The first ever Folk Fest Israel proved to be a huge success, the audience was beyond insane piling up almost an hour before the doors officially opened and filing in as soon as they did, first jumping to the merchandise stands where the official t-shirts were sold as well as CDs, Vinyls, a stand selling hand crafted Norse styled jewelry and other merchandise.

One disappointing factor was that only 3 of TYR's 7 albums were for sale, but that's more my grumpiness because I'm missing a couple of records from their catalog, and of course this being a Folk Fest, the bar had plenty of work with the beer flowing freely, luckily for those in attendance the Reading 3 bartenders are fast under pressure so the service was quick. But enough of the surroundings, on with the music.

Israel's own GEVOLT opened the show with a very energetic performance, if you've never heard them, check 'em out on YouTube, a very unusual band mixing Industrial Metal and Folk. GEVOLT's songs are performed mostly in Yiddish and when you mix in their violin player, you get a rather unusual but fun sound. The band played a rather short set, but did manage to fit in their popular covers of Yiddish classics "Tum Balalaika" and "Tshiribim Tshiribom", a fun opening set.
 

But the real insanity began at 21:30 when the Faroese Vikings took the stage, TYR have been a favorite of mine for a long time, but this was the first time I got to see them live. The set opened with a high energy rendition of "Hold The Heathen Hammer High" immediately followed by "Blood of Heroes" from this year's critically acclaimed "Valkyrja" (which received a 10/10 score from yours truly). TYR managed to put on a great set comprising of a mix of their studio albums without relying too heavily on their latest "Valkyrja". The fans in attendance got everything they wanted, a special favorite if mine was "Wings if Time" complete with the "Grímur á Miðalnesi" intro. But that wasn't all, the band showered the fans with fantastic songs like "Ramund Hin Unge", "Another Fallen Brother" and "Hail to the Hammer". TYR finished their fantastic set with the fast "Shadow of the Swastika" which sent the crowd into mosh pit frenzy, a great, energetic and fun set from TYR in their first Israeli show, giving the crowd exactly what they wanted but also leaving them wanting more.
 

During the break a short Viking battle was held, staged by a Norsemen club from Beer Sheva, a fun spectacle giving the crowd a breather before Finland's KORPIKLAANI took the stage. And take the stage they did, Finland's finest were in rare form tonight, covering all their bases after taking the stage around 23:15. This is the bands second time in Israel, and they seemed very happy to be back, the audience was certainly happy to see them as the crowd went wild from the opening notes. The band opened with "Tuonelan Tuvilla" from their latest album "Manala", and as I said, the crowd went berserk as the energy went through the roof, KORPIKLAANI is a band that never takes itself too seriously, and that's the truly fun part of their shows, if you see a band have fun on stage, it translates into the audience having fun watching them, and when you combine a band like KORPIKLAANI and a hot crowd, you're in for a fun night. The audience wasn't shy about showing the band their appreciation, chanting for them throughout the set, well, for them and for "Vodka" and the band didn't disappoint giving the crowd exactly what they wanted forming yet another mosh pit during the performance of the song.
 

KORPIKLAANI played a big set especially when you consider there were two other bands on the bill. The encore featured KORPIKLAANI being joined by the members of TYR for a finisher of "Happy Little Boozers" and "Beer Beer" complete with TYR picking up KORPIKLAANI vocalist Jonne Järvelä. The band finished with the opening notes of BLACK SABBATH's "Paranoid" sending the crowd home very happy (and drunk). This was without a shadow of a doubt one of the funniest shows I've attended in many years (and I also got TYR's Gunnar H. Thomsen and Terji Skibenæs to autograph my "The Lay of Thrym" Vinyl, which was awesome), a very energetic, fun, drunk, head banging evening that all in attendance will remember for a very long time. This would be a good time to thank the good folks at ProgStage Productions who organized this fantastic evening for their hospitality and their great organization and for allowing me to be part of this fantastic evening. Same goes to as well to my magazine's editor, Steinmetal.
 

Folk Fest Israel II is coming in March with ALESTORM and HEIDEVOLK, and I strongly suggest to all who can make it, don't miss it.

Setlists:

TYR:
1. Intro
2. Hold the Heathen Hammer High
3. Blood of Heroes
4. By the Sword in My Hand
5. Mare of My Night
6. Tróndur Í Gøtu
7. Lady of the Slain
8. Grímur á Miðalnesi / Wings of Time
9. Valkyrja
10. Ramund Hin Unge
11. Hail to the Hammer
12. Another Fallen Brother
13. Sinklars Vísa
14. Shadow of the Swastika

KORPIKLAANI:
1. Tuonelan tuvilla
2. Ruumiinmultaa
3. Metsamis
4. Midsummer Night
5. Juodaan Viinaa (Hector cover)
6. Tuli kokko
7. Sumussa Hämärän Aamun
8. Ievan polkka
9. Kipumylly
10. Husky Sledge (Violin Solo)
11. Uniaika
12. Viima
13. Vodka
14. Ievan polkka
15. Rauta
16. Uni
17. Happy Little Boozer
18. Beer Beer