A chilly evening in downtown Toronto welcomed Wardruna and Chelsea Wolfe to grace the infamous Massey Hall’s stage on September 22nd. It was the perfect weather for an event that lured a crowd that looked to intersect between fans of folk music, black metal, vikings, occult imagery, and of course Massey Hall frequents that just understand how to appreciate a great sounding venue. And with that said, it felt like Chelsea Wolfe was a perfect opener.
The only thing more impressive than her vocal range is her control and this was completely audible with Massey’s incredible acoustics. Joined by Ben Chisholm’s multi-instrumentalism during parts of her set while switching between acoustic and electric guitar herself (and some really cool sounding charms and bells too!), she worked through the later majority of her discography with precision. A clear highlight was her performance of more deconstructed version of 16 Psyche which was a satisfying contrast without drums from the recorded track from her 2017 full-length Hiss Spun. Her music was hypnotic in the best way and being in the game for almost 20 years, her performance mastery was clear and undeniable.
Then, 7 people deep, Norway’s Wardruna took to the stage with expected applause and a presence that felt like something epic was going to happen and based on the audience response at the end of the night, (spoiler ahead) that hunch was completely right. Once again, the audience was treated to great musicians complimented by the great acoustics in this legendary space. Throughout the set, Wardruna’s music reverberated the space in a way that allowed the music to envelop you like an invisible coat of armour. The different ranges of chants across the group feel like their echoes travel up your spine and down your arms like goosebumps. Their set highlighted a lot of incredible songs from their catalogue that was just purely epic to its core ranging from tracks that shake your soul like Hertan, ballads that feel peacefully spiritual by nature like Voluspà, or songs like Tyr that empower like it can prepare you to go to war. The incorporation of actual traditional Norwegian instruments was just the cherry on top. Every new instrument that is introduced or picked up easily induces a sense of wonder as to what sound will come out. Hands down a must see musical act if you want something that feels real and visceral yet humble and tranquil. Wardruna definitely delivered more than a show and something closer to an otherworldly experience.
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