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Review: Alestorm/Korpiklaani/Heidevolk, O2 Academy
Rather unpromisingly, Heidevolk are a Viking metal band from the Netherlands, a country not noted for its extensive Viking heritage. But they certainly look the part and waste no time in winning over the Bristol audience, which has already packed the Academy by 7pm.
Their USP is two singers (three if you count the bass player), and they deploy this formidable vocal firepower in a way that gives the likes of Ensiferum and Tyr a run for their money – especially during Yngwaz’ Zonen, which comprises a lengthy chant over a slow drum beat.
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Unlike most bands opening at the Academy, they get a good sound and full use of the stage. It’s not long before the entire room is punching the air, clapping along and joining in with the likes of A Wolf in My Heart and Drinking with the Gods, which has us all bellowing for Valhalla. They leave promising to return and will certainly be very welcome when they do so.
It’s amazing to think that those great Finnish folk metallers Korpiklaani are now more than 20 years and 12 albums into their career. Indeed, they’ve been going so long that their first Bristol show was at the Bierkeller. Covid denied us the opportunity to see them in April 2020, so it’s been a while since their last visit, which perhaps explains why they’re eager to remind us why we all loved them so much in the first place, opening with a trio of drinking songs: A Man With a Plan, Wooden Pints and Happy Little Boozer.
Few bands occupying support slots have the ability to get a packed hall of this size jigging along with such joyful abandon, but Korpiklaani really know how to work an audience and the sea of humanity in the vast mosh pit is swiftly surging back and forth as Jonne leads them through such danceable fare as Pilli on Pajusta Tehty, Levan Polkka and that unlikely cover of Boney M’s Gotta Go Home.
There have been a couple of line-up changes since the sextet were last here. Incoming drummer Samuli Mikkonen proves more than equal to the Mikkey Dee-esque furious rhythms driving many of these songs, while violinist Olli Vänskä plays like a demon throughout, trading melodies with accordionist Sami Perttula.
What’s more, the two tracks unveiled from the upcoming Rankarumpu album prove to be as good as anything they’ve ever done, especially the glorious violin-driven Aita, suggesting there’s plenty of gas in the tank yet. They leave us after nearly an hour with two more of those trademark boozing songs: Beer Beer (a song so good they named it twice, to adapt the old joke) and Vodka.
Korpiklaani really could and should be headlining venues like this, though one feels rather guilty about hogging them to ourselves. Mainstream audiences who can tolerate loud guitars would love this stuff too, but it’s the metal crowd who’ve really taken them to their hearts.
On paper, Alestorm should have been as ephemeral as that peculiar lockdown sea shanties fad, but Cap’n Bowes and his scurvy crew are still packing out Bristol venues with their idiosyncratic pirate metal more than a decade on from their inception. Part of the explanation must surely be that these shows are all about having fun, and that relies upon audiences being up for it. Bristol certainly is. There are pirate hats aplenty on display (one guy even appears to be wearing a flamingo on his head) and even the duck roadie gets a huge cheer. Yep, Alestorm’s trademark giant plastic duck is laid out flat on the Heidevolk/Korpiklaani drum riser before being rapidly inflated to showcase its full fowl glory.
Opener Keelhauled encapsulates the appeal: a keytar intro by Bowes gives way to a full-on power metal romp with a huge singalong chorus. They even repurpose Taio Cruz’s pop hit Hangover to fit the formula. There’s plenty of theatrical panto fun along the way, including walk-ons for a bloke dressed as a shark in a kilt and a woman who drinks from a shoe. Bowes even sings one section of Wenches & Mead for dogs, with every word replaced by ‘woof’. Everybody woofs back.
They’re grotesquely attired as usual, with green being the key primary colour. Bowes is resplendent in a green tartan kilt, while guitarist Máté Bodor sports a particularly lurid pair of shorts. It’s enough to make those of us who haven’t bothered dressing up for the occasion feel rather inadequate.
There are only so many songs you can write about grog, wenches, plank-walking, R&R in Mexico and treasure chests, so Alestorm have widened their scope to incorporate non-piratical seafaring adventures too, such as Magellan’s Expedition (it’s about “a guy who did a lot of stuff”, Bowes explains helpfully).
But the best innovation tonight is the inclusion of German YouTuber and hurdy-gurdy player Patricia Büchler (who goes by the stage name Patty Gurdy) as a guest. She bounces on to perform on Voyage of the Dead Marauder from Alestorm’s upcoming EP, on which she also guests, and sticks around for the preposterous Big Ship Little Ship and crowd favourite Nancy the Tavern Wench. Not only is she a great hurdy-gurdy player but she also has a powerful voice, which contrasts dramatically with Bowes’ gruff tones and keyboard player Elliot Vernon’s harsh vocals. They should sign her up permanently, if she’s willing.
Some of the frontman’s raps are getting a little tired (“Let’s all get drunk and have sex with crocodiles!”), but that predictability is really part of the pantomime appeal. They conclude with the epic Captain Morgan’s Revenge from their debut album and a quick romp through the thowaway Shit Boat (No Fans).
Patty returns for the encore of Drink, which provokes the loudest sinaglong so far and is followed by Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship. But just when you thought this audience couldn’t get any louder, the show ends with Fucked With an Anchor, which Bowes introduces by saying it expresses what they really think about each and every one of us. There’s something childishly pleasurable about hearing nearly 2,000 people singing “Fuck you, with a fucking anchor/You’re all cunts, so fuck you all”.
All pix by Mike Evans
Read more: Metal & Prog Picks: February 2024
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