Paganfest Baltimore

Alright fellow Heathens! The time has come to answer the call of battle! Paganfest America Part III has arrived!  I had the pleasure of attending the first show in Baltimore, Maryland.

I arrived there early in the afternoon, with my girlfriend Alexa. When we got to the venue, we hung out with Alestorm, Arkona, and Huntress. Christopher Bowes, the ever so charming vocalist and keyboardist for Alestorm,  and I had a pretty great conversation. I had the pleasure of helping him unload their merch inside the venue. After that, we talked with the guys from Huntress for a little while  and got some insight about how excited they were to kick off Paganfest.

A few hours later, we had our interview with Jill Janus, lead singer of Huntress. The interview was going well and even Blake Meahl and Carl Wierzbicky (Lead guitarist and drummer of Huntress) dropped by with a special appearance from Alestorm’s guitarist, Dani Evans. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz1rduCS6-w]We shared some great laughs, joked around, and just had a great time. Out of the interviews I have done so far, I enjoyed this one the most. After the interview, I couldn’t wait to see the show.

Of course, I had Alexa paint my face for Turisas, as I did hers. A good friend and loyal fan of DMK came down with extra warpaint, and was kind enough to share with his fellow pagans. As the show started, there were a few local bands that played prior to the lineiup. The one that stood out the most to me was Fallen Martyr. These guys played such a unique style of metal — a mix of death, power, and progressive metal perfectly blended together. I have never heard anything like it, and was immediately drawn to their music. And their stage presence was great, and kept me headbanging through out the set. As the local bands wrapped up, it was time for Huntress to perform. For those of you who have never heard of Huntress, please check them out! These guys know how to shred, and Jill can hit the high notes, as well as the brutal death growls. And no one can forget the two skillful guitarists, Blake Meahl and Ian Aiden, as they played every brutal riff and solo perfectly. Before I knew it, they were ending with “Eight of Swords”. After Huntress came Russian Pagan Metal band, Arkona. Arkona played a shorter, yet similar set of the one they played last American tour with Korpiklaani. The fans were extremely into it, and pretty much seemed to all be hardcore Arkona fans (me included). This band really stands out in the Pagan Metal genre, and give one of the best stage performances you can ever witness. After these Pagan gods conquered the stage, sailed in Pirate Power Metal band, Alestorm. As we were told to “Get drunk or die”, Alestorm opened with “Shipwrecked”. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggyC0FOzqHM]Alestorm played a good majority of Back Through Time, and classics like “Keelhauled” and “Wenches and Mead”. For the first time in America, Alestorm played “Midget Saw”. We made one of the most brutal pits of the night, and partied along to this great performance.

Now midnight approached, and Finnish Vikings, Turisas came to battle on stage. As this was Turisas’s first ever American headlining tour, they played a good majority of tracks. They played a great mix of all the albums. My favorite song of the night was “Stand Up and Fight”.  I kept headbanging, moshing, and shouting the choruses the whole night. As all good things must come to an end, the show was over sometime after 2am.
I have been to many metal shows, and been to some festivals but I must say, this is the best one I have ever attended. I have never seen a crowd so dedicated to music in my life. This festival just proves the brotherhood and epicness of the folk metal genre. Nothing will ever defeat the battle cries of the fans, and the brutality of the pits. My fellow pagans, if you have not already, attend one of the shows on the tour. The line up offers a little bit of everything in the folk metal genre. And the overall experience of this show is something you can’t find at any other. Don’t forget to get all folk’d out, and show your true Viking warrior. Take pictures of your attire, and post them on our wall on Facebook. We want to see all of you fans out there!
-Talvi