress, the Marquis Theater was bursting at the seams with pirate garb, furs, leathers, and battle metal war paint for a crowd that was more than ready for a booze-filled metal party.

Huntress opened the bill and had the immediate attention of the entire venue. While more and more women seem to be appearing in the metal world these days, vocalist Jill Janus proved she belonged. Her voice demanded your attention and she really showcased her abilities, sustaining her screams and clean vocals for ungodly amounts of time, especially in the mile-high air of Denver. Musically, the band was spot on. Lead guitarist Blake Meahl’s frets were blazing, and their set was solid. The group’s new album Spell Eater is out May 8^th on Napalm Records. They set the bar quite high for the rest of the night.

Russian folk metallers Arkona were up next, and just seconds into the show you knew you were in for a wild ride. Another female vocalist stormed the stage, and with a scowling scream, Masha “Scream” Arhipova was a blur as she frantically stormed across every foot of the stage. The band has a more classical folk-metal sound, utilizing bagpipes, and a variety of flutes and vocal chants that translated really well in the live setting. Music really is the universal language. The band spoke very little English, but there connection with the crowd could not be denied. The band really had the crowd going as the jigs and dances opened up. There are those moments in folk-metal where the bands have the quick tempo guitars and folk instruments going full force where you just feel inclined to join arms and spin around with your fellow metalheads, and this was a common occurrence throughout Arkona’s set. Dan and I dubbed it the “folk-metal two-step”.

Scottish pirate metaller’s Alestorm were up next, and their fans were out in full force. Vocalist Christopher Bowes came out and sang “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” for his microphone check and before we knew it, he shouts, “We are Alestorm and I am drunk!” The band immediately burst into “Shipwrecked” and was nothing short of awesome. The crowd was soon riding the tide and overflowing onto the stage. Beer and whiskey kept making its way through the crowd and directly into Bowes’ mouth. The visibly intoxicated front man still managed to hit all of his notes, and after some instances, seemed almost surprised he managed to do so! They were one of the funner bands to watch live I’ve ever seen; it was just a giant party. They stormed through, “The Sunk’n Norwegian”, “Rum”, “Keelhauled”, “Wenches and Mead” and more. Swashbuckle’s drummer Eric Brown was in attendance and after a bit of begging from Bowes, he yelled to the crowd to “grab him and throw him on stage” as Brown joined the group for a song. The only boo heard during their set was before the band played “Back Through Time” were Bowes proclaimed, “This song is about killing Vikings!” with a mischievous smile on his face. Some Turisas fans booed, and then one was asked to join the band on stage, this lead to more crowd surfing, and utter mayhem. My favorite part of their set: the drunken sing along of “Nancythe Tavern Wench” or their cover of “No Quarter”. Alestorm are definitely one band you need to see; so much fun!

Turisas closed out the festivities of Paganfest with an hour long set, their first headlining tour ever in the United States. Opening with “The March of the Varangian Guard” the band sounded much more complete with new keyboardist Robert Engstrand. All the orchestral effects especially off of Stand up and Fight were audible and they sound so much stronger! The group played through “Take the Day!”, the high energy tracks, “Sahti Waari” and “Rasputin” and included their “sing-along” track “One More” which worked well with the inebriated crowd at the late point in the night. The band battled back against Alestorm’s “attack” with their track “Hunting Pirates”. At one point during “Rasputin” Alestorm’s front man who was being bought drink after drink at the bar, crowd surfed his way onto the stage and began dancing a jig before falling over and being helped off by the sound guy. That man knows how to party!!! Turisas finished off their set with their classic track “Battle Metal” and before we knew it, the drunken, fun-packed night at Paganfest 2012 was over.

There are only a couple of dates left on the tour, but be on the lookout for all these bands on the road soon. Don’t forget to pick up Huntress’ new album, Spell Eater out May 8^th, on Nuclear Blast Records!

Now, reward yourself with Alestorm’s new video!

-Chris

April 15, 2012 | Categories: Reviews | Tags: Alestorm, Arkona, christopher Bowes, Huntress, jill janus, Nuclear Blast Records, paganfest, paganfest 2012, paganfest america, turisas | 2 Comments »