Saturday
We start the second day with coffee and observing the hangovers for a while before we are welcomed in by the gentle beginning of day two in the wonderful hands of Warhorns favourite Yylva.
This is the last live performance of the project and for once Clare Webster is joined by her companions from Edenfall with two acoustic guitars and a gentle bass accompanying her delicate harp and simply stunning vocals. The crowd gathers, those familiar finding a place on the floor to let this world wash over them.
It is so hard to describe the pure, clear voice, the simple sound of the harp and the frankly gorgeous guitar work. I get lost in the music as the hairs rise and the chills dance on my skin.
Two acoustic Edenfall songs are played for the first time (‘Escaping’ and I think ‘Womb Of Winter’), two covers (a truly haunting version of Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit’ and a simply majestic version of Bathory’s ‘Ring Of Gold’) and the plaintive ‘Nienor’ to close, a real favourite of mine.
What a beautiful start and just perfectly received by the Warhorners.
How to follow that? Well we get the second outstanding Warhorns debut of the weekend; Lowen. With a frontwoman wearing a gorgeous bright red and gold robe, her bandmates in black and worn t-shirts I wonder what will happen.
Oh my. Riff upon riff of progressive, swirling doom heavy as thunder and from the eye of this storm an absolutely flawless, huge voice full off middle eastern glory. The contrast is just stunning. People come in, pulled by both the gravity of the riffs and the call of that voice.
Being completely new to me (and most of the Warhorners I gather) I have no idea of songs here, I’m afraid. But what we had was a singer who pulled in the eye with almost gentle and graceful hand movements with a world shaking voice.
Incredibly intense riffs accentuated by the heavy, excellent drumming and the driven movement of guitarist and bassist. I mean, imagine Electric Wizard mixed with Sleep and a sludge performance intensity and a voice calling out like a priestess in the cosmic eye of a storm. Time stops, all I hear is the song.
Utterly stunning. And, I discover, lovely people off stage too.
“We have to follow two of the best voices in the country” or words to that effect smiles the Earthbound frontman with a nice grace. He needn’t have worried. Melodic death metal is the order of the day here and the singer clearly has confidence – decked out in a zebra striped shirt, sporting a quiff and 80s moustache (young Chris Kamara style) is a bold choice, but damn he carries it off and best has a fine voice and lots of charisma too and works really hard up front.
Melodic death metal is their thing, played with real talent and some nice hooks from the off. In places they straddle the line between melodic death and hard rock that you never knew existed. We get choruses and rising guitar leads that Countless Skies would nod sagely at and melodies that oddly remind me of Saor of all things.
The strangely mournful ‘Eve Of Tomorrow’ (I think) is beautiful. Closer ‘Worlds Apart’ gives out all their energy; earnest death vocals, smooth melody against the jagged riff and drums and the refrain just fantastic to end their set.
It usually takes me repeated viewings to get into a melodic death metal band live but Earthbound managed it straight off. Great set indeed, and new album due I believe.
Rested from their opening exertions, Edenfall are next. I have a real soft spot for this curious band with their blend of real black metal and a kind of dark folk and despite Clare Webster’s powerful voice they neatly sidestep the symphonic metal swamp. They look great onstage – guitars and based decked out in a little black metal armour and singer in a soft shaded robe.
The riffs rise into a gallop and that voice soars on ahead like a herald and opens up that space in my chest where the emotion can flood in. The crowd warm to them nicely and they lead us through the facets of their sound. ‘Penumbra’ with its powerful drumming and stormy black metal riff and vocal howls – harsh coming from both rhythm guitarist Rob George and, shockingly Ms Webster as well – two old songs (bear in mind they released their first album well over a decade ago) in (again I think) ‘Winter Rose’ and the doomy, sinister ‘Thistle’s Cairn’ and closing with the fantastic ‘Oaken’.
It is probably a big ask for everything to sink in first listen with such big songs with multiple passages through black metal, doom and gentle melancholy but they go down very nicely, the audience appreciative and responsive. A real class act to be sure.
And then someone lobbed a bomb into the Warhorns room. A bomb by the name of Concrete Age. I suspect outside of their entourage there were probably less than half a dozen people who had heard of them, let alone heard them before (I had for reasons of weird synchronicity been pointed at them by Thee Ed as a ‘reckon they’d suit Warhorns’ a while back just around when Glyn stumbled on them) but still had no real idea what to expect.
Odd name, four guys in black with bright sashes and.. ‘Riada Rada’ cranks up into life. ‘What are they like?’ a mate asked, ‘Well it could be a riot…’ I reply. Ha! Chugging through the gears until it hits thrash speed. Harsh vocals and a rhythm from bass and drums that just bounces like Tigger on acid. You could feel the crowd blink a long “what the actual…??” as the band barrel into the massive melodic chorus. Vocal become beautifully boisterous and the guitar work from both front man and second guitarist just rip off into space. Huge ethnic melodies from the Caucasus slide in the midsection, twisting into a swing and a dance. Heads are already nodding in approval and for the second time the hairs stand up. And oh fuck me it just gets better.
