Heilung – Manchester Apollo: Live!

By Mike Ainscoe on 22nd April 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Heilung w/Eivør – Manchester Apollo – Monday 21st April 2025

And so from a no phones policy gig with Ghost we head back to a gig almost exclusively viewed through a sea of screens. An evening with Heilung is truly a visual (and musical) spectacle, so understandable that some may want some souvenir but boy, does it illustrate the contrast between the two experiences.

HEILUNG

An evening of rites and rituals where you’re highly likely to encounter someone dressed as a Viking raider or a cloaked soothsayer in the gangways. Many are committed to the Heilung cause and fully engage; some just kit themselves out in black.

As the black curtain is drawn aside, the Apollo stage is transformed into a smoky dell. The opening ceremony sees the ensemble emerge to engage in the preparation of the setting for the next hour and a half of ancient ceremony. It’s a genuinely spectacular scene as In Maidjan sets the tone with its tribal pulse. The cries and hollers from stage are supplemented by howls from the crowd. Microphones are unclipped from the most unconventional of stands (antlers btw) as the coupling of the ancient incantations and instruments and the modern tech can’t be avoided.

Drones and wind melodies float across the scene. Wisps of wind carry birdsong from the scene. Tableaux are presented and battle cries are issued- remotely terrifying but safety in numbers as the crowd outnumbers those assembled on stage who look set to invade the stalls or at least put those at the barrier to the sword.

The guttural and demonic parts contrast sharply with the fragile and melodic lines as Asja offers a less intense and dreamlike alternative. Nikkal however, is a thing of beauty. Four musicians in a circle of light – quasi-religious and ethereal – before the tribal chant Hamrer Hippyer leads to a joyous dance and closure. A life affirming celebration and An alternative musical theatre that swings from the fearsome and dramatic to a deeply spiritual celestial reverie.

EIVOR

In support, the very well supported Eivør aka Eivør Pálsdóttir. A pretty full house for the artist that even the mainstream will know as composer of music for the Last Kingdom. Even though she might present as having raided the Game Of Thrones wardrobe, the emphasis remains on atmospheric incantations buoyed by electronic throbs and ambiences and the constant rumble of deep toms. Acid space folk if you like with the ancestral and ancient thrown in as the core ingredient.

She endears herself by calling us “beautiful Manchester” and “such a beautiful room” clearly in admiration and appreciation of the art deco. “Very fancy!” When she’s not joining in beating a pulse, she’s not averse to knocking out some power chords on the Jazzmaster as the power of the latest album Enn and its title track fill the room. Of course, there’s ‘the hit’ as Hymn 49 from The Last Kingdom is greeted like an old friend and the affable and gracious presence is rewarded with the type of welcome not often afforded with a support slot.