Bright eyed and bushy bearded, Saturday arrived with no ill effects. I mooched about the stalls again and made one minor error that came back to bit me in the bum later. I didn’t have breakfast.

ElvenDale began to day, calling us in by the plaintive horn. Glodi Gyrdson on drum, Hrafn Rikardson on the lyre and vocals/jokes of dubious colour and the magnetic Grace Hulme on vocals. Last time we met it had been their first gig for…a while and nerves, panic attack and self deprecating humour interspersed their lovely dark age music from the mead hall.


Well the banter was still here but so much more confidence emanated from them. The sweet ‘Lindisfarne Mead’ began (and seemed only fair to sample the Warhorns variety). Grace’s voice is so clear and so controlled and the simple but highly skilled accompaniment entranced the audience and more and more people filtered in as they led us back in time. ‘Wayland’s Saga’ was a particular highlight but pure, highly evocative set was just perfect to start the second day.

A drastic change of pace followed as Germany’s Paranoiac prepared to batter us back to the modern world. Death/thrash metal is the order and with t shirts on stage ranging from Carpathian Forest and Kataklysm to Maiden and Dragonforce I braced myself. An imposing frontman and a fine thumping great sound got the heart beating.

The crowds, drawn by the sounds began to swell nicely and there was a nice lot of enthusiasm for them. It’s a heavy, muscular sound that is delivered with real enthusiasm and have to say despite it not being my normal stamping ground has no trouble in raising a smile in me. Well played gents. Watch out for when their album finally drops.

Asira were a completely unknown to me and rather than research them I thought ‘let’s see how they hit me. They began with a backing tape intro that had a kind of gothy feel to before a furious almost black metal style assault took place . Never fear though this was another intriguing band as ‘Crucible Of Light’ moved into intriguing prog realms. Now there did seem to be a fair bit of backing music which initially confused me but as my tiny brain cleared the band became a strange unfolding flower as colourful as their album cover. With some great musical interplay through ‘Cauterise’ and ‘In Sunrise’. The vocalist turned out to be adept and so full of expression, the music dancing a curious and ambitious land part melodeath, part prog, curious touches of early to mid Katatonia and perhaps even a shade of blackgaze.

A few technical issues aside (there was an odd problem with the drums at one point and I think a very brief monitor issue) they were the most unusual and very pleasant surprise so couldn’t resist the album. If you get the chance just make sure you give them a little time and you may discover something rather good indeed.

And then I realised I was about to fall over due to no food and one cup of coffee only… Idiot. (Gizmo)

It fell to Warhorns veterans Akilla to keep things going and that is exactly what they did with crushing tracks such as ‘The Queen of Heaven’.

Chunky guitar riffs combined elegantly with layered melodies as their melodic death metal washed over the Warhorns faithful. As soon as their set was over, the band crossed the Pennines for their first headline show in Manchester that evening.

I get the impression that Akilla are really gathering momentum and are definitely one to watch. (Andy P)

So onto the silly. In that enjoyable way. With a large number of fans in the audience and their singer having had enough time to rest from Asira duties, we got Battle Born. Time to raise your plastic sword (or inflatable pineapple for some godforsaken reason, though at least the real things are now banned at Warhorns). Introducing themselves with the self titled song and a bouncy Hammerfall style sound, with soaring vocals, duelling guitars and very silly lyrics we all plunge into a happy world where highly melodic power metal rubs shoulders with a neat NWOBHM feel to some swaggering riffs and Manowar (particularly on the song…er… Man Of War).

‘Power Force’, ‘Hammer Of Might’, ‘Dragon Heart’… All eaten up by the crowd as the perfect balance of beer and high spirits collides. Live keys sometimes played by the lead guitarist in a nice move, some outstanding drumming and just a spirit about the whole band that was determined to party

They finish with the magnificently over the top anthem of ‘Bring The Metal Back’. I mean what can you do when faced with lines like “… Your wooden swords are broken because metal’s made of steel… ” except just park your brain and just enjoy

In keeping with the international nature of Warhorns, next up is Swiss band Morgarten. They call themselves folk black metal but, well, maybe just the folk metal for me in a Viking metal style (though not sure about lyrical concerns beyond battles.)

Cloaks and tunics abound and they deliver a nice atmospheric set, the sway in the riffs like the swagger towards battle and the use of keyboards creating and epic backdrop. There’s definitely that almost power metal feel to some of the building melodies, but equally the heroic and melancholy are within their steady grasp

Onstage they look fine. They move well, look the part and by this time it takes very little for the brilliant and enthusiastic crowd to be swept up by it. Frankly pretty much a flawless performance and the reception was well deserved.

Now following that some bands might have had a little trouble but its Vanaheim time. To say the Netherlands band despite being only around since 2015 are beloved of the Warhorns regulars is putting it mildly. They could have come on wearing pineapple tea-cosies for hats and…oh wait one did. ‘Uit Steen Geslagen’ from their latest winds up and the flurry of ragged vocalist Zino and his eerie crew of epic folk metallers simply launch at the crowd. It’s like a wave crashing over us, drowning us in another time. The music is serious but the joy with which it is played is just wonderful to see. These people just want to play for us and nothing else.

‘Daughter Of The Dawn’ is a more aggressive sound (this is not float away folk metal by any means) but ‘Onbevangen’ brings back the rousing epic sound.

