The Miscellaneous Goings On Of Tom - The Viking/Birthday Edition

Well, I Have Completed Another Lap Around The Sun...

Today I have turned 23 and just got back from another phenomenal weekend in Sheffield attending the 2019 edition of Hard Rock Hell Vikings! My band of warriors (a.k.a The West Country Raiding Party) set of from Bristol with cheer and merriment in our hearts ready to conduct our second year of raiding in the fabulous and beautiful city of Sheffield! There was drinking of mean, boisterous singing at the top of our lungs and plenty of unhealthy yet surprisingly filling Wetherspoons food. Almost instantaneously the post-festival weekend blues have set in and rather matches the cold and somber mood of winter, but for two years running I couldn't have wished for a better band of people to spend my birthday weekend with. 

What I'm Listening To At This Very Moment

Easily the band of the weekend for me, Heidevolk stole the show as the main support on Sunday. Their set was full of barnstorming anthems and would get even the shyest of dancers guzzling beer and stomping all over the tables. It's been awesome to re-immerse myself in the wonderful world of folk metal as well as enjoying some of the finest English black metal. If you are into epic songs about our favourite norsemen or a fan of songs about beer, this is definitely a band for you!

What I've Been Jamming To This Week

As you can expect, the music that I've been jamming to over the past week has been very Viking inspired and influenced. Well, you can't go into battle unprepared! So, this meant lots of Wardruna and Heilung to get me in the mood, as well as the festival's own playlist for the weekend. I love how invested people are in keeping the old European heritage and folk stories alive through a very modern art medium. I've seen some awesome bands over the weekend that have reassured me that the Vikings will always live on in our hearts and minds!

My Inner Viking Playlist

HRH Viking 2019 Playlist



Highlights From The Weekend

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Sheffield Day 1: The West Country Raiding Party sent a selection of esteemed and honourable party members to reccy the area of Sheffield and find where all the best places to raid. Unfortunately, it has come to light that they all in fact got smashed and sang with great passion and heart all the throwback tunes played at The Dove & Rainbow pub. This is a photo credited by the party's travel co-ordinator @saxon_rose Day 2 brings the rest of the party to Sheffield @thepoochie666 and @owenruddle and two new members to enjoy the revels of Viking metal and beer! #Vikings #Sheffield #UpNorth #vikingsOnTour #Metal #Pub #Beer #Drunk #Selfie #WinterIsComing

A post shared by Tom Fordham (@tfordyy96) on Nov 30, 2019 at 2:55am PST

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Sheffield Day Two: The second day sees the whole party reunited and the start of the Hard Rock Hell Viking festivities! Seeing a multitude of bands whilst taking the 'hair or the dog' to the extreme, I channelled my inner Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson (with help from @sabrinabeever). For the Viking nerds, Floki was the first Viking to settle Iceland. Whilst the majority of the party felt a little delicate from the previous night of drunken mischief it didn't stop us having an awesome time! #vikingsOnTour #Vikings #Sheffield #HardRockHell #Metal #MakeUp #Floki #Drinking

A post shared by Tom Fordham (@tfordyy96) on Nov 30, 2019 at 4:43pm PST

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Sheffield Day Three: Day Three sees the end of the festival and sadly the weekend. The West Country Raiding Party have been battered, bruised and beaten with beer and junk food but ultimately have had the best time on our second raid of Sheffield! With bands varying from Black Metal to Viking Metal we have seen it all and loved every minute! I hope to be back again next year! Thankyou @saxon_rose, @miketee29, @sabrinabeever, @thepoochie666, @owenruddle, Jake and Justin for making it another phenomenal weekend! ❤ I'm not ready to go home but I dont half miss my bed 😂 #Vikings #vikingsOnTour #WestCountry #Metal #HardRockHell #Sheffield

A post shared by Tom Fordham (@tfordyy96) on Dec 1, 2019 at 4:54pm PST

The Release Of Vanheimr's The Ghosts Of Our Past

You may also have noticed that my musical project dropped it's third EP today also, I've been sitting on The Ghosts Of Our Past for a long time and I'm so happy that I can finally share it with you. There will be more info in an upcoming Fjordhammer/Vanaheimr update, but you can check it out on all major streaming services and my bandcamp (links below)!

Spotify



Bandcamp



Time To Reflect & Enjoy The Rest Of My Day

It seems so strange for me to be sat here at 23. This year has been a tough one to say the least, many downs and negatives I could dwell on but there has also been some super highs and amazing positives. Vanaheimr has gone from strength to strength as a result and my blog is attracting the attention of all the right people and I'm loving it. Thankyou for everyone, you know who you are, that has helped me this year, invested in what I'm doing and continually supporting me. Now it's time to wallow in the post-weekend/gig blues from the comfort of my sofa, I've been battered and bruised this weekend but I wouldn't have had it any other. Hail all you crazy Vikings!

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Post gig blues hitting hard already, always happens when you've had too much of a good weekend. On a lighter note, how good did my viking war paint look on Saturday? Obviously with help from very talented @sabrinabeever, I think the black brings out my green eyes 😂 #Vikings #vikingsOnTour #HRH #HardRockHell #HRHViking #Sheffield #Metal #Mead #Battle #WarPaint #Runes #Odal #Týr 📸 - @saxon_rose

A post shared by Tom Fordham (@tfordyy96) on Dec 2, 2019 at 11:07am PST