I laughed to myself at how appropriate the band I was heading to see that night was, Moonsorrow, as one of the craziest thunderstorms recorded in the city, raged down on the people of Sydney, everyone shuffling around like minions looking for any form of transport to get them out of the gripping wet cold. Walking to trains, trains to bus, bus to a taxi and then on my feet again, I ran as quick as I could to what is fast becoming my second home, the Manning Bar to witness a night of beautiful Finnish Pagan metal magic.
Unfortunately I missed the opening band Dead River Runs Dry, who describe themselves and their music as "A charred black slab of ruthless venom that only Australia could spit out".I had listened to their 2012 release WINTER 2012, filled with black metal goodness but I'm sure I would've enjoyed watching and hearing them live as well. Hoping to catch them the next time.
I entered the venue, wet and exhausted but my body ready for a night of metal, just as Germ's members were doing their sound-check. Germ, are slowly becoming one of my favourite local acts. The first time I caught them was, when they opened for Enslaved and honestly I was all a mix of shock and awe. As a haunting and beautiful symphonic intro plays, the dark, hooded and masked figures of Germ come on stage, reminding me of bats. Now there is something special about this band which I absolutely admire, they lead you into believing that they are all about the black metal symphony when the vocalist, Tim Yatras, with a mystic, depressive demeanor powers in, with screams that remind me of banshees, piercing through the ghostly black metal melody. My word, does he have some insane vocal chords. this is definitely not something a lot of people would like, let alone consider music but I was beyond impressed especially the second time around. The guitar segments are a treat to the senses, I had my eye constantly on the lead guitarist and my eyes were close to popping out of their sockets! His hands move at a supersonic speed. The band as a whole is awesome to watch, the vocalist disappearing in dramatic pauses, only to come back and unleash those vocals with even more gusto. An epic part of their performance is when the multi-talented Tim unleashes his brutal less depressive side on the drums, tribal-ing up the sound and the mood a notch. It truly is something you need to develop a taste for but trust me, once you see these guys, you'll wrap your head around their style which is intense, unique and beautifully depressing.
Finally, the heroes of the night, the gorgeous Finnish men of Moonsorrow. There's just something about Scandinavia and mythology that psychs my brains out. Throw in some metal and you've lost me. That kind of music literally takes you into a whole other world, and with Moonsorrow? It's all about the dark and eerie depths of the mysterious and historical land of Finland. Adorning red paint that was splashed across their bodies and faces, entering the stage to the beautiful symphonic, key filled intro of Tyven as frontman, Ville Sorvali strides in topless, his band mates dressed in black leather outfits, I knew I was in for a heavy and fun night.
With a powerful presence, the Finnish Viking outfit burst into Sankarihauta with such a blistering sound that I could feel my ear drums vibrate. Horses neighing in the background, that mid-paced pounding of the drums, majestic riffs, the sound of swords slaying, gives you full visuals of brutal armies charging at each other in a struggle to win a battle. Ville's voice is something else. The chanting, elements of flute and chants just adds to the beauty of the Finnish epic based track. They definitely brought out the charming side of metal too. There's a small guitar solo towards the end of the track that sounds even more perfect live. You cannot help but love this band that dedicate their music to the folk tales and epics of their country.
There were the traditional war horns and beers raised in respect, a fan dressed in a kilt, Moonsorrow started off on a highly energetic note. The guitarist causing a riot with his mad headbanging,along with the vocalist, it was so much fun to watch! One of my favourite things about this band is that each member contributes to the singing, be it leads or backing vocals. Various pitches and vocal tones add to the magnanimity of their melodic folk music as well as doing justice to the length of these songs. Seriously, these guys are contenders against the likes of legendary band Opeth and their awesomely long tracks.
Powering through some of their most brilliant work, 'Kivenkantaja', 'Pimea', 'Kylaan Paasa' which has a definite didgeridoo or atleast something like it featuring in spurts throughout the length of the track, riffs beng hammered all over the place and powerful screams with some beautiful symphonic segments in between all of this. The rhythmic clapping during this track followed by the traditional 'Oi Oi' yells, Marco Tarvonen's insane drumming, really got the crowd going completely bonkers.Truly makes you want to go to war or atleast break something just to have this song playing in the background. Another one of my favourites Jotunheim blasted out. WHAT A TRACK. 19 beautiful minutes of sheer folk awesomeness. I was in a complete trance listening to this track, which begins with a beautiful instrumental passage, slow paced melodic guitar riffs opening your mind to the beauty of the Scandinavian country. The sound of birds, the soft sounding keys, send you into a calm state before without any sort of warning suddenly transcends into a beautiful balance of crushing folk and black metal, the vocals both growls and the backing chants in an atmosphere of heavy and acoustic add to the charm of this track. One of their most amazing songs yet!
After a conversation with the crowd about their homeland, Moonsorrow prepared the adoring audience for their final 15 minute track of the night, with one of the most amazing tracks ever composed by Moonsorrow, from their 2011 album "Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maasa", the crowd was in a riot as 'Kuolleiden Maa' echoed through the air. The power of this song is magnificent as is the charisma of the Finnish five-piece, gracing our shores for the very first time. It was a beautiful night, bringing together metalheads from all over Sydney to witness one of the greatest folk metal bands of all time. Yes it was one hell of a night, the night that was Moonsorrow.
