Norway’s Vreid have announced that they will be joining Paradise Lost and Insomnium for their UK tour in April. The following message was left on the band’s official Facebook page:
“We are very pleased to announce a full UK tour in April. Together with Insomnium we will support legendary Paradise Lost on their Tragic Idol Tour. This will be a blast, and we are looking forward to see you all in April. Vreid will do all shows besides the show in Norwich on the 30th of April.”
vreid.no
facebook.com/pages/VREID-OFFICIAL/98077122201
myspace.com/thepitchblackbrigade
For some reason when I reached East Croydon train station on my way into London, I thought “Hey, I’ll get this train to Victoria”. This proved to be a bad choice since it made me late and, subsequently, I missed Krakow. Note to self: go via London Bridge next time.
Kampfar - my band of the night
So, this meant that the first band for me was Secrets of the Moon. Now, it’s no… er… secret that I’m a SOTM fan and I’ve been looking forward to seeing them live for years (the last time I planned to see them it turned out to be the day that I was travelling up to Bloodstock). Captivating, mesmerising, hypnotic, enthralling, compelling – these are all words that sum up SOTM’s set. It was a particular treat to hear “Lucifer Speaks” – a song that played no small part in helping me to choose a name for this website. Secrets of the Moon’s albums have always had an ‘empowering’ effect on me and I’m pleased to say that the songs held onto that powerful and majestic quality when played live.
Next up were Kampfar – another band I’ve been wanting to see for years (this gig was a bit of a double whammy for me!) and I just knew as soon as they took to the stage that I was about to witness something amazing. There was an impressive amount of Kampfar t-shirts in the crowd (I was wearing one of them) and the band seemed to be genuinely humbled by this and it appeared to really spur them on. Dolk is a superb frontman – it was difficult for me to take my eyes off him and look at the other band members as I was afraid I might miss something. It’s an overused phrase, but he really knows how to work a crowd. Dolk’s showmanship and the full on professionalism from the whole band made Kampfar my band of the night. They were jaw-droppingly good. And I got goosebumps when they played “Ravenheart”.
I have to say that I found Vreid to be a little bit lacklustre in comparision. They were good and they did what I expected them to do, but – for me – they never got out of the shadow left by Kampfar’s set. I’d love to see them again and get a clearer idea of what they’re like live (as on album they’re excellent).
I have a few Kampfar photos for you to check out below… enjoy!
Dolk (Kampfar) and I.
myspace.com/krakowband
secretsofthemoon.org
kampfar.com
myspace.com/thepitchblackbrigade
