Sunday 25/02/2024 - O2 Academy, Bristol
A Sunday night that included drinking horns, a fiddle, an accordion, a hurdy-gurdy and a giant inflatable rubber duck, what more could I ask for?
Dutch pagan folk metal band HEIDEVOLK got things started in the oddly tiered O2 Academy in Bristol. The twin vocals of Jacco and Daniël reverberated around the venue to crowd favourites A Wolf in My Heart and Vulgaris Magistralis along with the chant like Yngwaz’ Zonen. This was the second time that I’ve managed to see the Heidevolk boys do their thing and they were just as good as their headline spot at the HRH Vikings Festival in Sheffield back at the end of 2022.
Next up were Finnish folk metal legends and all-around boozy boys KORPIKLAANI. Right out of the gate kicking things off with A Man With a Plan, the energy was high and the crowd were jumping. No one had more energy it seemed than Samuli on the drums, for the little over an hour that they were on stage he was a metaphorical Duracell bunny of tempo. Closing things out with Beer Beer and Vodka, I am super excited to get to see these boys again headlining the Sophie Lancaster Stage at Bloodstock in the summer.
Stage crew at the ready, as covers come off of the octopus-like drum kit and the giant rubber duck starts to inflate at centre stage, we all knew the real party was about to kick into full nautical swing, and starting off with Keelhauled the boys from ALESTORM did not disappoint, as Captain Bowes fingered away the opening jig on his Axe keytar, an equal number of classic horns were raised alongside on brand hooked hands from the crowd and I’m sure at one point there was a chap in a parrot onesie crowd surfing his way to the barrier. At points joined onstage by a shark in a kilt (during a cover of Taio Cruz, Hangover), a balaclava-clad person drinking what appeared to be highly caffeinated Devonshire tonic wine from a boot and the sweetest little baby Grogu keeping watch from beneath Elliot Vernon’s keyboard. One of the surprise highlights (for me at least) was for a total of seven songs (including the recently released Voyage of the Dead Marauder) the band were joined by the supremely talented German hurdy gurdy-ist (if that's the right word) PATTY GURDY (Patricia Büchler), if the band wanted to mix things up moving forward I don’t think that they could go too wrong making her a permanent fixture.
Twenty songs (from across eight of their albums and EPs) the roughly hour-and-a-half headline set absolutely flew by. The main set finishes off with the tongue-in-cheek masterpiece that is Shit Boat (No Fans) before a three-song encore of fan favourites Drink, Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship and Fucked With an Anchor, Alestorm always delivers a super fun night, as the house lights came up and Wallace and Gromit theme tune started to play I for one was gutted that the night was over.
Rum, Beer, Greggs and Mead, these are indeed the things that, this pirate at least, needs.
