Concert Review: Ensiferum, Firewind & Atavistia Deliver a Magical Night in Vancouver
On the evening of September 5th 2026, an incredibly strong lineup rolled through Vancouver at the Wise Hall. Nestled on Adanac, this quaint venue ended up being a perfect spot for a show like this. While the interior isn’t as dated as somewhere like Rickshaw Theatre or Commodore Theatre, it was perfectly on brand for tonight. Tonight’s lineup is Atavistia, Firewind and Ensiferum and to describe it as magical would be completely underselling the experience. Tonight was an experience that can only be described as life changing.
Atavistia was selected as the local support to start off the night, and truth be told… The choice couldn’t have been better. This is a band that is from here in Vancouver, and they recently entered their folk metal era. Atavistia blends a multitude of sounds from melodic death, symphonic, more recently folk, and they draw heavy inspiration from European sound. Needless to say, Vancouver showed up early to support their own.
Atavistia came on stage and brought zero chill with them. It is no secret that these guys have been working very hard on not only their sound, but their live performance. Every sound was sewn together cohesively, and their chemistry on stage was quite strong. There was a satisfactory amount of headbanging and crowd interaction, and the energy they brought was exactly what we needed to get the show started.
Something worth noting about Atavistia is how much of a driving force their drummer is. The velocity that he was playing at, was at the complete maximum. To be able to play a set like this without missing a beat and to come out of it with not only all of his limbs attached, but heading on a national tour right after? That is a level that deserves extra recognition. To be honest, this whole band is something else.
The vocals were crisp and clear, and also in a style that is difficult to perfect. They were delivered in a way which felt both powerful and aggressive, yet clean enough that you could understand what their vocalist was saying. The guitar and bass parts are most definitely technically advanced, and not something the average person plays. If any mistakes were made, that would be lost on us consumers as everything sounded polished.
Atavisitia finished their set, and then it was time for changeover. Normally during changeover, I find that the people in the venue start chatting, get drinks, go outside if permitted and await the next band. The energy tonight was different though. The excitement from the previous act and for the next ones was boiling up in a way that completely changed the atmosphere in the room.
Next up was Firewind, who has been touring with Ensiferum this time around. Last time they were in Vancouver was in the spring of 2022 as support for Dragonforce. They are a power metal band that has been around for decades, which gives them large amounts of live experience. While I couldn’t see them when they came to Vancouver last, I am glad I finally got to see them this time around. Do they ever put on a show!
Power metal is another genre that is regarded as technically advanced in the music world, as both the playing styles and vocal techniques require relentless repetition to perfect. The muscle memory that is required for this level of shredding, and the amount of training required to safely sing in the registers that the vocalist of Firewind does is also worth making note of.
A lot of people in the crowd knew exactly who Firewind was and what they were in for. While I felt the crowd’s energy was alright as the set began, it really amped up as the set went on. A lot of people were singing along, dancing, and at some point their guitarist was shredding with his guitar on top of his head!
At some point when things slowed down, the crowd started shuffling around and one of their members came out with a helmet on. That really caught the crowds attention and their energy picked right back up where it was previously. This is a group of incredibly skilled musicians and I find that power metal crowds are a bit more critical out here. However, their performance was mind blowing and a highlight for me, was their vocals. As a vocalist myself I have immense appreciation for those who not only perform power metal… But those who do it well.
Firewind closed out their set with Maniac, the lights turned into rainbow colours, and the disco ball that lives at the Wise Hall turned on. This couldn’t have been more on brand for their renowned cover of a song from the 80’s. People were dancing like crazy to this one, and at this point, I was feeding off of the crowd’s excitement and energy. I was beginning to ride a high that I have not felt at a show in a long time.
Finally, it was time for our headliner of the night to come on. The one that every heavy music enthusiast has been waiting very patiently for… Ensiferum. The song they chose to start the night with was Winter Storm Vigilantes, which is my favourite off of the album they’re currently touring. Some may call it bold to start off the night with such a strong song, but I would say it was the perfect choice because this threw every person in the crowd into an energetic high immediately.
Ensiferum is a long-standing and absolute hulk of a band. They are respected by many metal enthusiasts and are a source of inspiration for many melodic death metal and folk bands across the world, as they have established a reputation and name for themselves. They are out here touring their album Winter Storm, an album that channels folk and death perfectly.
From the second Ensiferum took the stage, there was a level of synchronicity between each member of the band that fully bled onto the crowd in ways that I don’t see in Vancouver this often. This city has a reputation of being clique-y, yet tonight… Ensiferum immediately brought EVERYBODY together. Moshing and jumping around is a common occurrence at a Vancouver show. Dance circles, large amounts of people holding each other as if they were family, full crowd synchronicity is not.
Normally I write down notes during shows so I can remember noteworthy moments and experiences. This is the first show that I didn’t have to stop to take notes, because the experience was so magical, it has been permanently engraved into my memory. I must also make note that their keyboardist is their clean vocalist, and he is one of the craziest ones I’ve ever seen live. If he wasn’t singing in the sixth octave, then he was definitely close. I saw Ensiferum in Berlin for Paganfest, and since then I have formed an opinion that I have maintained since… Ensiferum is one of the best live acts I’ve seen, and tonight only reinforced that.
Their show had countless people smiling from ear to ear, screaming, singing, cheering, hugging their neighbour (in Vancouver nonetheless) and dancing the entire night. People even brought out inflatable swords and were running in circles! I ended up joining a jigging circle in the back of the room before I moved closer to the Center, where I watched everyone either running in circles, holding each other while jumping in a circle, or doing some form of a dance.
By the end of the show, many faces hurt from constant smiles and even more legs were sore from all the relentless dancing and moshing. Many people, myself included, left the show with black chalk on our faces. This is exactly what folk metal is about, and those who were there know that this will be a show experience that will not only be hard to top, but hard to forget.
Comments