The Wondrous World of the Beast

Lori Lewis (Therion)

Artist: Antalgia (ES), Elyose (FR), Therion (S)

Venue: Club 202, Fehérvári út 202,  Budapest

Time: October 17, 2012 - 7.00 pm

Entrance fee: 6500 HUF

Therion is one of those bands to whose existence I owe thanks and much more. Knowing their music helped me make some of the most important steps, especially when it comes to music being such a huge part of my life. Had it not been for them, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here right now, writing this or doing anything else related to it for that matter.

I've already done a short report on this concert, which should be published sometime over the weekend at KronosMortus.com (in English and Hungarian), so I will only post a few highlights here, plus the photos, of course. So, stay tuned. :)

~there are links to the gallery at the end of the post~

Elyose

Antalgia

I have to say that I prefered Therion's opening bands from the last few tours. They were more suited to my liking, especially Leprous and Sabaton, at the time quite unknown. This year, however, they decided to go with something more symphonic. Antalgia and Elyose stepped in. They are two quite young bands from Spain and France, respectively, fronted by lovely ladies of metal. They were quite good on the stage, and it was obvious that they were enjoying themselves, just as their fans were.








Therion, on the other hand, completely stunned the whole audience; those that have seen them live before, as well as those new to their music. They played a set of 21 song, never ceasing to amaze us. Although they did have much stage setting, their show was more than just playing music. It was a dramatic performance. You cannot describe a Therion experience, so I'll let the photos give you an idea. Here are a few, for more check out the galleries - links below.

Thomas Vikström (Therion)

Setlist: O Fortuna; Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son; Son of the Sun; Via Nocturna; The Flight of the Lord of Flies; J'ai le Mal de Toi; Abraxas; Vanaheim; Lemuria; Gothic Kabbalah; The Siren of the Woods; Ginnungagap; Land of Canaan; Wine of Aluqah; The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah; The Khlysti Evangelist; Une Fleur Dans le Coeur; Son of the Staves of Time // The Wondrous World of Punt; The Blood of Kingu // To Mega Therion.

Christofer Johnsson (Therion)

Access the galleries here, through either:

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Summoning the Muses at Samhainfest

Bands: Ankh (HU), Tales of Evening (HU), Niburta (HU),

KerecsenSólyom (HU), Virrasztók (HU), Darkest Era (UK),

Arkona (RU), Dalriada (HU), Silent Stream of Godless Elegy (CZ)

Venue: Club 202, Fehérvári út 202, Budapest
Time: September 29, 2012 - 3.15 pm
Entrance fee: 3 499 HUF

The time for Samhainfest has come and gone. Seriously, it's more than obvious that Budapest is the place for folk metal events like these. The crowd was huge, crazy and wild; and so were the bands, amazing bands, I must say. I won't go much into details, I hope my photos will bring you at least one piece of the hot atmosphere from Saturday.

~there are links to the gallery at the end of the post~

This festival was also a turning point for my photography. First of all, I finally took my new lens for a ride. True, I shot with it at Sziget festival already, but not like this. (There's a post from Sziget here as well, but it's hidden for now, as I have to do some changes. It will be back on soon.) I can honestly say that I've really enjoyed myself shooting the bands this time. The lights were really good, and the bands showed such diversity that I would have been utterly sad if I had not been allowed to shoot. Big thanks to the organizers for that.

Ankh

Ankh has just released their first EP, named Tükörterem. A friend of mine, Tamás, wrote a review of the album both in English and Hungarian. Check it out here! and be sure to also have a look at Tamás's Facebook page. He puts a lot of work into presenting the world of folk music to people all around the world, not just Hungary as the name suggests. Here's the link: Folk Metal Hungary.
Now, back to Saturday. The first bands had short setlists, but nevertheless presented their work in best light possible. Unfortunately, at some points during the whole evening the sound was a bit off. Sometimes the singer's voice could not be properly heard, while the guitar would stand out too much. Despite that, the band warmed the crowd up quite well with songs such as this one:

Ankh - We Are Gonna Fall (video)

Setlist: Ankh, Éj az Erdőben, (new song without title), The Longest Journey (Pt. I), We Are Gonna Fall, Tükörterem // Lezárt Szemek.

