On March 8th, the Faroe Islands' Tyr will release their eighth full-length, "HEL", via Metal Blade Records. Hel is a collection of ruthlessly melodic and irresistibly compelling progressive folk metal that will immediately resonate with any who have followed the band at any point over the two decades of their storied career.

To celebrate the new album Tyr are about to hit the road across Europe alongside Dutch Folk Metallers Heidevolk and Hungarian Folk Metallers Dalriada. They'll be joined on stage by Attila Vörös (Nevermore, Satyricion and many more) again as the honorary fourth member of the new line-up. Previously Tyr has been reinforced by Tadeusz Rieckmann (known from Dalriada) on drums.

    “It's been way too long since we were on a headliner tour in Europe, and we are very excited to get back on the European roads - with our good Dutch friends, Heidevolk, and with Dalriada from Hungary - to play some of our new songs to you, as well as some of our old headbangers.”

A new song also has been launched, Fire and Flame can be listened below.

Týr "Fire and Flame" - www.youtube.com/watch?v=52GhQD0fW8s

After a successful tour with Korpiklaani and Arkona, Heidevolk is ready to embark on another European quest. As a co-headliner they will take you through ancient battlefields and mead-filled drinking halls in honor of "Vuur Van Verzet" their most varried release to date.

Heidevolk - Ontwaakt - www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhCnHJGk4TU

To make this nice power / pagan package complete Dalriada will join the party for their first ever mainland Europe tour with the latest album "NYÁRUTÓ"

DALRIADA - Búsirató - www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAeR3u9dHIc


TOUR DATES:

5-Apr-2019 Baroeg Rotterdam Netherlands
6-Apr-2019 Cafe Cental Weinheim Germany
7-Apr-2019 La Machine Paris France
8-Apr-2019 Le Rex Toulouse France
9-Apr-2019 Sala Salamandra Barcelona Spain
10-Apr-2019 Jas'Rod Marseille France
11-Apr-2019 Les Docks Lausanne Switzerland

12-Apr-2019 Musiczentrum Hannover Germany
13-Apr-2019 Durbuy Rock Bomal Belgium
14-Apr-2019 Z7 Pratteln Switzerland
15-Apr-2019 CCO Lyon France
16-Apr-2019 Le Grillen Colmar France
17-Apr-2019 Turock Essen Germany
18-Apr-2019 East Club Bischofswerda Germany

19-Apr-2019 Tartaros Banska Bystrica Slovakia
20-Apr-2019 Masters Of Rock Cafe Zlin Czech Republic
21-Apr-2019 Barba Negra Budapest Hungary
22-Apr-2019 Viper Room Wien Austria
23-Apr-2019 Backstage - Werk München Germany
24-Apr-2019 Doornrosje Nijmegen Netherlands
25-Apr-2019 Kaiserkeller Hamburg Germany
26-Apr-2019 Hellraiser Leipzig Germany
27-Apr-2019 Ragnarök Festival Lichtenfels Germany

www.facebook.com/tyrband
www.facebook.com/heidevolkofficial
www.facebook.com/Dalriadahu

Pioneers of Ukrainian Pagan Black metal Paganland set to play on Infinite Agony Ritual 3!

Infinite Agony Ritual 3 fest will take place on May 4th and 5th (2018) in Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuania, featuring bands from Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Estonia! 

• PAGANLAND (Pagan Black Metal) Lviv, UA
• SULLEN GUEST (Death/Doom Metal) Vilnius, LT
• INCINERATOR (Death Metal) Warszaw, PL
• SECTORIAL (Blackened Death Metal, Ethnic) Boyarka, Kyiv, UA
• RATTLER (Death/North Shaman Metal) Tallinn, EE
• CAVUS (Black Metal) Porvoo, FI

Paganland recently performed XX anniversary show within West Ukrainian Division Act III. Full show available here: https://youtu.be/AxO3zhlOd_s

Infinite Agony Ritual 3:

https://www.facebook.com/events/412241062537610/
https://www.facebook.com/events/151043175612280/

PAGANLAND was founded in 1997 by Ruen and Bilozor in Lviv – one of the most beautiful Ukrainian cities, whose developed traditions incorporated the European cultural spirit of the last millennium, and every stone breathes with centuries-old history of decline and revival, wars and temporary rest.

