Bands: Isatha, Interitus Dei, Ka Gaia An, Niburta
Venue: Crazy Mama Music Pub, Gubacsi út 97, 1097 Budapest
Time: March 3, 2012 - 8.30 pm
Entrance fee: 1000 HUF
Entrance fee: 1000 HUF
 |
| Isatha: Rajna Péter (vocalist) |
So far, I've covered some easier styles of rock and metal music, but now I'm moving onto something heavier. Last night I attended a concert in quite a deserted part of the city, in a club surrounded by abandoned buildings, and what looked like factories. I was a bit anxious about finding it, since the neighbourhood didn't look the friendliest. But once you get to those doors inconspicuously hidden in the middle of a long wall, and you get in, the whole atmosphere changes. The door was opened at 7 pm, but I was quite lucky to get there just in time when the first band started playing, since I was running a bit late, an hour and a half to be exact.
 |
| Isatha: Dauda Judit (vocalist) |
Back to the music, the first band on stage was Isatha, a young band from Budapest. They play folk metal, and use a variety of instruments, ranging from drums and guitars to flutes and violin. As their influences they name various bands, such as Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, and Eluveitie, whose most famous song Inis Mona occupies a special place in Isatha performances.
Although for many fans the female vocals, done by Dauda Judit, were the highlight of Isatha's performance, it is important to emphasize how good the new violinist was, as well as the amazing talent on flutes that Gerényi Dóra showed last night.
Setlist: Vándor, Suttogó erdő, Pogány átok, Álomösvény, Felkelő nap a harci mezőn, Árnykirályság, Inis Mona (Eluveitie cover), Vérvörös ég alatt, Árulók balladája, Utolsó dal.
This folk metal night hosted, as its name suggests, bands from (only) two countries: Hungary and Romania, two bands from each. Since there has been some tension between the two nationalities, some people had concern about the outcome of the event. What I find to be a great thing about metalheads is that they are, mostly, genuinely interested in the music itself, and do not care for such trivialities as nationalism enough to start making problems about it. The same happened yesterday, since some showed up in those famous Greater Hungary T-shirts, which would, at many other events, be found highly provocative or distasteful. But enough of that.
The two Romanian bands followed, led by Interitus Dei (who should not be confused with the German band of the same name, but different genre). This was the only band not to feature a female musician, and also the band with the least folk elements. The band rather plays gothic doom kind of metal, and incorporate into their style two vocalists, providing both clean vocals and growls. Obviously, all the musicians, both inside the band and with other bands, got along very well, and enjoyed being on the stage. Although the audience was not as big as I had initially expected, I was nicely surprised to see how good the communication between them and the bands was.
The Interitus Dei frontman, Bogdan Boeru, proved to be, apart from being a great musician, a very charismatic person as well. After introducing every song as: "This one is simply called...", he realized his repetitiveness, nonchalantly made a joke about it, and simply continued with the show.
 |
| Interitus Dei |
This folk metal night hosted, as its name suggests, bands from (only) two countries: Hungary and Romania, two bands from each. Since there has been some tension between the two nationalities, some people had concern about the outcome of the event. What I find to be a great thing about metalheads is that they are, mostly, genuinely interested in the music itself, and do not care for such trivialities as nationalism enough to start making problems about it. The same happened yesterday, since some showed up in those famous Greater Hungary T-shirts, which would, at many other events, be found highly provocative or distasteful. But enough of that.
 |
| Interitus Dei: featuring Florin Costachita (vocals) |
The two Romanian bands followed, led by Interitus Dei (who should not be confused with the German band of the same name, but different genre). This was the only band not to feature a female musician, and also the band with the least folk elements. The band rather plays gothic doom kind of metal, and incorporate into their style two vocalists, providing both clean vocals and growls. Obviously, all the musicians, both inside the band and with other bands, got along very well, and enjoyed being on the stage. Although the audience was not as big as I had initially expected, I was nicely surprised to see how good the communication between them and the bands was.
The Interitus Dei frontman, Bogdan Boeru, proved to be, apart from being a great musician, a very charismatic person as well. After introducing every song as: "This one is simply called...", he realized his repetitiveness, nonchalantly made a joke about it, and simply continued with the show.