Tales of Evening

With quite less folk elements, but the same level of energy, Tales of Evening took over the stage. Fans especially loved the beautiful singer Ivett, with a singing technique slightly different from the other bands vocalists', but nevertheless wonderful. The band also has a video out, have a look here:

Tales of Evening - Lázadás (official video)

Setlist: Intro, Álmodd újra, Az én csodám, Hajléktalan lélek, Credo, Inkább egyedül, Lázadás, Reménysziget, Az én mesém, Outro.

Niburta. I always feel like a little girl when I have to write something about these guys. What can I say? I really love their music; even before they added Macedonian folk song and lyrics into it. That bit blew my mind. Now I'll stop my cheesy rambling and just (im)patiently wait for the album, Scream from the East. I posted about the release and one of the songs here, so I'll show you Mašala, the Macedonian song this time. It's a story about a hurt, cheated guy:

Niburta - Mašala (video)

Niburta

Setlist: The Descent (intro), Balkanic Heart, Nap és Hold, Mašala, Dance of Satyrs, Forgotten Path (feat. Alkonyat of KerecsenSólyom), Awakening.

KerecsenSólyom

KerecsenSólyom was the biggest and nicest surprise for me on Saturday. Wow! The effect that the band had on me was enormous. I've listened to their music once or twice before, but for some reason it never stuck with me. On Saturday, however, they completely amazed me. Even though they didn't use any folk instruments on the stage (too bad, I was really looking forward to that hurdy-gurdy intro on A Hősök Mulató Mezeje), the energy of the band, mainly the singer, completely put the playback into the back of our minds. Of course, upon returning home I gave their studio work another chance and it was successful! So, here's my recommendation to you:

Kerecsensólyom - Kerecsen (video)

Setlist: Intró, Hadak Ura Szekerén, A Hősök Mulató Mezeje, Aquileia Ostroma, Népmese, Kerecsen, Révülés.

I've seen Virrasztók at Rockmaraton in July, and same as then I have to say that these guys always have the best lighting system. Even if their music wasn't so good, it would always be so nice just to look at them on stage. :) Fortunately, the music they make is really appealing, they call it psychedelic folk metal, but you really have to be there to feel that flow of energy.
Not to forget, what I also loved about this evening was an enormous number of violins on stage (Ankh, Niburta, Virrasztók, Dalriada, Silent Stream of Godless Elegy), never enough.

Virrasztók - Sirató (official video)

Virrasztók

Setlist: Intro, Szigeti Veszedelem, Fehér-fekete, Vidróczki, A Kaszás, Az Én Időm.



 
Darkest Era performed as the first of the three foreign bands. They came from Northern Ireland, where they formed in 2005, as a celtic metal band. When compared to the other bands of the evening, though, one could easily notice the difference, not that it meant anything less for the band on Saturday. They certainly got the crowd going, and rocked them hard.

Darkest Era

Interestingly, there are two female members in the band - but neither is a singer. One of them, Lisa, is in charge of smashing on the drums, while Sarah amazes fans with her guitar skills.

Darkest Era - An Ancient Fire Burns (official video)

Setlist:  An Ancient Fire Burns, On the Crest of Doom, Heathen Burial, To Face the Black Tide, Poem to the Gael, The Last Caress of Light, The Morrigan.

Arkona, on the other hand, comes from Russia and has been around a bit longer than Darkest Era. They play folk metal in combination with slavic paganism. I've been a fan for so long that I don't even remember how I got into it. The singer Masha is such an amazing singer and charizmatic woman, she just blows everybody's mind with pure appearance on stage. Not to mention the addition of folk instruments such as bagpipes to their music, with the rest of the amazing musicians. Here's what it's all about:

Arkona - Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov (official video)

Arkona

 Setlist: Az' (intro), Arkaim, Goi, Rode, Goi!, Ot Serdtsa K Nebu, Slovo, Pamyat', Slav'sya Rus'!, Zaklyatie, Kupalets, Katitsya Kolo, Leshiy // Stenka Na Stenku, Yarilo.