Somewhere during this Abbie ‘Stabby’ Rial in her newly presented Vanaheim leggings (you really had to see them.They are….not normal…) was crowdsurfed and general bounce and mayhem was the order of the day throughout.

I would say with most songs over the seven minute mark they can be a bit of a hill to climb if you have never heard them before but that isn’t the remotest of criticisms of the band and especially not of this very special return performance. They were Vanaheim and they played a blinder that went down a storm.

Which as ever left me a little concerned for one of my favourite bands on the planet, the bizarre, strange and definitely unique The Gentleman’s Club Of A Forest Of Stars. Definitely a strange band to come upon unprepared but their last set went down so well, so…  Into the waltz. Beginning with the violin lament from Kathryn, Queen Of Ghosts of ‘Poor Dinosaur’ they slowly bring us to an older song ‘God’ rebuilt from their debut The Corpse Of Rebirth, as though the band wakes one by one until the riff shakes us. The twisted but every varied and expressive vocals of Mr Curse crawl from his torment as a full-blooded black metal riff under the hand of Mr TS Kettleburner shakes us. Those in the know are already here but that sound, the uncompromising attack flowing so easily into melody pulls in a heartening crowd.

Another older song follows in ‘Male’, some delicate drumming from The Resurrectionist and an eerie, slow and malevolent waltz begins. The strange but almost Floyd gone Victorian black metal tones of the immense ‘Gatherer Of The Pure’ and a melody line sorrowful enough to break me. I see the crowd nodding gently, swaying, the tall figure of Mr Lungbutter watching over them as in the background The Gentleman orchestrates the dark ambience. It’s good that music such as this has found a place.

‘Drawing Down The Moon’ is always a special moment, a rich of turbulent sea and extraordinarily emotional melody on the violin with dense heavy riffs. And they close with ‘Female’, where perhaps the demons surrounding Mr Curse on our stage finally overwhelm.

They never disappoint and, chance as not an open mind will find something to sweep them away as shown by the crowd being a fair cross section of the Warhorners from fancy dress practitioners to, well, grim miserable bastards like me. (Gizmo)

pioneers Skyclad. The set opened with ‘Earthmother’ and ‘Spinning Jenny’, both great songs but something didn’t sound quite right. There was a brief pause to reflect upon global warming, wryly noting that the festival was being held in the shadow of the cooling towers of Drax power station before launching into ‘Change is Coming’. Those dressed as Vikings and wizards at the front were really getting warmed up by this point before a brief pause to reflect upon the fact that this gig was originally planned for Warhorns 2020, when it would have been a 30th anniversary show, but for obvious reasons it had to be deferred. The next song was introduced as a Skyclad anthem, to which somebody in the crowd shouted for ‘Spinning Jenny’ which had already been played! ‘The Cry of the Land’ and ‘Emerald’ flew by before ‘The One Piece Puzzle’ brought a more sombre atmosphere, and it was at this stage that things clicked for me and Skyclad went into top gear.

‘The Widdershins Jig’ took us back to 1991, although it’s fair to say the track has evolved a fair bit since then! The crowd were busy jigging at the front while Georgina left the stage to do a lap of the venue with her violin. One classic folk metal track was followed by another until a brief pause to consider the current political dilemma of who would be the next Prime Minister, musing upon the choice between Rishi and Liz Truss, before launching into ‘The Parliament of Fools’.

‘Penny Dreadful’ and ‘Anotherdrinkingsong’ saw the crowd and band bouncing as one before a fast version of ‘Thinking Allowed’ which was a highlight of the set for me. ‘The Declaration of Indifference’ and ‘No Deposit, No Return’ brought the set to a close in triumphant fashion to rapturous reception from the buoyant crowd.

I first saw Skyclad in 1994, and have caught them many times since then. Although something hadn’t seemed quite right at the beginning of this set, it rapidly morphed into something special and was a gig to remember. The set was full of classic tracks, which have stood the test of time and remain as relevant today as ever, and the band were in great form. A true celebration of folk metal. (Andy P)

In conclusion. This was probably the best Warhorns so far. Everyone, not just grumpy me, would have had a band here or there that didn’t work for them but I genuinely think everyone there agreed that remarkably every single band without exception or position on the bill played absolutely top-notch sets. There were no weak links anywhere, there were only fleeting sound issues and supernaturally for Warhorns they ran only about two minutes over for the entire the weekend. Two minutes. I think there was a shift in atmosphere from even the Late Winterfest; perhaps people – fans and bands – have found a way through the reality of living in a covid world. It’s here to stay but boundaries have been reset and respect for the differences between us were just fantastic from full on jigging and hugging through social distancing to masks. Whatever works for you and enables you to enjoy it was respected.

But that kind of sums up Warhorns. Respect. A safe place. Families, women, ethnicity, orientation; anything. They continue to prove you can be passionate about their broad church of music and still be cool to one another.

And knowing a thing or two about next years lineups, trust me when I say Glyn and the lads will prove the best is yet to come. Rex is no doubt looking forward to it.

Raise the horns! (Gizmo)

Review Gizmo

Photos and review  Andy Pountney

@shot_in_the_dark_photography2

Rex Photo: Dagmara Podsiadlo 

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