The natural mysticism hidden in the Carpathians’ greatness, the dense woods and pure mountain sources could not but affect musicians with Pagan outlook, therefore their debut demo "Gods of Golden Circle" (1999) and the demo "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" (2008) one way or another had been nearly related to Pagan Metal.

The line-up’s changes, routine of rehearsals, hardships of concert activity caused the group’s breakup in 2005, but three years later the group revived and in 2011 recorded the first full-length album "Wind Of Freedom", having resumed their concert activity. This album was released in 2013 by Svarga Music. One year later band records a second album called "Fatherland" which is dedicated to all Patriots of Ukraine fighting against Russian aggression.

PAGANLAND is a group of persons holding the same views, who respect and love their native land, their nation, their language and who are convinced that the Ukraine is the cradle of all Slavonic people with improbably interesting history forgotten and distorted for the last ten centuries. Megaliths and petroglyphs of Kamennaya Mogila (the Stone Grave), the sanctuary-observatory of Khortytsia, the ancient observatory of Mavrinsky Maidan, the mysterious zone of Suppert… The runes of "Veles’ Book" and runic manuscripts from the library of Anna Yaroslavna (Queen of France and Princess of Ukraine)… Secret knowledge of molfars and volkhves… How many of the people worldwide at least simply heard about all of this?

The group members try to express their love of the native land, the nature in their lyrics and music, as well as draw attention of their listeners to the fact that not only money and lie rule the world in the period of the Epoch of Pisces. The human can and has to stand up for the truth, and the truth of life had been established long ago by our ancestors. All meaning of the group’s creative activity is the tribute to our land, our ancient culture, our history.

https://www.facebook.com/Paganland-954616864663390/
https://vk.com/paganlandofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0sn0Klluncg4WhRSi1JEkA/videos
https://soundcloud.com/user-321982068-78112625

Italy, Naples-based symphonic metallers Poemisia are confirmed, as main support, for Russian folk / pagan metallers Arkona on their show in Kiev, on March 12th!

Poemisia comments:

"For all our beautiful Ukrainian fans, this is for you! After our very first show in Kiev just two years ago, our second one last year, we couldn't miss this year, so it's time for the third one! We're very glad to support Arkona for this show and would be very pleased to meet all of you amazing people again! See you on stage!!"

The musical style of Poemisia is focused on sounds which combine metal music to opera and symphonic elements. This duality leads to a tendency to mark the continuous conflict between darkness and light, between death and life, between Hell and Heaven, sometimes also in a peculiar grotesque way. This is fully reflected also in the lyrics which have always a refined nature. Poemisia

https://www.facebook.com/Poemisia
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAlphaOmegaManagement
https://www.facebook.com/arkonarussia/

(translated from Spanish)

After starting with Silver Fist, we present the band Aiumeen Basoa who is well known in the Basque metal scene. They are considered to be the pioneers of Basque Pagan Folk Metal. The band formed in 1994 and started their discography with 3 songs on a split-called "Triarchy of Vasconia / Iluntasunaren Itzulera" along with two other bands from the Basque Pagan Metal scene called Adhur and Ilbeltz, and was released in 1999 by the label War Is Imminent. Currently the band comprises of Egoitz, Beleak, Mikelot, Oihane, Imanol, Jonas and Eider.

In Aiumeen Basoa, you can find the Basque Folk melodies spiced with extreme metal, with many changes of rhythms, mixed with a variety of instruments and mixed with Norwegian black metal influences such as Ulver or In The Woods. The mixture of these ingredients make Aiumeen Basoa one of the most original bands from the current metal scene and will be included in the seventh edition of the. As the band advises: "So relax and let your spirit fly to the forests of Euskal Herria ...".

You can enjoy their music in the video below.