Setlist: Pagan and Proud, When the Metal Meets the Flesh, The Portrait of Pain, Cards, Crowd, The Memories of the Snake, Strained, Heroes, Forbidden Epitaph, Straga, It Begins, Amon Amarth, Hasta Siempre Comandante Che Guevara, Riddles.
 |
| Ka Gaia An: Anastasia Dincu (flute) |
 |
| Ka Gaia An: Razvan Demetrian (keyboards) |
Almost at midnight, the sounds of an intro started filling the venue, and the club welcomed Ka Gaia An with a loud applause. As the band themselves say, "Ka Gaia An is a state of mind, a return to traditions, habits, the emotions, spiritual life, to love the holy land of the ancestors of the Romanian people, the Dacians". Because their music takes us deeper into the Romanian culture and language, we can say that they play a sort of neofolk metal, with great pagan influences.
Setlist: Intro + Tomiris, Noaptea, Dansul La Lumina Lunii, Caluceanu, Doina, Joaca Dacii, Sfanta Cetate, Hangita, Interludium + Neamul, Dacilor / Joaca Dacii, Caluceanu.
 |
| Niburta: Hormai Balázs (vocals, mouth harp, drums...) |
At a few points during the show, apparently there were some technical problems, and some of the instruments were not audible enough, but just sort of blended together. This happened again later with Niburta, who had so many instruments on the stage that it was almost expected to have something not work properly.
 |
| Niburta: Träger Lili (vocals) |
Niburta are a relatively new band, formed only in 2009, in Budapest. However, considering what they do with their music, one would think they have existed ages ago. They fuse all kinds of folk elements, greatly influenced by folklore of Hungarian, Moldavian, and Mongolian peoples. The vast number of instruments they use include mouth harp, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, flute, tilinkó, and so on. I particularly liked the throat singing, which, although quite unusual in metal, provided another one of those special aspects of Niburta's style.
The fans were quite eager to hear some of their most known pieces, such as Awakening, and Forebear's Dance, which sent everyone into frenzy. This continued well through the show into the song Tavaszi Szél, to which the band members of Ka Gaia An joined the band on stage, and helped Hormai Balázs with the vocals.
The real gem was the ending of the concert, when almost all the members of Niburta left their instruments, and stood behind the singer, Lili, while she performed the most beautiful song of that evening, Fúvom az Énekem, with the sounds of flute in the background.
Setlist: Bogorodice (intro), Stho Kaszmete, Nap és Hold, Mashala, Forebear's Dance, Dance of Satyrs (Daemonia Nymphe cover), Lydia, Awakening, Tavaszi Szél (with Ka Gaia An), Ancestry (intro CD), Forgotten path, Keselyű, Rege, Fúvom az Énekem.
As I mentioned before, Crazy Mama is kind of out of the way, situated in the far off part of the IX district. However, to get there one can take a number of buses or trams. The easiest way is to get to Boráros tér (which is at the Pest side of the Petőfi híd), and take either buses 54 and 55, or bus 23. They will get you pretty close to the place. There are other options as well, like taking the tram 51 from Mester utca (which is the next stop from Boráros tér).
As for the club itself, it's definitely one of the nicer ones in the city, although quite small. There's also a gallery, perfect for those who prefer to just sit back and enjoy the show. I haven't had a chance to check out the prices, but I know for sure they had draught beer (Soproni, which is the best Hungarian beer, in my opinion) for 400 Ft. Another positive thing was that they serve food as well, if I remember correctly, there were some Hungarian dishes such as Lángos and pies.
Check out the concert gallery.
Here's the interview with Niburta.
The report was also published here in both Hungarian and English. Check it out!
Here's the interview with Niburta.
The report was also published here in both Hungarian and English. Check it out!
 | ||
| Niburta: Hormai Balázs and Leindler Milán |
As I mentioned before, Crazy Mama is kind of out of the way, situated in the far off part of the IX district. However, to get there one can take a number of buses or trams. The easiest way is to get to Boráros tér (which is at the Pest side of the Petőfi híd), and take either buses 54 and 55, or bus 23. They will get you pretty close to the place. There are other options as well, like taking the tram 51 from Mester utca (which is the next stop from Boráros tér).
As for the club itself, it's definitely one of the nicer ones in the city, although quite small. There's also a gallery, perfect for those who prefer to just sit back and enjoy the show. I haven't had a chance to check out the prices, but I know for sure they had draught beer (Soproni, which is the best Hungarian beer, in my opinion) for 400 Ft. Another positive thing was that they serve food as well, if I remember correctly, there were some Hungarian dishes such as Lángos and pies.
No comments:
Post a Comment