Photo: Andrew Trendell
Art, music, culture. This is what London By Norse promised, and is precisely what they delivered, and then some. The Norse people invaded British shores once again, but this time with their “cultural artillery”, in the form of Enslaved's 25th anniversary, Wardruna and Skuggsjá - and bringing along a few friends for the ride.
Decades of metal, centuries of ideas and a very modern approach combine over three days of events throughout to London to make for what it is ultimately a celebration of a very bright and burning present.
Day one begins an opening set from Vulture Industries in the intimate confines of the Tufnell Park Dome. If ever there was a metal band with character, you'll find it in Vulture Industries. Complete with bow-tie, the madman, lounge lizard frontman Bjørnar E. Nilsen stalks the stage before invading the crowd at every opportunity through a mad carnival of polka-infused rock. It feels like a thoroughly sinister barn dance. With a Faith No More-esque flare, the performance works to highlight the many flourishes of the avant-garde nuances that float above their hard-rock base. They've many eccentricites, but are far from a gimmick, and every idiosyncrasy feels ultimately neccessary.
"I know we smell like old farts, but we try our best," smiles Nilsen. We wouldn't have you any other way.
What followed was an ear-shattering rush of deep cuts from Enslaved - but the best of them is yet to come this weekend. More on that later...
The next evening starts over at The Forge with Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved's BardSpec - a miasma of ethereal drones punctuated by beats that while industrial in rhythm, feel ultimately primal. While bubbling synths carry the music ever skyward, it seems wrong to call this post-rock when it feels so primordial. This is a timeless and universal sound that defies genre but proves all-encompassing.
"You are never as strong as when you are in need," Wardruna founder Einar Selvik tells the forge in a follow-up talk about the thought process behind his art, recalling a time when he fasted for two days in the wilderness just to get into the mindset of what it is 'to want' fora track, calling upon an instrument he made from his surroundings. "I could get the same sound by chopping off a table leg as I could from using a birch tree."
And that's the one thread that runs through Wardruna's craft as well as the spirit of all. No stone is left unturned, every-raw nerve is tugged at, and all aspects of humanity are explored to achieve an ideal that simply needs to be conquered. Einar delivers a showcase of his music, based on the traditional ideas of the ancient Norse. It transcends time, genre and pigeon holes to unify the room in longing. You can certainly draw a straight line between that and the sheer compulsion on stage across the road when Enslaved again, tear up Camden's Underworld with their second set of the weekend. "We are Enslaved, welcome to our anniversary, we are older than most of you" - and you're music will outlast us all.
The final night rolls around. In an unsuspectingly quiet arched vault in one of London’s oldest and most iconic entertainment venues, The Coronet, the artwork of Kristian "Gaahl” Espedal hangs - and another facet to this Norwegian cultural artillery.
At 136 years old, The Coronet’s tired surround aptly frames the sense of times gone by for Wardruna and in turn Skuggsjá, it’s vast stage that once played host to Charlie Chaplin now holds the motionless Norse people that recall the motif of monuments, a breathing testament of the past to highlight what's missing in the present, and the future we crave. To watch these storytellers is an embracing experience to be accepted and reciprocated with compassion and composure. “Thank you so much, it's been an absolute pleasure,” says Einar just before their last song.
One intensity turns to another with the presence of Enslaved and their more recent work. The immortal frontman Grutle Kjellson introduces that band to those in the room who are unfamiliar (as if that’s even possible). "He'll fornicate with anything, animal, vegetable, mineral." he says of veteran drummer Cato Bekkevold.
Tonight, Enslaved's set goes full circle - drawing on newer material as well as cult classics, the experience adds elements of light to their black metal, and melody to the thrash. There's is a rounded world of sound and story-telling, consistently brilliant throughout three decades and certain to endure many more. It's a fitting intro for the grand finale.
Skuggsjá, meaning to mirror and reflect, provokes precisely that action by evoking the essence of your very being. A way to put this weekend in perspective to say it was an onslaught that can only be likened to standing in the epicentre of a tornado. The only way throw is to ride it out and dance on the winds.
London By Norse and Skuggsjá reveals the many complexities of the past - especially the accepted histories, authenticity and sincere storytelling. If this is as Einar suggested, an opportunity for cultural trade and exchange, what do the Norwegians? What should we offer? Perhaps only of the most valuable and twisted realties of all that can recall histories and change futures: truth.
