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 8th 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 8th, on Nuclear Blast Records!
Now, reward yourself with Alestorm’s new video!
-Chris
Hey, Paganfest has begun!!!
Moving sucks. That’s the main reason you haven’t heard much from me (Chris) lately on the site. The good thing about moving is you find all kinds of shit you thought you threw away, lost, or just flat out forgot you had. In all my unpacking I came across a very awesome artifact; my viking drinking horn. Dan had two of them made to celebrate our college graduation, and I must say they enhance just about everything in life, especially listening to metal.
Not having any speakers, or my computer for a few weeks left me out of the loop, but my glorious drinking horn reminded me that Paganfest is near, and started up last week! So polish your drinking horn, bring your finest mead, and get out to one of these remaining dates, it will be awesome. Viking Battle-Metaller’s Turisas headline the bill along with the Scottish pirates in Alestorm, the intriguing Huntress, and Russian band Arkona. You aren’t going to find a much more diverse line-up than that! Check out the remaining dates below and some ridiculousness from Alestorm for good measure!
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
-Chris
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
More Tours, More Tours, and MORE TOURS!
I can’t keep up!!! This is insane!!! I figure if I posted all the info for most of the tours, I better post the rest of them, plus a few more have released dates and what not today so let’s do this again.
All Shall Perish have announced a headlining tour featuring support from Carnifex, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Conducting From the Grave, and The Contortionist. Look at the dates HERE.
In addition to a tribute concert for Cory Smoot, GWAR have announced a full tour with support from Municipal Waste and Ghoul. How fun does that sound!?! Not to mention the last date of the tour is right here in Fort Collins!!!! Get info and date HERE.
Dave Mustaine’s brainchild GIGANTOUR has returned and just began this past week. The tour includes Megadeth (duh), Motorhead, Lacuna Coil, and Volbeat. You can buy tickets and check out the dates HERE. If you dish out $250 you can get a “VIP” ticket, including early entry, a photo band members, and other perks. If you have that much money, well, have fun! For us poor folk, just being able to see Megadeth and Motorhead on the same bill would be worth the price of admission!
Finally, this year the U.S. welcomes back Paganfest. The tour took a few years off from the states and will return this year with Turisas as the headliner. Support will come from Alestorm, Ex Deo, Arkona, and Huntress. I’m still kicking myself for missing out a few years ago, so this will definitely be a high priority for myself. Dan and I literally ran to The Gothic in order to watch Turisas play their final 3 or so songs from their set about a year ago, and they were awesome. Check for dates within the next day or two!
Anyone wanna help some broke ass metalheads out!?
-Chris
Chris’ Best of 2011: The Not Quite Top 10
What a year! Dan talked about trends, and the progression of the genre this year. Things in the music landscape are really changing, and metal music is more diverse and more plentiful than ever.
After many beers, many hours spent staring at iTunes and Spotify playlists, and an aural overload from revisiting albums, as well as checking out some I missed over the course of the year, I have whittled my list down to my top ten releases. Sure there are more technical albums, possibly better written albums, and more popular albums than some of my picks, but I went with MY favorites. The albums that impressed me the most and those I kept coming back to over the course of the year. I’m a sucker for melodic thrash/death metal, so surprise! There’s plenty of that on the list. Instead of simply tossing out our Ten Favorite Albums in No Particular Order, we grew some balls this year and decided to rank them. The further I went down my list the harder it became to really pick one over the other, so I want to address a couple albums that came up just short on my list. Don’t feel bad guys, I’m just a 26-year-old fan with a blog, not making my top ten will only be seen by a couple dozen of people…if we’re lucky.
So the runners up (in no particular order):
Cormorant – Dwellings: I’m almost positive this would end up on my list if it had come out a few weeks earlier. I’ve only had a chance to listen to it twice, and know it will definitely be in my rotation for weeks to come. Vocalist Arthur von Nagel sounds stronger and fiercer than ever and the group’s songwriting abilities continue to impress. This is an album with a very diverse blend of genres and tones that is already making waves in its short existence.
Havok- Time is Up: Aggressive, fast, punishing, this is an album that DOESN’T get caught in the mix among the other neothrash bands. The addition of a new guitarist and drummer has this band firing on all cylinders. Definitely a band that makes us Coloradoan’s proud.
The Black Dahlia Murder- Ritual: As melodic as it is heavy and dark, this is a band that continues to get better with each release. From the solo on “On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood” to the speedy riffing in “The Grave Robber’s Work” and my favorite track, the punishing “Malenchantments of the Necrosphere” this album is one of the more solid front-to-back releases of the year.
Turisas- Stand up and Fight: While a lot of people were a bit harsh on the bands new direction I thought the album was great. Sure it had its cheese factor on some songs “Hunting Pirates” anyone?!? – But the utilization of the orchestra and choral arrangements made for some epic sounding songs. Just listening and thinking of all the work that must have gone into the album as well as all the individual people who performed and sang on the album just made this album seem like such an undertaking I had acknowledge it somewhere!
Mastodon- The Hunter: Great production, great songs. Catchy and full of hooks, yet progressive enough to keep things interesting. A great blend of their older grit and more modern progressive tendencies. These songs came off great live and really cement Mastodon in the top tier of U.S. metal bands.
