METALCAMP – DAY 5 of 5

w/ Immortal, Finntroll, Dark Tranquillity, Heidevolk, Insomnium and more!

Tolmin, Slovenia – 10th July, 2010

For the preceding 6 months or so, and I suspect for many months more after, I have unashamedly been in a man-love affair with Finland’s severely underrated Insomnium. Therefore imagine my excitement on waking up the day they hit the Metalcamp stage for the first time. However, with the temperature surely reaching its hottest thus far in Tolmin, a quick dip in the icy waters made me lose track of time, and a mad dash was required to make it in time as the band opened with ‘Equivalence’ and ‘Down With The Sun’ from their latest amazing record.

Given the heat and early start time, seemingly only the dedicated fans had come to headbang in the pit which was kind of a good thing as it made for an intimate and knowledgeable crowd where everyone knew every song and let the band know it. Aside from the new tracks (of which many were played), the four piece also produced the two classics from Above The Weeping World in ‘Mortal Share’ and ‘The Killjoy’ before ending with ‘Weighted Down By Sorrow’ to complete one of the best sets I’ve had the pleasure to see live.

Of course after seeing an awesome band early and going so hard on them, it’s hard to find the energy to get excited about the rest of the days bands, however Dutch folk metallers Heidevolk kept the neck turning with a masterclass in how to get people who don’t know your music to get involved. The dual front men of the band aided this feat greatly, prompting the crowd to sing and chant along, that is if their catchy melodies hadn’t encouraged them to do so already!

Looking back on it as I write this review, this day was really a killer day as you’ll see from the next three bands, so all that “not enough energy talk” from before is just code that I needed to man-up and take it, which I luckily had by late afternoon as the radiant Mikael Stanne and the rest of the Dark Tranquillity guys hit the stage with the setting sun shining squarely in their faces. While this clearly made the red-faced northerner sweat profusely, what it didn’t do was prevent them from once again putting on a class showcase of their mainly newer catalogue. Highlights as always were ‘The Lesser Faith’ and ‘Lost to Apathy’, however the new tracks in their very solid, metalcore tinged fashion translate well live and are generally crowd favourites.

Continuing the energy were more northerners in Finntroll who, as on the previous two times I had seen them, have the ability draw anyone and everyone from anywhere and everywhere to deliver a hi-energy folk spanking. Blending the new with the classic ‘Tapio Wilska’ era tracks, it’s surprisingly how popular a band who sings in a language spoken by only about 10 million people in Scandinavia can be so universally popular. Aside from the class performance, the band also delivered an entry into the ‘best one liner’ competition by giving us a “Is Slovenia a Christian country…?”, to which the crowd obviously shouted out no – a fact later denied by the countries section in a Lonely Planet guide book.

And so it came to the last band of the festival, and who more suitable than the mighty Immortal who with a stellar lights show and a massive sound held the masses in rapture for a full 90 minute set. The track ‘Tyrants’ had the crowd in a confused rapture when the band decided to halt mid song only to incite band led Mexican waves from front to back – hardly something I expected from the band but the crowd suitably obeyed. A final brew and thanks from the festival organisers and the week long proceedings were complete!

This was Metal Obsession’s first visit to Metalcamp and already plans are being made for a quick return! The event combines a great location, (deliberately) small and friendly crowd, good organisation and, most importantly, a world class lineup for a more than fair ticket price. The only issue we had was getting to and from the festival from the nearest train station, with the festival failing to organise adequate public transport with fair prices. If you are planning to ‘Europe it up’ in the future, this is one for you.

Day 3 of 5 Review + Photos: http://www.metalobsession.net/metalcamp2010-1
Day 4 of 5 Review + Photos: http://www.metalobsession.net/metalcamp2010-2
Day 5 of 5 Review + Photos: You are here!

Reviewed by Brendan Amos with Mathew Boelsen.
Photos by Jess Day.