Paganfest USA '08

So, last night I had the pleasure of seeing four of the biggest names in folk/viking/pagan metal here in St.Paul, Minnesota (put on by the awesomeness of Swordlord Productions). The tour consisted of Eluveitie (Switzerland), Tyr (Farøe Islands), Turisas (Finland), and Ensiferum (Finland). I'll start by saying, overall, it was one of the most fun concerts I have ever attended. Eluveitie's interesting mix of celtic folk music and melodic death metal started off the evening, whipping everyone into a frenzy. The two Kirder brothers (Rafi and Sevan), were absolutely the highlight of their set, engaging the crowd, dancing with one another (or other members of the band, depending on the moment), and overall, setting the mood for the evening. Tyr was next, with their proggy epic metal take on Farøese folk music. My only complaint was how short their set was... but nonetheless, they had a flawless and wonderful performance. Turisas was next, and they are solely the reason I say this was one of the best concerts i've ever seen. Warlord is a true showman, engaging the crowd, and even, by the end of the set, getting a bunch of burly, angry metalheads to all join arms and sway to and fro to a ballad take on "Battle Metal". If you have not seen Turisas live, you owe it to yourself, at least once. Ensiferum put a wonderful cap on the evening, with their melodic death metal take on viking/folk metal. Absolutely solid playing throughout, and even an impromptu blues bass solo! 'Twas an evening to remember, for certain. My next few posts will be the posting of albums by these four bands, for those who aren't familiar with them. Hope you enjoy them as I do.

~Vinlander