Heidenfest 2013 - Off to battle with Ensiferum, Turisas, Equilibrium, Suidakra and Frosttide

The Pagan Festival roams the country plundering and is probably the biggest Viking and Pagan Metal party of this late summer. That's why all Vikings, horn drinkers and sword bearers have marked last Sunday in their calendars in red to rush onto the battlefield under the iron Finnish double leadership of "Ensiferum" and "Turisas". Two German folk metal acts were also there, namely "Equilibrium" and "Suidakra" and as special guests the Finnish melodic/folk metallers "Frosttide" really heated up the legendary Z-7 in Pratteln, Basel. The Z-7 was practically sold out and not only heavy-metal drinking horn-stemmers were present, no, the lovely femininity was also surprisingly well represented in the audience. The Pagan Festival has blossomed into an absolute tour authority in the last few years and also laid the Z-7 in ruins last Sunday!

One would think that metal fans in this country would have had enough of small pagan festivals, but far from it; the Z-7 is packed when the Heidenfest 2013 invites you to party on this Sunday evening. And said partying is probably one of the main reasons why the inclined long-haired people showed up in such large numbers. One beer after the other is poured over the bar and it's getting louder and funnier everywhere. At 18:30 p.m. sharp, the lights go out and the stage is heard «Frost tide«, which immediately start really violently. The 5-piece band has been musically active since 2009 and is able to inspire the audience from the first note, although the band is not yet so well known on the European mainland. This circumstance seems to motivate the band and so the guys use the half hour of their performance to make an extraordinarily good impression. The stage presence of singer Joni Snoro and keyboarder Felipe Munoz is absolutely terrific and the whole band is an absolute revelation on this evening. «Frosttide» leaves no stone unturned, really heats up the audience and it's definitely worth seeing the gentlemen again on another occasion.

Suidakra - Wartunes (live 2013-09-29 - Z7 - Pratteln - Heidenfest)

Shortly after seven, the five Ruhrpottlers from «Suidakra" the stage. For me it was also the first time to see the gentlemen live and what you got to see was absolutely great! Great 40 minutes with songs like «Inner Sanctum», «Isle of Skye», «Dead Man's Reel», «Pendragon's Fall», «March of Conquest» and «Wartunes» from their last studio album hardly let you breathe. Singer Arkadius Antonik has a great stage presence and manages to completely captivate everyone present. The audience rages and fears like crazy and if there was someone who didn't jump over the sparks at «Frosttide», at the latest at «Suidakra» they were all on fire. You don't see such enthusiasm every day and it would have been expected that it would only happen with «Ensiferum» and «Turisas», but far from it, the quartet from Düsseldorf is already burning down the Z-7 completely. All in all, this was an absolutely convincing performance and the band had literally completely conquered the audience with their groovy sound within a very short time.

After the great performance of «Suidakra», the moment has come for «Equilibrium» with their epic folk/viking metal. And this is where the bear really started to tap-dance. The ladies and gentlemen around rampensau Robse and songwriter mastermind René had so many new songs in their luggage, such as "Waldshrine", "Zwergenhammer" and "Himmelsrand", the Skyrim theme, which probably grabbed the last nerd in the hall and everyone of the last EP «Waldshrine» can be found. Munich's Finest exude a chaotic atmosphere, both on stage and in front of it: the moshpit is raging and pogo is the order of the day! Mead bottles find their way into the audience, just like drinking horns and raised fists find their way into the air. The five-piece band offers an extremely convincing concert with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy, throwing hits like "Blut im Auge", "Der Sturm", "Unter der Eiche", "Met" and "Unbesiegt" at the hungry audience. The crowd thanks it by making the Z-7 boil over. Admittedly, «Equilibrium» were refreshingly likeable and heavier than expected. In any case, the people from Munich really showed exorbitant enthusiasm that not only the listeners had fun with the show, but also the musicians themselves. In my opinion, the band deserved the title of the best band of the evening.

