WEST HOLLYWOOD, California - Nerds like metal ... and that's a good thing! Because really, what couldn't be improved by a liberal use of face paint, sword-and-sorcery motifs and hurdy gurdys?

The Paganfest tour is proving once and for all that unusual facets of European culture are really popular in the U.S. - and way cooler than anything we have anyway. As Turisas frontman Warlord Nygard pointed out at the tour's stop at the House of Blues on Thursday night, "We expected to have 50 people at every show, and look at all you crazy people!"

I was lucky enough to be there to catch all the action. Here are my thoughts on the eye-opening experience:



























Eluveitie

Eluveitie are a band that caught my interest the minute I was exposed to them. The Swiss group with too many members to count combines Celtic folk metal with Gothenburg-style melodic death metal. Having too many members can hurt, though. At times it seemed as if the band struggled to coordinate all of the myriad sounds coming from the stage. The hurdy gurdy in particular lacked the power that it possesses on Eluveitie's recorded material, which could point to either a bad mix by the house engineer, or just the impossibility of producing the necessary volume for the instrument in a live setting. Still, Eluveitie's music is really more about the energy it provides than any sort of musical virtuosity. I had enough of THAT side of metal at Progressive Nation last week. Paganfest was less about the music and more about the party. And in that sense, Eluveitie certainly accomplished what they came to do.























Týr

There are some bands that are good live, and some that are more suited for listening to in the car or at home. Týr are one of the latter. They just don't have that live intensity that I crave. Their Viking-influenced music was a tad too slow for my tastes, and they came across as being perhaps a lesser version of Amon Amarth. The Faroe Islands natives do possess a handful of catchy tunes, but they're the sort I would listen to when I want to relax - not when I want to headbang. I found my mind drifting elsewhere throughout most of their set.

























Turisas

Clad in fur and with their faces painted in the familiar red and black, Turisas made their first-ever appearance in West Hollywood. To say that their first U.S. tour was a long time coming is an understatement considering that the band has been around since 1997. Despite all the unusual incorporation of instruments into everyone's acts all night, Turisas still managed to provide something unique with the use of an accordion. Throughout their set, the crowd was red-hot - damn these puns - and almost wouldn't let them leave in the end. Their self-described "battle metal" took me to lands far away from a time long ago, thrusting me into battles long forgotten. Not really. I'm not THAT big of a nerd. But I enjoyed their set immensely and hope they come back soon.























Ensiferum

Ensiferum, continuing the shirtless/face-painted theme of the night, charged the stage last and played a lengthy headlining set of their trademark folk metal. The suitably battle-weary fans gave it their all in the wee hours of the morning as Ensiferum played songs spanning their entire library, from "Battle Song" from 2001's Ensiferum to "Victory Song" from 2007's Victory Songs. OK, so maybe their song titles aren't the most creative, but their music is so full of atmosphere that I couldn't help but stick it out to the bitter end. Neither could anyone else, as fans demanded encore after encore, which the band obliged until finally calling it quits close to 1 a.m.

All in all, it was a great night of metal and a triumph for niche European bands. Here's to hoping that some of the other great Euro bands see the success that these bands are enjoying and follow suit with U.S. tours of their own.