Symphonic metal band, Gone In April, made the most of their half hour set. With their meticulous and dynamic songs that packed a lot of energy and musicianship into their allotted time slot.
The dueling vocals of Julie Bélanger Roy and Aaron Rogers made for a nice counterpoint to each other. Aaron’s harsher vocals cut through to the core while Julie’s soared above. When Julie Bélanger Roy wasn’t belting out some powerful vocal melodies she picked up the violin and bow to add an extra element to the songs.
With two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, there was a good amount of material to build a massive wall of sound that the two vocalist good work off of.
Their final song concluded and the band thanked the audience and bid them farewell but the audience wasn’t having it. Chants of “one more song, one more song!” ensued. Longtime fans and the newly acquired ones from this evening’s performance had a great time.
Long time standing Folk Metal band, Korpiklaani, kept up with the intensity that Gone In April layed out. The stage was physically and sonically too small to contain this legendary Finnish band with a massive catalog to build a setlist from.
The accordion and fiddle made for a jovial and upbeat mood as the rocking beats played out. So many people in the crowd were jumping about and dancing to the music. They came to play the party music and it was a very festive and boisterous one for the audience to partake in.
Singer Jonne Järvelä sang in his native tongue and moved across the stage to engage with fans both young and old. Even that young child that took up residence between the crowd barricade and stage was thrilled to have such an up close and personal view. The gleefully delighted child said the band’s name ecstatically when they first came on. Things got even better for the wee one as Joanne extended the microphone out to let the kid sing along with the band by shouting out some “yeahs” along to the music.
The Swiss Folk Metal band, Eluveitie, have been out touring in support of their latest release, Ategnatos. It was interesting to see how this stage could possibly have room for an even larger band. How would all these musicians and their multiple instruments fit on this stage? Eight band members with a number of guitars, a drum kit, violins, a hurdy gurdy, a harp, a mandola, a bagpipe and a number of whistles. They all manged to move freely about the stage meandering from one side to the other and from front to back.
The songs ran the gamut on all accounts, from heavy to slow, from harsh to beautiful and modern to ancient. The old world instruments pairing up to modern day electronic brought a unique feel to the music. Their stage presence was excellently executed and the added visuals by this stellar band were highly entertaining. The clickety clack sounds that the keys of the hurdy gurdy makes adds an interesting tone. The buzzing from the rosined wheel grinding against the strings creates an ominous tone that fits well with the music. It astounding to see this instrument thrash out so heavily and then so subtlety shortly after.
Once again the large audience was thoroughly enjoying this night with these masterful bands of the specialized genre. It was a great bill to have all three of these bands share a stage together on this tour.
Eluveitie were very grateful for the opportunity to be back in Minneapolis to play another show and the crowd eagerly awaits their inevitable return. They thanked all the fans for coming out to support their music and stated they wouldn’t be here without them and Eluveitie was here for them too.
Setlist:
Ategnatos
King
Call Of The Mountains
Deathwalker
Quoth The Raven
The Slumber
Worship
Artio
Epona
Rose For Epona
Thousandfold
Ambiramus
SoloShizzle (Drum Solo)
Havoc
Helvetios
Rebirth
Inis Mona
