Thankfully, the days are starting to warm up as a queue of fans eagerly awaiting the chance to catch experimental folk superstars Heilung snakes down multiple roads and side streets outside Manchester’s O2 Apollo.
The room is already heaving as opening act Eivør takes to the stage awash in a cool blue light. The Faroese singer-songwriter has become a familiar face on a Heilung stage, having opened for them on a number of tours already including their previous visit to the UK in 2024.
Kicking things off with two tracks from latest release Enn, “Jarðartrá” and “Hugsi bert um teg,” Eivør’s command of her signature vocal style is on full display. With a stage show that is kept restrained, the mix of traditional and electronic instrumentation nevertheless fills the large space perfectly.
The punchiest moment of the set comes in the form of “Í Tokuni” from 2015 release Slør which sheds many of the lighter airs of previous songs, taking a darker more haunting turn with Eivør utilising her throaty gutturals that are almost percussive among loftier soaring phrases.
“Hymn 49,” written for the show The Last Kingdom, is very warmly met indeed. Clearly, a favourite to those familiar with the show and Eivør’s music. The song acts in stark contrast to the previous few minutes. A gentle, almost ambient piece the track strips back almost all instrumentation to just a hand-held drum and a light backing drone. The quietness of the song is enrapturing, the occasional shuffling of feet from the few people still filing in from outside almost booming in the stillness of the venue.
Bookending the set with two more tracks from her latest release, title track “Enn” and “Upp Úr Øskuni” bring the set to its hauntingly epic crescendo.
Anticipation is perhaps too slight a word for the feeling buzzing around the venue as a large curtain is pulled back to reveal a space utterly transformed. Greenery adorns the stage as the sounds of chirping birds and ancient winds whispering through rustling leaves pull us into the world of Heilung. The customary act of cleansing is performed as the smell of incense carries across the venue. The calm of the opening ceremony broken only by an eagerly proffered wolf howl or two from among the gathered masses.
Finally the bellowing horn of “In Maidjan,” a permanent fixture of a Heilung set, calls a start to the ritual proper as the numerous thumping drums build to their metronomic rhythm. The epic soundscape widens further with “Norupo,” an altogether gentler song, the group vocal harmonies given ample room to shine over the constant bassy drone of the music.
With the energy in the room rising, Heilung’s company of spear-wielding warriors take up their positions on stage as the chest beating “Alfadhirhaiti” brings the night closest to perhaps its rowdiest moments. Clearly, a favourite of many in attendance, this rousing tribute to the mighty All Father is met with a resounding enthusiasm. The triumphant wolf howls of Kai Uwe Faust are echoed back tenfold from among the crowd.
To take a step back for a moment, on a purely practical level, the scale and spectacle that Heilung capture in their stage production is breathtaking and always a marvel to behold. The theatrical qualities can achieve a level of immersion that is genuinely impressive. The group’s incredible harnessing of repetition in the chants and rhythm sections are hypnotic, trance like, far too often you can find yourself getting lost in the rolling waves of sound so completely that when you inevitably snap back to the present its difficult to tell whether the single beat has been going for 10 seconds or 10 minutes.
At the risk of sounding cliche, Heilung isn’t so much a concert as it is an “experience”. The atmosphere that the band conjures through the imagery and soundscape is unlike any other concert going experience, one that demands to be witnessed and one that you feel reverberating long after the drums have ceased.
But as exhilarating and life-affirming as the energetic roaring of war cries are, perhaps even as a result of, some of the more impactful moments personally in the show also tend to be some of the more subdued.
“Anoana” the breakout single from the band’s most recent release is a highlight of the night. Spectacular throughout, the vocals of Maria Franz shine extra bright on this track. There is a power and warmth that the song exudes that will honestly never cease to amaze.
Likewise “Nikkal” with its stripped-back choral soundscape accompanied simply by a series of gentle bells acts as a kind of breaking the clouds moment. A brief instance of tranquility before plunging into the final frenetic act.
“Seidh,” written by the band for the game soundtrack to Hellblade II (which as a side note gets a hearty recommendation for anyone with a fascination for the type of storytelling that Heilung works within) acts as our build back into the familiar rhythms of the previous hour and a half. By the time of closing number “Hamrer Hippyer” the room is buzzing.
Being perhaps the closest to a party anthem that Heilung will ever come, the incredible spellbinding energy of the track is a release unlike any other and ranks up there, potentially as one of the great set closers. The wild dancing and constant motion on stage is utterly infectious as the crowd starts to move and jump about in unison. Members of the ensemble break off, jumping down to the barrier to further hype up the already fevered crowd. As the ritual reaches its frenzied apex a simple, quiet murmured “thank you” from Kai brings the night’s spiritual journey to its ultimate conclusion.
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WILLIAM MAWDSLEY
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