Sometimes even after you witness something it’s hard to describe what you experienced — and this falls within that category.
I did venture into the community of the band HEILUNG recently — a truly creative European act which was within a tour of New Zealand and Australia. I caught their show date at fantastic facility River Stage located directly within the Botanical Gardens of Brisbane.
Being a fan of, but being more used to bands and shows more hard core rock/industrial — Heilung is a bit of an adventure outside from those parameters. But with that being said is also a great fit. I entered with eyes wide open and grateful to witness them and I’m so very glad I did.
Now this particular event date (Nov 13th) did have issues when a very untimely and a seriously powerful summer “weather bomb” (high energy thunderstorm) clobbered the facility just as gates were to open! But in the end despite that initial chaos, everyone within the massive crowd who braved through — went home more than satisfied.
Heilung was first founded in 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark by German vocalist Kai Uwe Faust and Danish producer Christopher Juul. Lead female vocalist Maria Franz joined the fold in 2015 — and together their venture was launched.
Heilung’s sound scape could be described as extra experimental folk music with elements of Gothic mysticism and pronounced Wicca overtones. Their music is very interestingly based on actual found texts and runic inscriptions (of some now dead languages) from Germanic peoples. Those dates way back to both the Iron Age (1200-600 BC) and Viking Age (800-1050 CE) — nature worship and pre-Christian traditions.
Heilung has through-out its existence evaded the mainstream for sure by staying true to it’s unique chosen path and objectives.
They self describe as: “amplified history from early medieval northern Europe” and they emphasise a goal to connect modern audiences with the rudiments of humanity’s beginnings through music.
The band name “Heilung” is a German noun meaning “healing” in English.
Heilung’s sets are very percussion orientated and heavy pronounced throughout. That base is intermixed with some unique traditional instrumentation, rattles and ritual bells and featuring both sweet & sour (male and female voice) bantering. All of that together magically produces both — ancient and modern — in a peculiar industrial way — if you can grasp that?
The band’s stage set also very choreographed. The lyrics of each song are often acted out in an interpretive and highly-ritual story.
While exiting my first experience and immersion with Heilung, I somehow felt inspiration after having witnessed for sure one of the most unique rock bands on our particular planet. Plus – as a concert photographer – it easily was one of my most rewarding visual ops ever!
Heilung has three studio albums to their credit so far: Ofnir (2015), Futha (2019) and Drif (2022) all available on Season of Mist label. The also have 2 live show album releases available.
You can link to their official: HERE
Event review & Photo Gallery by Bruce Biegler
