A hefty dose of battle metal goodness hits the capital in the shape of the Finntroll/ Battlelore tour. Frankly that’s one of the best bills I have seen in a long time! Ok, I promise not to gush over this review too much! But seriously, good job who ever put this bill together!

Apparently there were supposed to be two other bands playing tonight, one of which was Kalmah who would have been quite cool to see, however it does mean that both bands get an extended set! Battlelore storm on to a sold out underworld crowd, who ecstatically great their heroes! Opening with the might ‘War of Wrath’ the crowd go nuts and an evening of joy is truly underway! Playing highlights from across their career, some of my favourite moments were the racing ‘Storm of the Blades’, the anathematic ‘House of Heroes’ and of course, the mighty ‘Great Gathering’! I can’t get over how good that song is; from the driving riffs, to the chants, to the perfect use of blasting, it elevates Battlelore from the rest of the folk metal scene. Above all Battlelore give off a feeling of fun. From Tomi pacing around with a giant sword in his hand (which barely fit on the stage mind you!), to the huge grin on Kaisa’s face, you can tell this band enjoy themselves on stage, and that just endears me further. Also kudos must be paid to Maria, I have never seen a keyboardist windmill with such ferocity and still hit every note! Ending with the climactic ‘Sons of Riddermark’, the band have once again conquered as they did with Turisas all those years ago! Headlining gig soon please! My one comment…and I’m sure everyone knows what’s coming now…not enough from Third Age of the Sun!! I can dream can’t I?

After the set I retreat to the bar as it has become very hot in the main area, and find the band still in costume chatting away to fans by the merch stand. Awesome music and modest people, how refreshing (Stop fanboying Carl).

Finntroll wouldn’t even have had to work hard to get this crowd going; so rabid they are for some Finnish Humppa metal. Nice to see that the band put their all into the performance none the less, providing an energetic and mixed set to please every wish a fan could have. Yes they played ‘Trollhammaren’, but they have far better songs, like the brooding title track of that album, ‘Nattfodd’, or the dark swaying of ‘Fiskarens Fiende’, or my personal highlight of the set, ‘Jaktens Tid’! Personally I would have swapped ‘Trollhammaren’ for ‘Slaget Vid Blodsälv’. A sweaty and elated crowd give back the energy from the stage and once again the party atmosphere is in full swing! Ending their set to huge applause, Finntroll can be safe in the knowledge that they will always be warmly welcomed on UK soil. Come back soon!

 

Carl Suchayrna Thomas