Equilibrium - Undefeated (final) - Live Heidenfest 2013 - Paris

After the "Equilibrium" battle, will there still be strength for the headliners? For "Tourism"In any case, because even if you can't really get anything artistic out of the music - apart from a lot of triumphant tataa - you have to admit that the band really does something on stage, both visually and in terms of action. The Norsemen know how to have fun on stage, so it was time for the painted men. «Turisas» were also able to play their way into the hearts of the fans very quickly. The sound is powerful, even if the voice of singer Mathias "Warlord" Nygård is sometimes a bit quiet. The song “For Your Own Good” raised hands and invited to celebrate. Also for the epic fans there is fare to celebrate with "To Holmgard And Beyond". In general, "Turisas" hardly let anything burn and show a lot of professionalism on stage. Again and again, the audience is encouraged to give their all, and this is rewarded with great commitment from the fans. Although «Turisas» have written a lot of long songs in their career and now there is enough material to keep the masses enthusiastic for a long time, there is only 60 minutes of action on stage. In the end, a line was drawn with "Stand Up and Fight" and what remains is a raging pack that got a good show with very good light, sound and stage presence.

Turisas - To Holmgard And Beyond (live 2013-09-29 - Z7 - Pratteln - Heidenfest)

Turisa's set list:

1. The Bosphorus Freezes Over
2. For your own good
3. A Portage to the Unknown
4. Ten More Miles
5. Piece by piece
6. To Holmgard and Beyond
7. Greek Fire
8. As Torches Rise
9. battle metal
10. We ride together
11. Stand Up and Fight
12. Toreador Song (Georges Bizet Song)

One would like to think that «Ensiferum» have a hard time keeping up the excitement afterwards, but they really have an unbelievable number of loyal fans who freak out again and again at the umpteenth gig. So it was (finally) time for the epic «Ensiferum», the second headliner of the evening, which is often found at pagan events. «Ensiferum» from Finland play a quite catchy mixture of folk and metal, the audience of tonight seems to like exactly this mixture and so the end of the evening was more than energetic. As usual, bare-chested, dressed in kilts and with the typical war paint on their faces, which one or the other fan has also missed, the four boys from the far north come on stage to "Ensiferum, Ensiferum" choruses, girl wears a ragged leather outfit. Not much unusual happens in the following hour and the fans would probably be annoyed about that, but the ending should still offer a surprise. The band starts with "Into Battle" from the album "Iron", but there is also newer material in the form of "In My Sword I Trust" and "Unsung Heroes" from the current album of the same name. Two-thirds of the gig is made up of older material, including obligatory tracks like "From Afar", "Ahti" and "Twilight Tavern".

Heidenfest 2013 - Off to battle with Ensiferum, Turisas, Equilibrium, Suidakra and Frosttide

The audience doesn't show any signs of fatigue and the quartet pulls through its set routinely and full of energy, the songs really hit thanks to the decent sound, hair and crowd surfers fly through the area en masse. The technical ability of the musicians is always astounding, faultless and flawless. Finally, the ladies and gentlemen reach behind the stage, conjure up huge sombreros, put them on right away and entertain the crowd in a rather curious way with the cover song "Bamboleo". We see a Petri Lindroos as an entertainer, accompanied by his faithful cronies Sami Hinkka and Markus Toivonen, who goad the crowd to dance to this song. A great ending, with a delightful wink! Once again «Ensiferum» confirms that they are one of the few bands that are really able to pull the reins and show that they are the perfect headliner for a festival. So "Ensiferum" was a worthy headliner, who could have been given a little more time to draw from their large repertoire. At the same time, it was a fun and groovy conclusion to an all-round successful festival that really only left positive impressions. In addition to the sovereign and polite security, the fast service at the drinks counter, the peaceful and happy festival visitors, the successful organization should be emphasized once again. That was just perfect!

Ensiferum - Bamboleo (final) - Live Heathen Festival 2013 - Paris

Ensiferum setlist:

1. Into battle
2. In My Sword I Trust
3. Windrider
4. Unsung Heroes
5. Burning leaves
6. From Afar
7. Twilight Tavern
8. Water god
9. Tumman virran taa
10. The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne, Part II)

Encore:

11. for hikers
12. Bamboleo (Gipsy Kings cover)

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