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Archive for the ‘Frost Giant’ Category

Astronoid (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2019)

Posted in Astronoid, Bad Books, Frost Giant, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Foundry on June 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2019] Astronoid

I had not heard of Astronoid until I saw that Frost Giant was playing this show with them.  I actually had tickets to Bad Books this same evening and I posted a poll to see who I should check out live.  Of the 5 replies (including one from someone in Astronoid), 4 said Astronoid.  Sorry Bad Books.

Astronoid are from Boston and they play what has been described as “a buoyant mix of metal, thrash, punk, prog-rock and shoegaze.”  They cite as influences the Norwegian black metal band Emperor and the Danish band Mew (two very different bands indeed).

And all of that is evident in their music and their set.

They played every song from their new album (not in order) and a few from their debut from 2016.  The crowd around me was definitely more excited by the older stuff, but the guy next to me seemed to know every drum part to every song. (more…)

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Infinity Shred (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2019) [ASTRONOID]

Posted in Astronoid, Frost Giant, Infinity Shred, Philadelphia, PA, Starscream, The Foundry on June 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2019] Infinity Shred

I had not heard of Infinity Shred before this show although it seemed like many people were very excited they were opening.

If you look up Infinity Shred you will find a few genres associated with them: electronic, dance, post-rock.  I saw synthwave and chiptune as describers as well.

I don’t know the last two, but I think they all do a good job of describing this band (although synthwave is pretty amorphous, honestly).

Basically the band is a trio from New York.  Clara Warnaar plays drums.  I was standing in front of guitarist Nathan Ritholz and on the other side of the stage was keyboardist Damon Hardjowirogo.

In addition to their instruments, they also had three bright LED panels.  These panels were synchronized to flash red white or blue.  They each lit up a member of the band (with the drummer’s inside her bass drum.  I assumed they were programmed along with some of the sounds?

Damon introduced the band but his mic wasn’t working so he just shouted.  The band began, the lights started flashing and off they went. (more…)

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Frost Giant (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2019) [ASTRONOID]

Posted in Arkona, Astronoid, Frost Giant, Korpiklaani, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on June 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2019] Frost Giant

Can you be epic in a tiny space?

If you are Philadelphia’s Frost Giant, the answer is hell yes!

I was supposed to see Frost Giant play with Arkona and Korpiklaani at the TLA, but the promoters put Frost Giant on before the start time of 8PM (!) and I missed their set entirely.

I have wanted to check them out, so when they were listed as playing the Foundry with Astronoid, I figured I’d go.  Even though I didn’t yet know Astronoid.

So I arrived early (just in case) and took my place in front of the stage when the band came out.

I was delighted by Armen Koroghlian’s intense drum kit and Matti Frost’s look.  And then I was impressed by their power.

The band played four songs, starting with the almost lead off track from their new album The Harlot Star. (more…)

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Korpiklaani (The Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, November 25, 2018)

Posted in Arkona, Folk Metal, Frost Giant, Korpiklaani, Philadelphia, PA, Poetry, Theatre of Living Arts, Tuomas Keskimäki on November 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 25, 2018] Korpiklaani

I’m not even sure now what inspired me to go see Korpiklaani.  I know I’d never heard of them before this month.  But I somehow saw their name and t heir genre and heard that their shows were just inspired lunacy.  The fact that they were from Finland made it even more interesting and exotic.  I watched a video or two and decided I’d like to see them.  And then, lo and behold they were playing in Philly in like two weeks.

So I rearranged my schedule and got a ticket.

The crowd at TLA was relatively small, but it was incredibly intense.  Nearly everyone there knew the band really well.  Some were in kilts, there were lots of beards.  And that small crowd even got a raging mosh pit going.

Some people feel that they are not really heavy metal, and I can see that.  Even singer Jonne Järvelä, said “Korpiklaani’s music would be seen as “old people’s music with heavy metal guitars” in Finland.

I really had no idea what to expect, so I was delighted when the band came out as a kind of Nordic Folk Village People.   (more…)

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Arkona (The Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, November 25, 2018) [KORPIKLAANI]

Posted in Arkona, Folk Metal, Frost Giant, Korpiklaani, Pagan Metal, Philadelphia, PA, The Office, Theatre of Living Arts on November 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 25, 2018] Arkona

This was an early Sunday show.  Doors at 6, bands on at 7.  It was billed as three bands, headliners Korpiklaani, with support from Arkona and a Philly band called Frost Giant, all of whom played Folk Metal–a genre I had only recently even heard of.

Parking was a drag (I was foolish in my arrival time) and so I got into the theater a little after 7.  There was some buzz in the room, but I never would have guessed that was because Frost Giant had already come and gone–leaving no trace.  After the show someone told me that they went on at 6:35 and were good.  Sorry Frost Giant, that’s poor information from the venue, but I’ve just listened to some of your stuff on bandcamp, and you guys rock.  I hope to see you again around Philly.

I didn’t know Arkona (Аркона) at all.  I looked them up before the show and learned that they were Russian, which I found really exciting and intriguing.  Korpiklaani is Finnish, so it would be a night of no one singing English at all. (more…)

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