Unfortunately I missed the opening band Dead River Runs Dry, who describe themselves and their music as "A charred black slab of ruthless venom that only Australia could spit out".I had listened to their 2012 release WINTER 2012, filled with black metal goodness but I'm sure I would've enjoyed watching and hearing them live as well. Hoping to catch them the next time.
I entered the venue, wet and exhausted but my body ready for a night of metal, just as Germ's members were doing their sound-check. Germ, are slowly becoming one of my favourite local acts. The first time I caught them was, when they opened for Enslaved and honestly I was all a mix of shock and awe. As a haunting and beautiful symphonic intro plays, the dark, hooded and masked figures of Germ come on stage, reminding me of bats. Now there is something special about this band which I absolutely admire, they lead you into believing that they are all about the black metal symphony when the vocalist, Tim Yatras, with a mystic, depressive demeanor powers in, with screams that remind me of banshees, piercing through the ghostly black metal melody. My word, does he have some insane vocal chords. this is definitely not something a lot of people would like, let alone consider music but I was beyond impressed especially the second time around. The guitar segments are a treat to the senses, I had my eye constantly on the lead guitarist and my eyes were close to popping out of their sockets! His hands move at a supersonic speed. The band as a whole is awesome to watch, the vocalist disappearing in dramatic pauses, only to come back and unleash those vocals with even more gusto. An epic part of their performance is when the multi-talented Tim unleashes his brutal less depressive side on the drums, tribal-ing up the sound and the mood a notch. It truly is something you need to develop a taste for but trust me, once you see these guys, you'll wrap your head around their style which is intense, unique and beautifully depressing.
Finally, the heroes of the night, the gorgeous Finnish men of Moonsorrow. There's just something about Scandinavia and mythology that psychs my brains out. Throw in some metal and you've lost me. That kind of music literally takes you into a whole other world, and with Moonsorrow? It's all about the dark and eerie depths of the mysterious and historical land of Finland. Adorning red paint that was splashed across their bodies and faces, entering the stage to the beautiful symphonic, key filled intro of Tyven as frontman, Ville Sorvali strides in topless, his band mates dressed in black leather outfits, I knew I was in for a heavy and fun night.
With a powerful presence, the Finnish Viking outfit burst into Sankarihauta with such a blistering sound that I could feel my ear drums vibrate. Horses neighing in the background, that mid-paced pounding of the drums, majestic riffs, the sound of swords slaying, gives you full visuals of brutal armies charging at each other in a struggle to win a battle. Ville's voice is something else. The chanting, elements of flute and chants just adds to the beauty of the Finnish epic based track. They definitely brought out the charming side of metal too. There's a small guitar solo towards the end of the track that sounds even more perfect live. You cannot help but love this band that dedicate their music to the folk tales and epics of their country.
There were the traditional war horns and beers raised in respect, a fan dressed in a kilt, Moonsorrow started off on a highly energetic note. The guitarist causing a riot with his mad headbanging,along with the vocalist, it was so much fun to watch! One of my favourite things about this band is that each member contributes to the singing, be it leads or backing vocals. Various pitches and vocal tones add to the magnanimity of their melodic folk music as well as doing justice to the length of these songs. Seriously, these guys are contenders against the likes of legendary band Opeth and their awesomely long tracks.
Powering through some of their most brilliant work, 'Kivenkantaja', 'Pimea', 'Kylaan Paasa' which has a definite didgeridoo or atleast something like it featuring in spurts throughout the length of the track, riffs beng hammered all over the place and powerful screams with some beautiful symphonic segments in between all of this. The rhythmic clapping during this track followed by the traditional 'Oi Oi' yells, Marco Tarvonen's insane drumming, really got the crowd going completely bonkers.Truly makes you want to go to war or atleast break something just to have this song playing in the background. Another one of my favourites Jotunheim blasted out. WHAT A TRACK. 19 beautiful minutes of sheer folk awesomeness. I was in a complete trance listening to this track, which begins with a beautiful instrumental passage, slow paced melodic guitar riffs opening your mind to the beauty of the Scandinavian country. The sound of birds, the soft sounding keys, send you into a calm state before without any sort of warning suddenly transcends into a beautiful balance of crushing folk and black metal, the vocals both growls and the backing chants in an atmosphere of heavy and acoustic add to the charm of this track. One of their most amazing songs yet!
After a conversation with the crowd about their homeland, Moonsorrow prepared the adoring audience for their final 15 minute track of the night, with one of the most amazing tracks ever composed by Moonsorrow, from their 2011 album "Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maasa", the crowd was in a riot as 'Kuolleiden Maa' echoed through the air. The power of this song is magnificent as is the charisma of the Finnish five-piece, gracing our shores for the very first time. It was a beautiful night, bringing together metalheads from all over Sydney to witness one of the greatest folk metal bands of all time. Yes it was one hell of a night, the night that was Moonsorrow.
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