It’s OFFICIAL! Paganfest 2012 lineup and dates confirmed!
I mentioned last week possible dates and the bands that would be on the United States return on Paganfest, and we now have the official dates. The tour will be headlined by Finnish battle-metallers Turisas, and feature Scottish pirate-metallers Alestorm, Rome’s very own Ex Deo, as well as Arkona and Huntress. Check out the dates below:
3/29 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
3/30 – Worcester, MA @ Palladium
3/31 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
4/1 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
4/2 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
4/3 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
4/4 – Detroit, MI @ Blondie’s
4/5 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
4/6 – Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4
4/7 – Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
4/8 – Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
4/9 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
4/11 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
4/12 – Lubbock, TX @ Jake’s
4/13 – Denver, CO @ The Marquis
4/15 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
4/16 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
4/17 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
4/18 – West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
4/19 – Tempe, AZ @ 910 Live
This is going to be an epic tour, with a unique, diverse lineup. It will be awesome to see Turisas play a proper headlining set, and is a good chance to see some bands that don’t come stateside too often.
-Chris
TYR – The Lay of Thrym
TYR are easily the best metal band from the Faroe Islands. Okay, I’m cheating because (without doing any research) are the ONLY metal band I know from the Faroe Islands. While you may not know where that is, you need to be well aware of their music. Their last offering By the Light of the Northern Star, made my “best of” list two years ago, and their latest album, The Lay of Thrym is another excellent edition to your viking/folk metal collection.
The musicianship on this album is top-notch. Guitarists Heri Joensen and Terji Skibenæs are an absolute force. Every song is oozing with infectous melodies and the solos are played with lightning speed and a precision that few players possess. 
The band have mastered dual-melodies the way Amon Amarth have mastered tremelo picking; resulting in a constantly revolving door of catchy riffs. While the music itself is enough to make this album worth your time, the vocals add a whole other element to the bands sound. The clean vocals are Joensen’s strongest yet, and the melodies he incorporates vocally give this band a truly unique sound. Whether it be the rapid-fire delivery of “Hall of Freedom” and “Flames of the Free” or the group chants of “Take Your Tyrant” the band definetely keep you engaged vocally. With lines like “You can shove the sins of your father where no light my pass, and kiss my Scandinavian ass” you can’t help but have a good time listening to this album.
While TYR has gone under the radar for the most part, this album has already had great success, soaring to #1 on the CMJ Loud Rock charts! The band also throws on some bonus tracks including a killer version of Rainbow’s “Stargazer”. So if you’re into infectously melodic guitar mastery, awesome vocals, and a truly unique viking/folk metal experience, this is one album you should NOT pass up.
-Chris