Who would have honestly thought that on this cold, dark and weary mid-Winter's night, that three bands from both sides of Europe would ignite a sweat-pit so hot and steamy in the 02 Islington Academy, that everyone would be clambering around for their ice cold beers? Well you could blame the incessant rampaging of the crowd, or you could blame the magical wizardry of Londoners Pythia, Estonia's Metsatöll and Finland's Ensiferum for their encapsulating and unrelenting assault of metal at it's finest. A night full of bard, folkloric anthems and continual salutations towards the bands unfolded.

Let us indulge in the night's gig and diverge from the near verbose verbiage given above.

.
A lot was expected of Londoners Pythia at tonight's gig that the overall reaction post-performance was one of slight disillusion and disappointment, despite the heroics of keeping their cool intact and letting themselves go, Pythia never managed to shift out of third gear. Sure their pedigree of late ought have safeguarded their show from criticism, but they seemed out of sync at times, failed to keep the crowd on their toes and above all (which actually isn't their fault) did not fit in tonight's themed gig that well. 

Power / Gothic Metal? Folk Metal? You get the idea, it's like putting a Black Metal band with a Glam Metal band, there again imagine a Blackened Glam Metal band? Deviating here, much like what Pythia did at times during their set. It wasn't completely pretty and yet whilst there were glimmers of hope that could have lead to something magical sparking, the fire just did not ignite and this meant that the crowd were left in a state of boredom to the band's dismay.

On another night Pythia may well have blasted the ceiling, but this night it was not meant to be, surely there needed something folkloric to not only get this crowd (and pit) open, cue Metsatöll

[7]

Metsatöll brought with them their folkloric antics and atmospherics that would almost certainly have resulted in them being awarded the coveted 12 points at Eurovision, if this was Eurovision that is. Instead the crowd might as well have given them maximum points as they swayed, moshed and ritualistically headbanged to the beauty of Estonian Folk Metal.

Here is a band who despite their language differences; they sing in Estonian, managed to ignite the venue without any restrictions. Not strangers to the British shores, this Baltic horde mix Folk Metal with Thrash Metal to develop something that's fast, heavy, danceable, even funky if you wish to call it that. They even weaved a traditional Pagan song into their set, which was prominently instrumental and was well received by the crowd.

Harking back to the band's antics, one such antic was Varulven playing the Estonian bagpipes behind his back, we've all seen guitarists do this trick (Varulven is one too) but bagpipers? That little trick got a wow from the crowd, however there was an even bigger wow directed towards to the whole band as they laid down the foundations for their Finnish neighbours Ensiferum, and closed their performance with a song about love and beer; the latter of which was flowing like a gushing stream.

For a band who has been knocking around for 17 years, they certainly showed no signs of stopping.

[8]

 * FYI that is not our meme.

Ensiferum, having celebrated 21 years activity and 15 years since their debut self-titled album dropped, were never destined to set a foot wrong in this most audacious of nights (you know the references). Having just released their latest effort "One Man Army", this show as part of their tour of the same name (as the album) could equate to a thousand-strong horde running riot, crashing into and smashing everything in sight, including you.

That was the sheer force exerted by the Finnish sextet tonight, a full-on onslaught of 'Finnish folkloric anthems' and by that came the bards in metal form, reciting their majestic scripts that will have no doubt be spoken of and sung to on this night.

Whilst the pits opened and closed, the headbanging became rhythmic and the dancing ensued due to the band's uncanny nature of knowing what makes their fans tick. Ensiferum have been there and done it, they know what it takes to make a night unforgettable and as they unleashed song after song, the crowd did not appear to show any signs of slowing down.

Joined on stage by their new live musician Netta Skog (ex-Turisas) of whom took part on the tracks 'Cry For The Earth Bounds' and 'Descendants, Defiance, Domination' on the band's latest album, Ensiferum signed off each song played in style and as the night drew closer and closer to the end, it was apparent that despite the disappointing start by Pythia, both Metsatöll and Ensiferum drew out their swords and did battle, leaving the crowd gasping for air and emerging as valiant warriors born.

Ensiferum this night justified their worth as Finnish Folk Metal leaders as well as pioneering idols, this was a night that everyone in attendance would never forget.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pythia/12587806334
http://www.facebook.com/Metsatoll
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ensiferum/332