While talking about Arkona, I'd like to show you another project of Masha and Sergei: Nargathrond (video).

Dalriada

 
The main act of the evening (although, for me it was Arkona), Dalriada's show was already running quite late, so the band had to make it shorter than intended. Fortunately, it turned out to be a good idea, since the main singer Laura is pregnant. For that reason, band will also cease performing until March, as they pointed out. On stage they were once again joined by Fajkusz Banda, a string band, to help out with the folk melodies. The end of the concert also saw the live performance of Dalriada's newest single, A Dudás, on which a bagpiper and an additional singer came out. On the bad side, Dalriada had quite some problems with the sound, but it did not stop all the fans in the club to support them in front of the stage.

Dalriada - A Dudás (official video)

Setlist: Ígéret, Napom fényes Napom, Hírhozó, Kinizsi Mulatsága, Hunyadi és Kapisztrán Nándorfehérvári Diadaláról (Saltarello), Borivók Éneke, Leszek a Hold, Szondi Két Apródja 1. // A Dudás, Hajdútánc.





The closing band for the festival was Czech Silent Stream of Godless Elegy. They've been playing since 1995, and with the latest album developed the most prominent folk style. Although a lot of people left the venue after Dalriada, there was quite a crowd still gathered in the club, supporting the band. They performed with such enthusiasm that you just couldn't resist basking in their music. For those who did not stay: you missed one hell of a band. Here's some of what they prepared for us in Budapest:

Silent Stream of Godless Elegy - Skryj hlavu do dlaní (official video)

Setlist: Mokoš, Tváří v tvář, Dva stíny mám, Wizard, Skryj hlavu do dlaní, Pramen co ví, Slava, I Would Dance.

Silent Stream of Godless Elegy

Aaand: you can access the galleries here, through either:

Flickr

Facebook

Thanks to all the bands for making such breathtaking music, to the people for supporting them, organizers for bringing this to Budapest, and everyone who helped me - you know who you are. ^^

Samhainfest Approaches

Bands: Ankh (HU), Tales of Evening (HU), Niburta (HU),

KerecsenSólyom (HU), Virrasztók (HU), Darkest Era (UK),

Arkona (RU), Dalriada (HU), Silent Stream of Godless Elegy (CZ)

Venue: Club 202, Fehérvári út 202, Budapest

Time: September 29, 2012 - 3.15 pm

Entrance fee: 3 499 HUF

As the fall approaches, bands are becoming more eager to leave the huge festivals season and indulge into new series of individual concerts. As part of it, smaller festivals are organized, usually not with a static location, but with groups of bands travelling and performing together.

Luckily, one of the major folk metal festivals is being organized in Budapest as well, by HammerConcerts. This time it's the Samhainfest.

I won't write much now, since I'm planning on making an individual post about the event itself next week, after participating in its wonderfulness. For that reason, I'll only share the main information, and tell you, urge you to go to the fest. You won't regret it.

So, here goes. The bands will play according to this order (probably not to the exact minute, though):

15:15 - 15:45 Ankh
16:00 - 16:45 Tales Of Evening
17:00 - 17:45 Niburta
18:00 - 18:45 Kerecsensólyom
19:00 - 19:45 Virrasztók
20:00 - 20:45 Darkest Era
21:00 - 22:15 Arkona
22:30 - 23:45 Dalriada
00:00 - 01:00 Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy

     Also:

Tales of Evening will present their new album, Hajléktalan Lélek.

Niburta will present their first studio album, Scream from the East. It will also be available with the October's edition of HammerWorld for free (you'll have to buy the magazine, though). The band also released a lyric video for one of the songs, check it out here. 

