There is little known about support Athousandfurs – apart from a few short teaser videos online that define their dark intense sound, and the fact that they were originally an alternative folk band called Saturday Sun (which seems to be long forgotten now). The three piece produce a dramatic alt rock that could be likened to Bends/OK Computer era Radiohead or Jeff Buckley. Their powerful sound feels like it should be the soundtrack to an intense battle montage which brought on a good response from the crowd.

 

It was a captivating intro to the Nordic Giants performance, almost like the start to an action movie. Loki and Rôka Skuld came on stage in a pagan attire, covered in black paint and draped in feathers. A dramatic first song produced everything you would expect the Nordic Giants, with the pair being completely committed to the characters they embodied. The second song was played to a film that follows a family that go scuba diving in a lake, and when they re-emerge realise, that all the oxygen has gone from the earth. The duo brilliantly performed their cinematic sound which was unbelievably in time with the visuals, especially when they come across someone suffocating and they decide to put him out of his misery with a blow to the head with an oxygen tank – which made everyone jump with a bass filled thud. A few of their songs featured female singers who were cleverly projected onto a screen – the added vocals definitely gave new dimension to the Nordic Giants sound.

 

The projected stories ranged from cinematic film, abstract visuals and animation, but it felt like it was all told in the same way. Each song slowly building up to a crescendo, before withering out. The show was very impressive to watch, however there were portions off the crowd that were constantly nattering and seemed bored. The band finished their set to rolling credits, before continuing the story of an oxygen-less world. The one surviving character bursting into the nearest home only to get killed by an evil granny wanting her oxygen tank – this produced an unbelieving chuckle from the audience as it was totally unexpected. Athousandfurs then joined them on stage for the final two songs which were my favourites of the night, as the perfectly male vocals amplified the emotion in the music.

 

Nordic Giants is definitely a band to see live because it is a very unique performance – almost like a modern day silent film. I think being seated would have helped with the audience focus, as the constant changing visuals with the relatively one dimensional sound, end up being quite monotonous and tiring. There was a need for a third showman (perhaps a singer) who could engage and interact with the audience to make them feel part of the show.

 

Iain Lauder