
Paganfest 2025 – Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse; 18th January 2025
21st January 2025 0 By Laura JaneLive Review by Oli Gonzalez, Photos by Laura Thomason
15 years… That’s how long it had been since the last Paganfest on UK soil. Think how much the metal landscape and world in general have changed since then! As such, the 5 band lineup had been hotly anticipated as they raided the major cities of Scotland and England on this run across the land. Drawing from the northern and southernmost stretches of Europe, Ensiferum, Heidvolk, Tyr, and Elvenking were assembled to support Alestorm on this quest.
A combination of public transport delays, a mile-long queue to the venue, and a trip to the merch stand (is a tour t-shirt REALLY £40 now!?) meant we missed some of the opening act but caught enough of it to leave a positive impression…
Elvenking
Whereas opening is often considered the graveyard slot, one looks around the O2 Victoria Warehouse and you could quickly see this is anything but! Hundreds, maybe even thousands were in attendance at this point, the alcohol was flowing nicely too I assumed (it’s Saturday night after all), and there was that insane buzz and party atmosphere.
Elvenking delivered their brand of melodic power metal with soaring lead vocals and blazing guitar melodies, all combined with a folky flavor delivered by the band’s violin player. This just simply felt like fun to watch and listen to, and when they asked ‘Are you ready to bounce?’, you could see many duly obliging and bouncing up and down, clearly warmed up and primed. Successful opening act mission completed.
Heidvolk
From the deepest darkest corner of The Netherlands, the pagan power metallers were up next. A dual vocal attack characterized their performance, with the rich and powerful baritone vocals and occasional growls being the melodic centerpiece. They ensured the crowd joined in though and you could hear the echoes around the Victoria Warehouse as thousands sang ‘VALHALA’ in glorious unity. The lifeless brick and mortar of the venue had now turned into a medieval-style ale house with a good old beer and drunken sing-along. It was wonderful!
You didn’t even need to know the band’s native language, just roar along in some kind of vague semblance of the vocal melody and you’ll feel part of the fun. The clever introduction of folk horns added a much welcome primitive flavor with the deep cavernous rumble of said horn strong enough to wake up your Norse ancestors. A wonderful introduction to the band!
Tyr
This is where things got personal for me! See, I’ve been a fan of the Faroese quartet for 17 years now. However, it was only on this night that I finally got chance to see one of my genuine all-time favourites! 50 minutes of banger after banger, featuring the likes of ‘Hammered’ from their latest record, or classics like ‘Blood Of Heroes’ and ‘Hold The Heathen Hammer High’.
I may well have lost my voice at this point, attempting to sing along and match vocalist Heri’s powerful vocals that were above my own vocal register! I wasn’t the only one though! Especially when ‘Sinklars Visa’ hit. Now, I don’t speak a word of Faroese and I reckon about 99.9% of the audience couldn’t either. Still, that didn’t stop me ‘singing’ along to the vocal melody, sounding more like a constipated lion rather than being part of the gloriously aesthetic and synchronized vocal display the band was projecting from the stage! I wasn’t the only one having a blast as we saw our first pits and crowd surfers of the evening, although my pitting days are well and truly over. 50 minutes felt way too short, though I’m just biased.
Ensiferum
Things were getting serious now, and it was time for Finland’s Ensiferum, the night’s penultimate act. Donning Viking-inspired facepaint and attire, they were not here to play games. No, they were an absolute force on that stage! Just seeing frontman Petri unleash hell with his savage vocal attack was worth the price of admission alone, though Pekka provided an equally fierce backing vocal role from behind the keyboard.
Luckily, I had binged the band’s discography prior to the set and recognized the likes of ‘Andromeda’ and ‘Lei Lai Hei’, though ‘Victory Song’ was by far my favorite, invoking warm memories of discovering the song for the first time well over a decade ago. Whereas I was content in my own little bubble here, the pit was and truly in operation with more bodies becoming homing missiles as they sailed through the air and toward the stage. The set length felt very generous but a band of this quality deserved this level of respect.
Alestorm
Time for the main event! Those lurking at the back for the opening act had now been making their way forward (but come on, let’s have a bit of gig etiquette, yeah? Don’t try and force a space if there isn’t one or barge your way in, yeah? Rant over). This surge of bodies spoke to the band’s popularity and why they were hthe eadline act.
No less than 3 giant inflatable ducks the size of houses donned the stage, and the set had seemingly begun before the band had even hit the stage, with hits from Queen and other classics being blasted over the PA, with the crowd duly bellowing them out. Whereas the other band’s seemed to be more serious in their approach, Alestorm was here for one reason only; here to drink your beer! Terrible pun, I know, but not to be taken too seriously, just like the band’s music. It’s all about being silly with your pals and strangers alike, and bellowing out their hits at the top of your lungs, as you could witness there on this night. To anchor down this point (pun intended), we had a guest appearance from Shark Guy (I don’t actually know who the guy in the fabric shark mask was so I’ll give him this name). Another band off many other bucket lists and a true ‘I was there’ moment.
Final Thoughts
Both a mix of new sounds and a trip down memory lane, combined with the awesome party atmosphere genuinely made this one of the best concerts I’ve been to for a very long time! Everything felt very smooth and well organized, with the schedule running like clockwork. Let’s just hope it’s not another 15 years before the next Paganfest!
FOR EVERYTHING PAGANFEST RELATED VISIT THEIR OFFICIAL WEBSITE >> HERE <<
How useful was this post?
Click on a thumb to rate it!
Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 4
No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.