The top ten shall be unleashed before the end of the week!
-Chris
A Finnish Quickie: Turisas and Children of Bodom
It’s been a hell of a run the past couple weeks for metal releases! As hard as I’ve tried to keep up, I have fallen behind due to my (bad?) habit of obsessing over an album when it comes out. The count on my iTunes for Digital Veil is at least 25 listens per song; others are higher. Between Scale the Summit’s new one and a bunch of other bands releasing tunes for upcoming releases, I haven’t had the time to fully grasp some other releases from the past week, but wanted to post my thoughts before they become outdated!
Turisas - Stand Up and Fight
Turisas’ latest album is their most ambitious to date. With the help of over 30 credited musicians, the band have created an orchestral metal album of monumental proportions. 
With a more prominant power metal focus, Stand Up and Fight sounds MONSTROUS! Vocalist Mathias Nygard sounds clearer and more powerful than ever; and the band covers a lot of ground through the course of the album. From the thunderous opening of “The March of the Varangian Guard” Turisas show their flexibility and scope. From the textured orchestration, the lyrical story-telling, the powerful group vocal choruses, and the march of the guitars, these guys have built a truly unique sound. The second track “Take the Day!” is as triumphant as they come. The French horns sound so dominant! (Yes I just gave props to the French horns). The longest track of the album, the seven-minute epic “End of an Empire” is amazing. The song journeys through an array of emotions and the Varangian Choral Ensemble sounds absolutely chilling. Stand Up and Fight really does have something to offer for any metal listener, and maybe be accessible enough for the non-metal listener as well. The chemistry the band has created with the use of the choirs and orchestra not only create a great album, but create a FUN album. Dan and I will be drinking from our horns and blaring this in the near future!
Children of Bodom – Relentless Reckless Forever
Children of Bodom are stuck in their ways. They have found their sound and don’t seem to stray far from their comfort zone. Their last two albums weren’t bad, there just wasn’t anything that really stood out on either of them. 
Luckily a Children of Bodom stuck in their ways is still a solid band. Relentless Reckless Forever is more of the same from the band, but this album seems to pack a bit more punch. While there is still a “cheese factor” on some tracks (mostly the lyrical content) the musicianship is still phenomenal. Alexi continues to grow as a guitar player and you can hear that progression throughout the album. He can still play a mile a minute, on tracks like “Cry of the Nihilist” but many solos on this album focus more on flare than speed; fitting the nature of the songs perfectly. The exchanges between Laiho and keyboardist Janne Warman continue to become more impressive, but some of the keyboards sound so close to the guitar, it can be difficult at times discerning what you are hearing. The synthesizer parts are more prominent throughout, more along the lines of Hate Crew Death Roll or Hatebreeder. While Children of Bodom aren’t breaking new ground with this release, the playing and the punch this album packs is definetely deserving of your attention.
-Chris
Cradle of Filth, Nachtmystium, Turisas: Live in Denver
Oh yea! Daniel Lioneye played too. I’ll get to them later. A little before 5p.m. the night of the show, I saw an update on facebook from Turisas saying that their set would start at 6:30. Doors were at 6, and I figured Daniel Lioneye would open, because in my little world, Turisas is way more popular than Daniel WHO!? In a frantic drive down to Denver, it became apparent that the Friday night traffic was going to screw us up. After sitting STOPPED on I-25 blaring Amon Amarth, we finally made it near the venue. At this point Turisas had already begun playing. Having to park three blocks away, Dan and I seriously RAN to the venue. After getting in we were met with the glorious sounds of Turisas. This was their first Colorado performance and the three songs we got to see were all awesome. Fortunetely “Battle Metal” was the closer! Some people don’t give these guys (and girl) much credit, or they think the whole dressing up thing is kind of a gimmick, but they were great. The band was definetely focused on their music, not their looks. After the show, some of the guys were at the back talking with fans and they all seemed like geniune people. They said they already had plans to return very soon…Paganfest maybe!?
Up next was Daniel Lioneye AKA the band I was mad at for missing half of Turisas’ set. I had heard of them, but never HEARD them before, and knew they had members of HIM, another band I really don’t care for. They came out and were a lot heavier than I expected, but overall Dan and I agreed they sucked. That is all for Daniel Lioneye.
Next up were the mighty Nachtmystium! Having never seen them before, we were more than ready. After setting up, the band took over and played what could have been a headlining set for many bands. They tore it up! It was just one of those performances you become hypnotized by. Vocalist Blake Judd was on fire! There was little banter from the group, just short breaks to slam beers (those dudes can drink), and a few drug preference comments, and music- lots of it. They really kinda stole the show.
With Cradle of Filth headlining, not only do you get a great musical performance, but some awesome visuals as well. Between the band members themselves and the eerie imagery sprawling on the backdrop, Cradle of Filth created a dark mood over the Gothic Theater. While the groups heavier, faster tracks all sounded superb, it was the slower tracks that provided the most powerful, ominous moments of the set, especially the tracks featuring vocals from keyboardist Ashley Ellyllon- she sounded awesome. Overall it was a great show. There’s only a couple of dates left on the tour, but all of these bands (except Daniel Lioneye) are definetely worth seeing again!
-Chris
