Ensiferum / Metsatöll / Tracedawn
6 October 2009
Scala, London
Confusion on the door delayed our entry into the Scala causing us to miss openers Tracedawn. However, having met with the tour manager, Johan was in possession of a photopass and dispatched to the pit in time for Metsatöll.
A bit of research revealed Metsatöll hail from Estonia and formed in 1998. In 2000, Lauri “Varulven” Õunapuu joined the band, broadening their folk influences due to Varulven’s ability to play a variety of Estonian folk instruments. During the band’s opening song, Varulven switched from guitar to torupill, the Estonian bagpipe, providing a unique drone sound. Varulven also added flute at various points in the set.
A few Estonia shouts from the crowd indicated that some of Metsatöll’s fellow countrymen were in the crowd tonight and drew a smile from Singer/guitarist Markus “Rabapagan” Teeäär. Rabapagan, who looked uncannily like a hamster, advised us that “We are the band with weird songs.” Aside from the choice of instrumentation, the weirdness could be attributed to the songs being sung in the band’s native tongue, but also the odd song structures at times. In fact the first two songs were bordering on prog and seemed to lose the audience who quietly watched.
What I believe was Metsaviha’s (Woodwrath) had a more simplistic approach and finally got the crowd going and joining in with the repeated “Hey-ah” refrain. At times Metsatöll brought to mind Tÿr, but with less obvious song structures. The Estonian’s clearly enjoyed there chance to play in front of an English audience and whilst they weren’t really my own tankard of mead, they were certainly intriguing.
Another thing of note about Metsatöll was their vast array of merchandise which stretched to baby grows. Unfortunately whoever priced up the merchandise, which was the same pricing for all the bands, clearly had no concept of usual pricing at gigs of this size. A hooded top for example cost a whopping £50!
Metsatöll set list (I think!):
Sõjahunt / Alle-aa / Metsaviha’s (Woodwrath) / Mõõk / Kotkapojad / Saaremaa vägimees / Lahinguväljal näeme, raisk / Metsaviha 2
Having won band of the year in last year’s Terrorizer poll and with the pagan/folk metal fascination still in full swing, I was actually surprised that it wasn’t busier at the Scala. However, it was a comfortable sized crowd that greeted Ensiferum as they appeared on a stage flanked by celtic imagery and with their huge logo behind them.
The gig kicked off, much like the band’s new album From Afar, with the By The Dividing Stream intro leading into the title track. Immediately fists were pumping in the air and a pit opened up. This is a song with a large amount of orchestration, with its bombastic nature at points reminding me of Bal-Saggoth. It was quickly apparent that much of the orchestration and back up vocals were on backing tracks. Cheating? Maybe, but the main issue was that the tapes seemed to overpower the guitar sound.
The crowd’s excitement continued with the shout-along Twilight Tavern. Ensiferum rarely follow simple traditional song structures, but in this song they have written something of a more instant nature and playing it early to get the crowd onside was a wise move. However, this was on the whole very much the band’s audience and the lengthier numbers were just as well received.
Bassist Sami Hinkka, with lights highlighting the frets on his seven string bass, looked to be enjoying himself and cheekily snuck in a brief rendition of Extreme’s More Than Words between songs. Where as Hinkka looks confident on stage, frontman Petri Lindroos has yet to look at ease when I have seen the band. Given that he is chained to the spot given his dual vocal / guitar duties, there remains something of an uncomfortable feeling about his presence. Not that the ladies can have too many complaints about his bare chested appearance.
This was a solid display by Ensiferum and most likely the die-hard fans would have gone home very happy. For me, around half way into the set, my attention began to wander and I was not seeing that magic spark that takes a gig to the next level.
Ensiferum set list:
By The Diving Stream (Intro) / From Afar / Twilight Tavern / Little Dreamer / Elusive Reaches / Wanderer / Heathen Throne / Guardians Of Fate / Tale Of Revenge / Smoking Ruins / Slayer Of Light / One More Magic Potion / The Longest Journey / Treacherous Gods / Battle Song / Stone Cold Metal / Iron
LINKS:
Ensiferum
Metsatöll
Tracedawn
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