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Archive for the ‘Korpiklaani’ Category

[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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[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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[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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