[avatar =”James” size=”50″ align=”left” /]
Two bands playing a headline set in one of the best sounding venues in Glasgow? Yes please! In all seriousness though, when this show got announced I almost thought it too good to be true. So, after making a few arrangements I made sure that I would be there to witness what turned out to be a very good evening.
First up on the stage were Finnish pagan metallers, Moonsorrow. Prior to the show, I’d spoken with Mitja and he mentioned that they would be a setlist compromised of both new and old material. Coming on stage to ‘Jumalaten Aika’ the band received a thunderous cheer from the rapidly expanded crowd. At a few points between songs, the frontman Ville joked with the crowd and also pointed out the fact that they had a lot of merch available. Which was true, they had a collection which put most bigger bands to shame.
At one point during the set, a rather interesting looking figure come on stage to do some ‘yoiking’ (I think that’s the correct term). This figure was of course, Jonne Järvelä from Korpiklaani. This was really quite something and made their set that much more memorable.
Playing a mixture of songs from across their back catalogue, the band delivered a superb set which left many of the crowd hankering after more. It felt as though they hadn’t played 90 minutes when in reality they’d actually played for slightly over that amount. Maybe it was because they only played 8 songs but still, they were superb and left Korpiklaani a huge order to top. (9/10)
Moonsorrow setlist:
- Jumaltan Aika
- Raunioilla
- Suden Tunti
- Jotunheim
- Ruttolehto incl Päivättömän päivän kansa (+ Jonne Järvelä)
- Ukkonen
- Ihmisen Aika (Kumarrus pimeyteen)
- Sankaritarina
After a reasonably speedy changeover, it was then time for the ‘Finnish Metal Mafia’ to come on the stage. Having spoken to Jarrko before the show, he mentioned that their set would be mainly compromised of newer material with one or two older songs. This left me intrigued as to which songs they’d be playing as they have a rather large back catalogue to pick from.
Coming on stage to “Viinamäen Mies” from the latest album, Noita, the band wasted no time in firing the crowd and showing them what they are all about. Groovy riffs, superb violin and accordion playing along with Jonne’s vocals make for a very enjoyable listen. There was no stopping the band as well, stopping for at most 30 seconds, the band powered through song after song.
Something which did intrigue me was that they chose to leave some of their more popular songs such as ‘Beer Beer’ and ‘Vodka’ until the encore at the end. That’s not to say that their other tracks are not as good, but nothing fires up a crowd more than shouting “Vodka!”. Playing a set compromised of mainly newer material with a few classics dotted here and there, the band delivered a good set. But, I just didn’t feel as though it was quite as good as Moonsorrow’s. Whether that’s simply due to the performance or the setlist, I’ll never know. But it did feel as though something was missing… (8/10)
