Written by J.C. Lerche
Udgårdsfest is a new viking-themed festival in Denmark, which took place for the first time in Pumpehuset May 31st and June 1st. With 4 bands playing each day, Metal To Go went there the first day to check out this new festival, and what it was all about...
Wulfaz
A new band from Aarhus, this bare-bones-duo only consists of a drummer and a guitarist, each taking turns delivering vocals. A black metal band with viking and pagan themes is nothing new, and the music itself can best be described as a cross between Bathory and Darkthrone, with more clean vocal passages. After a short psalm-like intro, the band opened the festival. Like most bands with only 2 members live, the soundscape was quite thin, and the show itself was raw... as in under-cooked. However, since Wulfaz also chose to film a music video this day for their last song "Hærulf", they went all in on this song, and showing some promise. A bit more rehearsal-time for these guys would do good. Their other songs are far from being devoid of talent, and if they could commit themselves, they could make a great experience.
Wulfaz get 3/6
Thorium
After having moved indoors to the smaller stage in Pumpehuset, Thorium was the next band. After a short excerpt from the theme of "Conan the Barbarian", the band kicked off. Any fan of Swedish death metal would have been right at home with the sound, especially with a song like "Reign of Osman". The singer tried to entertain the crowd between songs with varying degrees of success. This set was quite special, in that in addition to their own material, they would play a few Amon Amarth songs. That was a mistake.. For a band that has been around since the mid-90's, they showed woeful ineptitude at covering these songs to the point it was almost laughable; From butchering multiple leads, a drummer who clearly hadn't rehearsed enough and the singer admitting he hadn't learned the lyrics properly... It's was like listening to your local high-school's band being forced to play songs they didn't care enough about. By the time they played the last song, I was just thankful I didn't have to endure a full set of Amon Amarth-butchering.
Please, stick to your own material guys.
Thorium-set 3/6
Amon Amarth-set 1/6
Vanir
Now, having found myself bidding a hasty retreat from the Thorium-show, it was finally time for some proper viking-themed music in the form of Vanir. A quick disclaimer; I've never really been a fan of keyboard/synth-heavy metal, and Vanir is very much exactly that. After opening with "Væringjar" and a few technical problems with the sound, I wasn't really swayed, although they delivered a better onstage-presence than any band so far this day. It was only when the technical issues had been subdued, and they invited Martin Steene of Iron Fire-fame on stage for the final song "Fejd", that I got a shiver down my spine. Martin's clean vocals is a perfect fit to counter the otherwise harsh vocals, and this epic war-ballad made me feel it was worth the wait.
Vanir get 4/6
Trollfest
After some entertainment from a roaming Viking-band playing a few songs in front of the stage, people were anxious to see this days headliner, Trollfest, for the first time on danish soil. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, the concert started 50 minutes later than scheduled. For those who had remained, this turned into a party of epic proportions. Trollfest finally got onstage, all wearing costumes, pink dresses, colorful LED-lighted instruments and balloons... Yes, the party had indeed arrived. How they managed to squeeze all 7 members on the postage-stamp-sized scene is a miracle in itself. For those uninitiated, I would describe Trollfest's soundscape and appearance as a cross between Finntroll and Mr. Bungle. High-tempo polka-infused heavy, with a big dash of weird, taken to the eleventh degree...and a competent cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic", just for the heck of it. Alright, it might be a blatant Finntroll-ripoff, but god damn they deliver an entertaining show nonetheless. Yup, this is what I craved; a full blown party, and great interaction between the Norwegians and the crowd. This is easily the funniest concert I've been to in the better half of a decade.
Trollfest get 6/6
Overall, the first 3 bands of the day left me a bit disappointed, especially if I had paid full price for a single day. A big thank you to Trollfest for delivering like a bee on crack, even after 50 minutes of issues and a half-empty hall to greet them, this did lighten the mood considerably.
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