Finntroll was one of the hardest choices to make at this years’ Copenhell, as they almost completely overlapped with Gorguts.
We had been quite overwhelmed with positive surprise by Gorguts when visited Copenhagen in 2012, and even though Finntroll musically speak more to my taste, they have never really done it for any of us live as of yet.

After a short debate the decision fell in Finntroll’s favour and we headed off to the Hades stage where they were set to play. On our way we met many Copenhell visitors sporting the trademark Finntroll face/body paint, and when we arrived a loud Finntroll chant was underway as the fans tried to lure the trolls out of their hiding place.
Finally the band gave way to the demand of the large crowd, and with the aid of Blodsvept they opened their show. The first distinct point of notice was that the entire band was wearing long, fake ears over their own – I’ve never seen them with this before but loved the idea as they looked hilarious as they flopped when the band headbanged.
The second point of notice, also quick to detect but not as good a find, was that once again the sound had been messed up we had to cope with one and a half song with any keyboards or vocals! Honestly whoever was in charge – pull it together!

Aside from the sound which improved over time, Finntroll was really going at it! So hard in fact that a few songs in, singer Mathias ‘Vreth’ Lillmåns had to shed the jacket he had been wearing up till that point, now revealing his pale flesh for all to adore (or revel in whatever feeling it instilled in each individual). Yes, there was dancing, headbanging and posing in one big mix, always with a full blast of energy and delivered with a highly infectively positive vibe.
The strong performance of the band paid off as well, as the large crowd was going equally strong and energetically at it – we had a large and wild moshpit, a constant tidal wave of crowd-surfers floating by, and at some point someone produced a couple of inflated beach balls which everyone rejoiced in playing around with. When one of them ended on the stage, Vreth wanted in on the fun and kicked the ball good and hard, but the wind caught it and instead of landing it long out in the crowd as intended, it instead ended up in the lap of a somewhat bewildered Samuel ‘Beast Dominator’ Ruotsalainen (at least I think it was him, even though he apparently quit the band earlier this year. If someone has more updated info, feel free to post it in the comments).

Finntroll wasn’t without problems, the most apparent being the sound issues, but apparently they had also lost their guitars at the airport, and duly thanked Clutch for lending them their equipment for the concert (with their wild playing style, I would have been quite nervous to extend the same favour, but it’s truly great to hear that bands are willing to help each other out in this way).
The problems were but mere specks on the radar though, compared to the amazing energy and vibe the band brought to the table – this was without comparison the best Finntroll concert I have ever seen!
I’m glad we decided to go visit the trolls, there wasn’t a moment of the show where it felt like the wrong band to see.

Setlist:

Blodsvept
Solsagan
Mordminnen
Under Bergets Rot
Skogsdotter
Häxbrygd
Nattfödd
Jaktens Tid
Trollhammaren