Marking the beginning of May in style, we headed down to the o2 Academy Islington for a folk metal party. Donning our war paint beforehand, of course.
When we arrived, I was happy to see that despite taking place on a Tuesday night, this gig had already managed to attract a reasonable number of people in time for the first band. Wind Rose came on stage to a warm reception, and an audience dotted with obviously dedicated fans. The crowd was a bit slow to get going at first, but the appropriately dressed Dwarven metallers managed to rouse us all with their brand of crunchy heavy folk metal, performed well and with enthusiasm. Crowd favourites such as the rowdy and inspiring Rebel and Free garnered a sizeable mosh pit and by the time the opening flute melodies of To Erebor rang out, this has morphed seamlessly (and unsurprisingly) into a lively jig pit. Fun all round!
Once Wind Rose had left the stage, there was an exodus of people heading towards the merch stand, as Ensiferum had advertised their meet and greet session to be taking place there during this break. I joined the end of the queue and, though they had probably gotten through something like 50 people by the time I reached the front, they still seemed happy to meet us and sign my silly things (this time, an inflatable sword, but that’s definitely not the silliest thing I’ve ever had signed by them!). Truly excellent gents, and it was great of them to stage a structured signing session to give everyone a chance to say hi, especially those who may feel too anxious to hang around and pester them outside the venue (side note: to my discredit I am not one of these polite people haha).
No sooner had I walked back to the stage area brandishing an improved sword, than Ex Deo took to the stage and dealt us a nice dose of bombastic Ancient Rome-themed death metal. As you would expect from this description, the songs were noticeably heavier than those of Wind Rose and this served to warm up our necks quite nicely. No jigging here, just swinging hair! I couldn’t see much of a pit going on though (but I was standing quite far to the back during some of their set so I can’t say for sure). Of course, this doesn’t mean people weren’t enjoying themselves! There were fists aplenty in the air, especially for such classics as I, Caligvla and Romulus. As we know from his main band Kataklysm, frontman Maurizio Iacono knows how to work a crowd, delivering a confident performance which was just as appealing visually as it was musically (think: full on Ancient Roman garb).
At the time, I felt like the much heavier Ex Deo were musically the “odd ones out” on the lineup (but very welcome nevertheless), though in hindsight their addition added variety and balance, whilst keeping things in the same vein of bands that are heavily centered around a particular theme. It was great to see them back fully on form after their short hiatus.
Once the Roman legion had marched offstage, it was finally time for Ensiferum to come and blast our ears off. They walked onstage to rapturous cheers and horns raised high, as the crowd enthusiastically sang along to the opening melodies of For Those About to Fight for Metal. The guys looked ready to have a good time, and I knew it was going to be a crazy hour ahead, as it always is with these folk metal heavyweights.
The setlist was suitably varied, combining songs from the new album Two Paths, such as King of Storms and Way of the Warrior, with old favourites like Twilight Tavern, Treacherous Gods, and the very welcome return of Lai Lai Hei (a masterpiece which has been recently absent from their live shows). There was a fun atmosphere among the crowd, the moshpit was alive and well, and many singalong moments made for a really involved show. The encore was the same as usual, with Into Battle followed by Iron, which was totally predictable but is always satisfying. Having said that, some favourite songs were painfully absent, such as One More Magic Potion, Token of Time, Two of Spades and From Afar, but I suppose that’s inevitable once a band has released 7 studio albums!
Those who have listened to Two Paths would maybe have noticed the diversity of vocals which had seen the other band members featuring more heavily on some of the tracks. This is a good thing, but at the same time it makes the recent departure of Netta Skog quite apparent, considering I’d previously have expected songs featuring her vocals such as the insanely catchy Don’t You Say to be performed during the tour, but which were now (unsurprisingly) left out of the setlist.
Overall, the new songs were warmly received. It must be said that even weeks into a strenuous touring cycle, Ensiferum bring energy to the stage and excel at crowd interaction, making even those relatively unknown songs go down well amongst a sea of clapping hands and banging heads. Subjective opinion alert: whilst recent albums have, on the whole, failed to live up to their mighty predecessors from the previous decade (though they are all still good in their own right), one thing you can count on is that all of the material will be great fun when you watch it played live. That’s why it’s always worth buying an Ensiferum ticket when they are in town, and quaffing a few ales or horns of mead even if it is a Tuesday. Other people seem to agree, as this band have been doing the album-tour-album-tour cycle for some time now and are still pulling in dedicated crowds like they always have done.
Final word: I would always recommend to see Ensiferum live if you like rousing folk metal, if you like Viking themed stuff, if you like being in moshpits, and if you like a good heavy metal atmosphere in general, because this is what you always get, and it’s great! Thank you Ensiferum for always coming to see us here in the UK, we love you and hope you’ll be back soon.
(Thanks also go to the promoter for organising this excellent gig!)