Dalriada releases their newest album the day before, so be sure to get one of those, too - Napisten Hava. Check out the official video of the first single:

To completely satisfy the audience, the organizators have provided T-shirts as well:

The tickets are sold for 3 499 Ft, at the following places:

Hammer Zenebarlang – Address: 1114. Budapest, Fadrusz u 2.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 10-18

Headbanger - Address: 1053. Budapest, Múzeum körút 17.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10-18, Sat: 10-13

CD Pince – Address: 1073 Budapest, VII. ker. Erzsébet krt. 37
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10-18, Sat: 10-15

Viking – Address: 1132 Budapest, Nyugati Tér 5.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10-17:30

You can also buy the ticket at the venue, for the same price. Apart from being able to buy Dalriada's new album separately (1 999 Ft), you can buy it in a combination with the ticket, with the price of 4 999 Ft.

Finally, the teaser:

So, join us on September 29, for a breathtaking, whole-day-long, folk metal party!

Welcome to the Asylum

Emilie Autumn

Artist: Emilie Autumn

Venue: Club 202, Fehérvári út 202,  Budapest

Time: March 18, 2012 - 8.00 pm
Entrance fee: 3500 / 4500 HUF

Although the main idea of Folkrockin Budapest is folk rock, with connections to Hungary, this time I decided to go for something completely different. Or at least, weird enough to still serve my aim. Emilie Autumn. She's a unique artist, classically trained in singing and violin, but better known for her bizarre style and extravagant shows. So, why wouldn't her Victorian-cabaret-burlesque-influenced costumes and scene be a nice addition to the blog? I'm absolutely happy with my photos, too, even more so because the club was quite full and I couldn't get closer to the stage than the third row. Nevertheless, I just have to share this spectacle with you.





Since this is the first time I write about Club 202, I have to say a few words regarding the venue. Club 202 is my favourite concert venue in Budapest, possibly ever. Although it is located quite far on the Buda side of the city, I wouldn't mind going there every day. Formerly known as Wigwam, the place is decorated in a style that resembles Native American cultures, with canoes and painted walls; at one point, some time ago, even with cowboy hats.

Emilie with Captain Maggot, The Blessed Contessa, and Veronica Varlow

At 7 pm on Sunday, March 18, Club 202 opened its gates for all the fans of the wicked style of Emilie Autumn's music. The audience mostly consisted of girls, dressed in cabaret styled costumes to honour their goddess, but there was also a fine number of guys there as well, who, surprisingly, knew all the lyrics. After the club filled up, the lights dimmed, and the girls started entering the stage, dramatically. The three seductresses that accompany Emilie, also known as The Bloody Crumpets, jumped behind the big, lighted screen on the stage, building up the tension. Soon, the mistress herself graced the audience with her insane presence, and all hell broke loose.

Captain Maggot

Some of the main characteristics of Emilie's show include the so-called dinner theatre, where the corseted girls bring out a tea table, with tea and snacks, which they then pour and throw into the audience. Apart from satisfying their hunger, the Crumpets, namely Veronica, picked three girls from the audience to kiss them on the stage, which added to the burlesque atmosphere of the night. They call it "The Rat Game".
So, each girl had their own 5 minutes of fame, which gave Emilie time for breaks, and occasional costume change. Captain Maggot put us in awe with her fireworks, while the Contessa did an aerial performance.







Her music has many influences, from classical to cabaret, burlesque, theatrical, and glam rock. Unfortunately, there was not much live music on the stage, but the focus was rather on the acting and drama. Instead, they used pre-recorded tracks as background music. A few songs were played on the piano, though, while Emilie screeched the violin from time to time, or even sang with no background music. She did a quite long setlist, which included some of the new tracks, as well as the breathtaking older numbers such as Liar and Thank God I'm Pretty.

Emilie after changing her costume

Setlist: Best Safety Lies in Fear, 4 O'Clock, Dr. Stockill, Fight Like a Girl, Time for Tea, The Art of Suicide, Take the Pill, How to Break a Heart, Liar, Dominant, Girls! Girls! Girls!, The Rat Game, Gears, We Want Them Young, Gaslight, One Foot in Front of the Other // Mad Girl, Thank God I'm Pretty. Outro: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Check out the concert gallery.