Finntroll, Keep of Kalessin & Killfloor Mechanic – London, 13th May 2013

Doors opened for tonights gig at 6.15pm – and early starts on a weeknight generally mean reduced attendance early on, and that was certainly the case tonight.
First band, Killfloor mechanic went on stage pretty much as soon as the doors opened.  Heavy and loud with a mix of clean singing and growling vocals, they went down ok with the fans who bothered to head down to the front half of the venue.  Most fans chose however to stay at the back of the venue by the bar rather than watching Killfloor mechanic.  I can’t say I blame them – I really wasn’t impressed by the band, and the audience didn’t seem over impressed either.  They got some cheers and applause between songs but really nothing special.

Keep of Kalessin were up next to give the audience a dose of Norwegian Black/Death metal.  Clearly a much more popular choice, the fans had almost all left the bar and headed down to the front to watch the band, so it was pretty busy.  Keep of Kalessin went down really well with quite a few fans headbanging like crazy.  I enjoyed their set and the energy they gave off.  It really got the crowd going and warmed up nicely for Finntroll.

Finntroll came next and immediately stepped things up to a whole new level.  The place was packed by this stage, and the music was so infectious and addictive that it got more and more of the crowd headbanging.  After every song the band were greeted with huge amounts of applause and cheering.
The band’s Viking folk metal is definitely at the metal end of the folk medal spectrum – really heavy but with enough of a folk sound to make it stand out and make it so enjoyable.  One thing I hadn’t been expecting was the band’s outfits – more specifically their fake ears which looked a bit bizarre.

Finntroll really put in a superb set and gave the crowd a night to remember – they’re good on CD but when you see them play live they just take it to a whole new level.  A band that is well worth going to see for any fan of folk metal.

Finntroll setlist:

Mordminnen
Under Bergets rot
Midnattens Widunder
Ett folk forbannat
Blodsvept
Nattfodd
En maktig har
Nar Jattar Marschera
Midvinterdraken
Intro
Svartberg
Korpens saga
Skogsdotter
Haxbrygd
Maktens spira
Fiskarens fiende
Solsagan

Encore:
Trollhammaren
Jaktens tid
Svampfest

Finntroll

%%wppa%% %%slide=602%%

Keep of Kalessin

%%wppa%% %%slide=601%%