Wintersun
6th November 2017
Valhalla, Wellington, New Zealand
Review by Steve Francis. Photography by Alexander Hallag.
First up, I must admit before last night that I had never listened to Wintersun before. The bass player in my band is a huge fan but tends to have some very dubious listening habits (think cheesy Pirate sleeve Symphonic Metal), so I have done my best to steer clear of them! To be honest I never even realised that they had such a dedicated fan base down here. So it was with some trepidation that I set off last night to Wellington’s home of Metal, Valhalla for a night of fist banging sing-a-longs at the very Dad Metal friendly start time of 8pm. This Dad Metaller is certainly all for early gig starts (and finishes!).
Entering the venue it’s very clear that that I am at a Power Metal show. For a start most of the punters are already settled in for the night. Most of the shows I usually attend are more in the ‘extreme’ side of the metal fence where the crowd are still home pre loading on cheap booze. The other big difference is there are a much higher percentage of females in attendance. That is a good thing as ‘extreme’ shows normally reek of smelly Bogan, while there is a much more pleasant smell in the air for my night of Power Metal.
First up are Auckland 5 piece Stormforge. These guys have been around a while now and I have seen them many times before. Featuring the very impressive pipes of Courtney O’Leary they engage the crowd from the get go and get those fits pumping high. Plenty of “woah-oh” sing-a-longs and crowd participation moments make them the perfect opening band for the night. The highlight for me was the Power Ballad ‘The Tower’ which showcased O’Leary’s full range and some nice interplay between guitarists Flynn Fredrikksson and Raj Singarajah. Now how about getting that first full length out guys!
Aussie band Stormtide were up next. A few sound issues early with the guitars being a bit low in the mix and the Keytar way too loud. Vocalist Dmitry was very engaging and was doing his best to get the crowd on side, but had a more extreme vocal style which to be honest didn’t really perfectly fit with what they were doing musically. They hit their stride mid set and had some good song structures. My main criticism is the sound issues made it hard to hear the intricacies but that is normal fare for a support band.
Everyone’s heroes Wintersun took the stage at 9.45pm to huge applause and ripped into ‘Awaken from the Dark Slumber (spring)’. The sound is good but maybe the guitars are a bit low in the mix. Front man Jari is all energy, gnashing his teeth and waving his arms like Riff Raff from the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Steroids. He has the Wintersun faithful in the palm of his hand and the chorus sing-a-longs are loud and proud. Looking around the venue it is clear that EVERYONE knows the lyrics. Drunken dudes swaying with their eyes closed singing away and the Metal chicks mouthing along. Wintersun are top notch musicians with stand in drummer Rolf Pilve being all energy holding it together. Fan favourites ‘Winter Madness’ and ‘Death and the Healing’ brought the biggest cheers for the night and the loudest sing-a-longs. They play for close to 90 minutes and the energy never drops. They seem genuinely stoked to be in NZ and let’s hope they return soon.
Wintersun have a new fan in me and I will be checking out their recorded material as soon as possible. I must also give big props to Ben at Valhalla Touring for continuing to bring the bands over also, thanks mate!
Were you there at Valhalla to witness this intimate show? Or have you seen Wintersun perform somewhere else? Tell me about it in the comments below!
