Review: Eluveitie, Bierkeller

It’s a cruel dilemma for those of a rockin’ disposition. Over at the Academy, The Temperance Movement are taking a well-deserved step up to the larger stage. But how often do you get a pagan folk metal triple bill in Bristol, with bands from Iceland, Switzerland and Russia? Not so long ago, it was necessary to haul ass to London to see acts like this. But the increasing popularity of global metal in general, and folk metal in particular, means that more of them are heading our way.

Things are obviously hotting up in, er, Iceland as Skalmold are the second Icelandic metal band to hit Bristol in as many weeks. Clearly made of sterner stuff than us weedy Bristolians, two of them elect to take the stage shirtless in the November chill. A sextet with three guitarists and five singers, each of whom has his own distinctive vocal style, they’re heavier than their more ambient-oriented chums in Solstafir but have the whole Gregorian chant-style thing going on that recalls Faroese band Tyr (who play the Fleece with Korpiklaani next month). Skalmold have been moving away from folkier material of late, but it can’t have been lost on them that this was the stuff that went down best with the crowd.

The Bierkeller is already comfortably full and there are noticeably more women here than at most metal gigs – possibly even a 50/50 split – which may be a reflection of the music itself or the number of female musicians on stage. Clad in the furry remains of some unfortunate beast, diminutive Maria Arkhipova of Arkona has a huge voice and an impressive range, from guttural bellow to angelic croon. The Russians are clearly a major draw tonight with their folklore and Slavic mythology-based material, but it’s a shame that they have to lean so heavily on occasionally malfunctioning backing tapes, presumably for budgetary reasons. Man of the match Vladimir Reshetnikov is kept busy juggling (not literally, obviously) wind instruments ranging from whistles to bagpipes.

It’s a measure of their supreme confidence that any band would choose to tour with two such excellent support acts. The problem that Eluveitie have faced in the past when they’ve been stuck in support slots is that their acoustic instruments are lost in a muddy mix. Not tonight, as it’s perfectly clear and pleasingly loud, so we can hear Anna Murphy’s hurdy-gurdy and Nicole Ansperger’s violin above all the riffage and dreadlocked mainman/multi-instrumentalist Chrigel Glanzmann’s harsh death metal vocals. They hit the stage running with the pounding King, though it’s apparent from the off that they’re a man down. Yep, there’s only seven of the buggers, bagpipe player Patrick Kistler being lost in action for some undisclosed reason. A cracking Thousandfold keeps the momentum going, inspiring many a merry audience jig. Murphy takes over on vocals for Call of the Mountains, which is about as mainstream-friendly as Eluveitie get, offering to sing the song in either English or Swiss German. Oddly enough, the audience vote is overwhelmingly for the Swiss German version (“I can see I’m never going to get to sing that song in English again,” she opines). Vianna and A Rose for Epona see her sharing vocals with Glanzmann – a combination that shouldn’t really work but does magnificently. Ansperger then fiddles up an absolute storm on breathtaking set-closer Havoc. It’s now past midnight, but they haven’t finished yet. Helvetios kicks off the encore, but how on earth are they going to do Inis Mona without the bagpipes? Enter Vlad from Arkona, who saves the day. The sight of a hairy Russian gentleman headbanging furiously while playing the bagpipes is not one to be forgotten in a hurry.