The energy onstage is just ludicrous and the crowd are all in by now. ‘Battle For The Caucasus’ is like.. oh Korpiklaani gone serious and thrash metal. The frontman pulls some outrageous faces, smiling at the crowd, raising an eyebrow here or a compliment there. We get drumming from all the band, a strange flute I haven’t a clue on (but apparently requires a…ahem… dextrous tongue…) and swirling melodies on songs like the hard bounce of ‘Bardo Thordol’. By the time we get to ‘Thunderland’ they haven’t so much conquered Warhorns as blown the doors off. I kid you not but besides THE longest queue for merch of anyone afterwards, a phrase I kept hearing from people chatting to friends was “I have no idea what that was but it was fucking brilliant…”
System Of A Down playing thrash metal folk from the Caucasus? Who knows but London shame on you for sleeping on this band. New album just out. Get on it and seriously go and see them live. Utterly stunning. Band of the weekend for me, which considering the quality of bands and performances is saying something.
And then during the interval (thank god for the interval, no one could have followed straight after that) my Warhorns took a sharp turn sideways. Family emergency, thankfully very close and sorted via a mate’s car, but it took it out of me and when I returned I was in no shape to watch the fine Theigns And Thralls.
So apologies (but with Kevin Riddley (Skyclad) and Dave Briggs (headliners Waylander) in their ranks they went down as beautifully as expected from the noise and comments after.
I often think that Dark Forest are one of the most quintessentially English bands around. Twenty years down the line and they still have that wonderful heart yearning freshness to them whenever they step on stage. With frontman Josh Winnard striding onstage and those twin guitars from messers Horton and Jenkins like a lovely melding or Maiden and Lizzy dancing the folk line it just lifts me after a shitty hour.
The melodies have this unique ability for me, just pulling me into the countryside and reminding me of the legends and tales that have gone before in those lands. ‘The Woodlander’ with its winding melody rising into heroic territory gets a fine airing.
I hear fans singing along, and the heads going, the odd bit of dancing. The band seemingly just have to stretch out a hand and we’re with them. Winnard is in fine form; his expressive voice coming through with power and poise and his presence a great anchor for the musical talent on display; lead breaks flow like mead, the riffs pulse with life. Man I’ve missed them live. ‘Blackthorne’ is as strong as ever and ‘Ridge & Furrow’ a gentle moment of introspection. ‘Under The Greenwood Tree’ sends us away with tales or heroic outlaws in our hearts.
Not quite pure traditional metal, nor power or folk; Dark Forest are that infuriating ‘best kept secret’ when they ned to be shouted from the rooftops. Original, emotional and superb live. Any heavy metal fan should love the hell out of them.
And so to the much awaited headliners Waylander. I’m tempted to say if any band epitomises the folk heart of Warhorns it is these glorious veterans from Ulster. Opening with ‘As The Sun Stand Still’ from ‘Eriu’s Wheel’ it plunges us straight in.
Whistle and semi spoken words, harsh vocals and then that refrain that just sends such an emotional chill through me with its celebratory sound and a yearning for simpler days. A packed stage, Waylander are the serious and deeply felt heart of folk metal; intense but in a way that embraces the audience. ‘Kindred Spirits’ brings some real thunder in the riff, and dancing breaks out as it should.
There’s always some little bits of banter; the small matter of distribution of woad to be sorted, as always, but the music is definitely the loudest voice here. ‘The Vernal Dance’ is just a beautiful version; rich in a pagan feel it brings the past to vivid and colourful life and reminds us that the land is still here for us if we care for it. ‘Autumnal Blaze’ though just brings my heart to life once more; energetic from band and crowd it burns through us with joy.
And ‘King Of The Faeries’ simply requires a good old fashion swirling jig and of course that’s what the band get.
The rendition of old song ‘Born To Fight’ gets the crowd calling back and is a perfect way to end; fighters to the end, Waylander are for me simply one of the finest folk metal bands on the planet, and may their emotional, lyrical well never run dry.
And so that was Warhorns Late Winterfest. It’s not an easy time for any festival at the moment. There’s precious little money about despite what mega rich politicians try and tell us. Picking and choosing where to spend it is hard for music fans of all genres. But it’s people like the incredible Warhorns crew that are the bedrock of music in this country. We need festivals to escape for more than a day from the shite life chucks at us, we need to spend time around old friends and like-minded people to listen and watch the bands and buy their merch as this is not about us being seen somewhere, or being the centre of attention. This is about something we all love; the music and the incredible musicians who make out lives so much better and in the end that is what Warhorns brings.
Trials and tribulations aside, this was a superb weekend of music. Not one bad band. Yes I had discoveries: Sabbat Wolf got to my old doom heart and Miska Boba, Lowen and that stunning performance by Concrete Age were the highlights. But Waylander and Dark Forest closed the weekend in a way that reached me through a whole load of personal shit.
That is the Warhorns way.
Words: Gizmo
Pictures: Dave Stewart
https://www.facebook.com/Dave.Stewart.Photography
https://davestewartphotography.zenfolio.com
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