Vreid, Kivimetsän Druidi Concert Review

Heathenfest – Eluveitie, Belphegor, Alestorm, Vreid, Kivimetsän Druidi

Monday, November 9, 2009

Station 4, St. Paul, MN

No promotion existed for Century Media recording artist Kivimetsän Druidi, so I was surprised to see this Finnish band on stage as I entered the venue. I only caught the last couple of songs, but the band seems to have an interesting, powerful take on folk metal. Their female singer is certainly captivating on stage, and her high trills and dancing kept the audience’s attention. Kivimetsän Druidi was well-received for an opening act, so maybe we’ll get the chance to see them again soon.

Norway’s Vreid next took the stage, and this black metal outfit was the reason I came out to this show. Both in attitude and style, Vreid comes across as militaristic, hatefilled-steamroller. Their aggressive, confrontational demeanor caught the audience by surprise, but the response was enthusiastic. The band had a generous 40 minutes or so, and used it to maximum advantage in showcasing material from throughout the catalog on their first tour of the United States. “Speaking Goddamnit” and “Milorg” from 2009’s Milorg album were featured. It was a little surprising that the set wasn’t heavily slanted from Milorg, instead, older songs such as “Raped By Light” and “Pitch Black” were placed alongside a few other catalog tracks. All in all, Vreid put forth a powerful display of their talents and seemed to win over a large number of converts this night.

Home duties called, so unfortunately I was required to take an early leave and missed the remainder of the show. The entire lineup of Heathenfest was quite diverse and the attendance was excellent for the early part of the show that I caught, so hopefully more interesting tours like this will be coming through the Cities in the near future.

Click on the photos to see more pictures of Vreid (6) and Kivimetsän Druidi (3).