I've missed out on posting about some shows, but rather than let the weight of my unfinished drafts keep me from posting, I'm just going to start now. I'm also trying to re-learn to post longer thoughts than 140 characters. On Thursday, the Pirate Pagan Knights Fest came through Austin. We skipped out of the end of our karaoke night to catch the start of the show, since we were excited about the first band. We arrived, and found a local opening band, Runes of Honor1 ,who had chops, but didn't really look the part, with polo shirts, and glasses. It was a little like seeing death metal performed by robots.
Suidakra, the band we came early for, wound up putting on the strongest set of the night. Their songs weld melodic death metal openings, to Celtic folk chant finales. This produces just the right sequence of flying hair, fist pumping, and shout-alongs, for a great show. It is a bit odd to hear thick german accents, fresh off an Irish drinking song, and leading into fiery Gothenburg-tinged guitar leads. Metal is rife with subgenres, and many of them overlap in odd ways. Suidakra fits pagan-, viking-, folk-, and melodic death-metal. Pagan and Folk are ethos descriptors and Viking is a lyrical descriptor. Their sound is influenced by Celtic Folk, but not all folk metal can be lumped together since the folk music means different things in different cultures.
Alestorm, the second band, is a subgenre unto themselves: True Scottish Pirate Metal. If that sounds like a party and a half, it is. Before the show, we angsted a bit about what to wear, whether to dress for a typical metal show (all black, with band shirt), or to hit up Lucy in Disguise, and go in full-on pirate regalia. Since we were coming from Karaoke League, costumes wouldn't have been out of place, but in the end we ran short of time. We did see others at the show who'd gone the party city route, and come in some very halloween-y pirate gear. The band's only visual claim to piracy was the guitarist' kilt. It didn't matter, though, their stage presence was ample. From the KEYtar-enabled antics of the singer, to their onstage comradery, it was chant-along power metal drinking songs at their finest. Alestorm pretty much do what it says on the pirate-metal tin, with great stage banter in a thick Scottish accent: "This song is about wenches and mead. It's called 'Wenches and Mead'"
Unfortunately, the crowd thinned substantially before Týr came on. Unfortunately for those who left, at least. The guys came out for their soundcheck in tight black clothing, but then retreated backstage to return for the show in full leather armor, branded in runes. Týr hails from the Faroe Islands, and incorporate tradition Faroese folk elements into their viking-related songs. Most clean vocals in folk/power metal feel cheesy, compared to the affected authenticity of punk/hardcore/indie vocals, but Týr's use of traditional chants and native language mitigate this. I find it easier to enjoy the deliberately melodic vocals when they're in that context. Traditional vocals go with traditional stories, go with traditional melodies, in a way that feels authentic, if emotionally reserved.
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