Live at the Wr. Arena
Heilung conjured up old spirits and gods
Around 3000 fans spent the last summer evening of the season for the time being on Wednesday evening at the completely sold-out show by the Nordic collective Heilung in the open-air area of the Vienna Arena. An evening full of runes, rites and radical innovations, which at times felt like a trance-like fever dream.
A few months before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the mysterious Heilung made their first appearance in Vienna - curiously enough, at the Globe in the border area between Landstraße and Simmering, which is rarely used for concerts of this kind. The author of these lines was in attendance on an autumnal November day and was blacked out in the flesh by a dancer from the German-Danish-Norwegian collective. At the end of the show, band members walked through the audience and painted passionately. Five years later, the Nordic ritual squadron has long since become a global big seller. They conduct the crowds at major events such as Nova Rock, fill the impressive open-air grounds of the Vienna Arena to capacity many weeks before the event and inspire several generations of amateur Vikings and instrumental fetishists.
New splash of color in the genre
Hobby conspiracy theorists could even locate the natural power of Heilungs in present-day reality - after all, the duo is playing in Vienna in late summer weather before the days of rainy dreariness set in. The sounds of the original instrumental artifacts seem to literally conjure up the continuous rain that had been forecast for days - those who believe in mere coincidence are incredulous. Before mastermind Kai Uwe Faust and his historically interested colleagues take to the stage, Swiss-born Manuel Gagneux is allowed to let off steam. With his project Zeal & Ardor (meaning "zeal and fervor"), he actually added a new color to extreme metal with his debut "Devil Is Fine" eight years ago - his anything but standard black metal mixes with rock and gospel quotes - meanwhile there is also room for nu-metal and softer tones. For genre purists, this sounds like hell freezing over. However, more open-minded spirits enjoyed the sound experiments enough to help him achieve respectable chart positions - also in Austria.
The new album "Greif", which is only a few weeks old, reached number 30 in this country, which is rather unusual despite its increased accessibility. With his now well-oiled and established live band, Gagneux is the perfect warm-up act for the hyped headliner. His lyrics denounce the slavish oppression of African-Americans and racial hatred, while the almost complete lack of stage design encourages the audience to focus their attention entirely on the art. Zeal & Ardor made its Austrian debut at the Europavox showcase festival in Vienna's WUK - the project itself is now close to headliner status. Older and new songs may have moved a long way apart musically, but as a concert unit the arc of tension still makes perfect sense. The soul-tinged moments are still the strongest: "Blood In The River" or "Devil Is Fine" - the momentum of the original is unbeatable.
Like in Schönbrunn
During the half-hour break, there is enough time to do a quick analysis of the audience. Healing fans now represent a colorful demographic cross-section of the population. It's not just the meth-head, role-playing and headbanging faction that happily arrives at the venue, but also older people with rock shirts, onlookers encouraged by word of mouth and partial indie music fans can be found among the 3000 or so people. But the headliner also offers all of them a lot visually. The stage design is lush and natural. Palm trees and tufts of grass are draped, the two percussionists beat their skins like slave galley drummers of yore and three microphones are suspended from the stage ceiling on swing-like strings - presumably to capture the reverberation of the sound. "Almost like in the Schönbrunn Butterfly House," remarks one visitor in amazement.
A healing show has little to do with conventional concert experiences. There are neither pining frontmen nor lead guitarists fiddling themselves into nirvana - the star of the band is the meticulously crafted concept, which focuses on the Iron Age and Viking Age and spares neither expense nor effort. The costumes range from deer antlers and feather ornaments to garland-like dresses, the instruments consist largely of forgotten or even unknown items and, in addition to the musical core line-up, a large number of dancers repeatedly provide memorable show moments. Above all, the alternating vocals of the front men are enthroned. Faust with cellar-deep, rolling growls and partner Maria Franz with a vocal range as bright as a bell, sometimes reaching the highest Björk spheres, which lends the ritualistic goings-on a special form of uniqueness.
Spectacular and appropriative
Healing is about the big picture. You need patience for the expansive incense rituals and knowledgeable fans immediately join in with the musicians' wolf howls, transforming the arena into an urban wildlife park for a few moments. Citadels tremble, horns and trumpets sound the attack, shaman drums create a hypnotic, cathartic effect that immediately leads into a kind of trance. Healing skillfully weaves modern quotes into the sound and dance spectacle and occasionally spills over from the Nordic theme into the Maori cult or indigenous traditions. Anyone who has problems with the new-fangled term "cultural appropriation" has long since fled the area by this point. Between rites and runes, Heilung brew their very own sound soup and shine with a show full of unique selling points. Even weird innovation can appeal to the general public if it is done well and authentically.
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