Fagerlund's reviews

Let's do two in one!

 

15/2

 

First out this night was Netherbird, second time in a short time for me. Unfortunately it seems Mr Fjellström is no longer in the band, and I must say it's some big shoes to fill...

All in all it was an all right gig, but they did feel like the odd one out this evening.

 

Ah, Thyrfing! Also the second time in a rather short time actually. And this was in my oppinion even better! This time it was actually possible to heard them, and see them as well!

I think they played basically the same setlist as last time, a nice mixture of new and old. And as I've mentioned before Jens really does justice to the old songs.

The crowd support was pretty awesome... not quite on par with last time they played together with Månegarm in Stockholm... but really good never the less.

Not much to say that I didn't all ready say last time!

 

So many years since last time! And as mentioned above, last time was also together with Thyrfing, the release party for Nattväsen. That gigs is still one of the best gigs I've been to in Stockholm, so big expectations!

And it was a pretty slow start actually... not that the songs were slow, not at all. But there wasn't really any "oumpf!" in it somehow. I don't really know what was missing, but it wasn't until the third song (Sigirblot) were it really started rolling! From that point onward it was really good though!

The set was a quite nice mix of new and old, mostly songs from the latest album as expected. I was a bit sad to not hear Fallen among those songs, but then again Månegarm could probably play a three hour set and I would still miss a song or two... I was really surprised to hear Wake the Gods however! As it's a bonus track on the album! It worked out really well however, and Jakob got a chance to display his drumming skills (I think it has some of the coolest drumming in the album). And of course they finished with I Evig Tid and Hemfärd with Vinternattskväde as the outro. It's such an awesome combination really.

I do miss Janne still, such a package of energy on the stage. I mean, you can tell these guys have been around for quite some time by now. They play well, but they're not very entertaining to watch. Luckily their music is so good that it just grabs you along for a ride. This is the kind of music that has me lose my voice. And to their credit I think Erik is a good front man. Oh so humble though! I feel like he's still not used to talking Swedish at shows... which means they should play here more often of course!

So was it as good as last time? No, and that's mostly because of the crowd I think. People even left after Thyrfing! Don't get me wrong, I think the atmosphere of those of use that were up in the front was really good. But at the last show I was in the very back, and everybody was going crazy like they were on the first row! This night that energy wasn't quite there. But ohwell, still an awesome gig!

And the best part? They announced they would play again in just under four months! Awesome! And not only that... but they will play some acustic songs from Urminnes Hävd! I just can't wait!

 

 

 

19/2

 

Power Metal from Finland! With a female vocalist! I must say it was pretty refreshing with a band with a female vocalist that didn't try to sing opera, but instead sang with power. I actually quite enjoyed the first couple of songs, but eventually the mid-tempo Power Metal (which seemed to be all they could do) got a bit tedious. Cool guitars, and nice vocals though!

 

So, Finntroll. I have basically not listened to them since Nattfödd. I've heard the albums since then, once or twice... but I'm no big fan of Vreth's vocals. I still gave them the benefit of doubt and went to see them (again).

It was ten years ago since Finntroll last played in Stockholm. Incidentally it was also ten years ago since they released Nattfödd. When Vreth asked how many where there ten years ago, and you can count the answering shouts on one hand... that kind of tells the story doesn't it? They've basically changed so much that most of their crowd has been replaced. Oh well.

For me, it sounded like they played the same two songs over and over pretty much. One slightly slower and one faster. It was really hard to tell any difference... they only played four songs from the old era, Slaget vid Blodsälv, Jaktens Tid, Nattfödd and Trollhammaren. And they completely butchered three out of those, and get barely pass on Trollhammaren. It's mostly because Vreth lacks any kind of melody in his growls, but even so the rest of the band messed up the other songs as well...

So obviously I'm a bit disappointed, I expected more. Judging by the crowd they had a good night though (the crowd was really lively!), and if this is their best then I guess me and Finntroll will just go separate ways then. Because to my ears their new sound is so bland and generic and really fails to catch my attention. I know what's coming in every song, even when I've never heard them before. I mean, it's not bad. It's all right, and sometimes even pretty good... but it's never awesome. It's never the same feeling I got from the old albums.

What they did good however was the stage show. Coming out on stage dressed in troll-ears and such, and lots of energy. They had a really nice and tight show which was rather interesting to watch. But other than that, not much for me here.