Not Metal

Sunday I went and saw Paganfest, which is a gathering of folk metal bands.

When I first entered the venue I was greeted by some asshole in a tricornered hat. Come to find out this was the drummer for Swashbuckle. More on them later.

First up was the opening act which was some local band that had won a battle of the bands. They were called Burning Shadows. They were pretty good power/thrash folk.

Next was Swashbuckle. They dress in full pirate gear, puffy shirts and all. They were a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect much from these guys but they kicked ass. No folk metal sound really, just pirate thrash with a hint of grind. The singer also implores the audience to “put their hooks in the air” and “screw their peg legs on tight”.  It was corny but they kick ass so I can get past their stage persona.

Third up was Blackguard. They were ok; I didn’t get into them too much. I like their recorded music better than them live, though the singer is charismatic and has a good stage presence.

Next was Moonsorrow whom I really enjoyed. They were a good change of pace. They are folky and thrashy but a bit slower, doomy in some instances.

Then came Primordial. These guys were a huge letdown. Just plain sucked. The singer is annoying; he really gets off on controlling the audience, having them in the palm of his hand, ordering them around. Many frontmen do this but this guy was all about it. Their whole set was him trying to get the audience to do shit (wave hands, clap, pump fists, sing along to his retard lyrics) and the band sucking.

Finally was Korpiklaani. Man, they kicked ass.  Folk metal on a higher level. And they don’t rely mainly on keyboards in live situations to obtain folk instrument sounds; they had a fiddler and an accordion player. Very fierce.