Heilung - Greek Theatre - 9/27/22
Heilung is a folk music band made up of members from Denmark, Norway and Germany. Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age. Heilung describe their music as "amplified history from early medieval northern Europe". Their music is usually about Germanic deities, The Jǫtnar, and valkyries. "Heilung" is a German noun meaning "healing" in English. Heilung quickly gained popularity with their captivating music. So quickly that every date on their first USA tour at the beginning of 2020 sold out in 72 hours. Now, in 2022, Heilung have returned once again to perform their Nordic music to the masses. On August 19, 2022, they released their third album, Drif. The choice of venue this time was the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Fans flocked to the show well before the show started in anticipation for this special ritual. Heilung got so big overnight that they didn't need an opening band for this tour.
The venue was sold out and packed to capacity by the time that Heilung was ready to start their ritual. The lights went out and the sold out venue erupted with excitement. The show started with an opening ceremony and once that ended, the members of Heilung came out. The main members were Kai Uwe Faust (throat-singing/growls), Christopher Juul (vocals) and Maria Franz (vocals) and other members included three other female singers and male percussionists. The first thing you'll notice is that the instruments are completely different from your usual band. There are no guitars or band drums. Instead, they use drums made from animal skins, a human bone, deer bones, a buffalo horn rattle and other whistles and percussive instruments. The opening track was In Maidjan. Right away, you could hear the soothing sound of the music. It's as if you're watching a concert from the Viking Age. Fans all stood up as they watched in awe as surely it was something they had never seen before. Aside from the music, you were also mesmerized by their lightshow that further gave life to their music. Other songs on their set included Othan, Traust, Anoana and Norupo. The show came to an end with Hamrer Hippyer. Closing out the show was the closing ceremony where all the band members held hands in a circle and were doused in what looked like smoke from sage or some type of bush. The band walked off the stage holding hands and thanked the audience as they left. The fans looked relieved after they just witnessed and you could say everyone left the venue feeling like a new person. Hopefully Heilung return soon to perform another special ritual.
Photos and review by Misael Ruiz
