Last Thursday, I stood inside the monumental Hala Stulecia in Wrocław, surrounded by people whose eyes were full of quiet excitement. We were all about to take part in a pagan ceremony – something old, something deep, something very powerful.
I had seen Heilung once before, years ago at the Mystic Festival in Gdańsk. That performance has stayed with me ever since. It was something that touched my insides. Visceral is the word I would use. It felt like the music bypassed my brain and went straight into my bones and guts. I remember standing still, almost frozen, by some ancient memory that had suddenly awakened. Since then, I’ve carried that experience inside me. And that is why I came to Wrocław. I wanted to feel it again.
And The Ceremony Started…
When the lights faded in Hala Stulecia, they began a ritual. Slowly, with intention. The stage was blessed with burning herbs. The scent of the herbs rose into the air and spread across the hall. A sacred space was being prepared. The audience understood this immediately. Nobody cheered. Nobody whistled or clapped. We all stood silently, photographers and security included. Something inside us said: be quiet. Watch. Listen. Be present.
Heilung creates a space where something ancient is called back. Their music flows like an invocation. It is raw and primal. It is wild, but with purpose. The drums speak. They echo like thunder, like war, like the beating of a heart before a hunt. They speak to our guts. The voices rise in forgotten languages, sometimes reconstructed from the past. They chant, they howl, they whisper. Each sound feels like it has been carried through time. We are taken back to the past, when the Gods were still roaming this part of Earth.
Visually, the performance was stunning. The performers wore antlers, bones, furs, weapons. Their bodies were painted with runes and symbols. They moved slowly, sometimes as if in trance. The lighting never distracted from what was happening on stage. It changed perfectly with the mood, the ritual, the emotion. I rarely saw such an adequate and precisely thought-out light show. It was part of it. Every detail on stage was there for a reason. We were watching a ceremony that had been practiced for generations. But we know that it’s not based on any single tradition. Heilung combines elements from Iron Age Europe, Norse mythology, and ancient tribal cultures to create something new that still feels old and real.
During the ceremony, there was no communication in the usual way. The band didn’t speak to us. There were no “Hello Wrocław!” moments. No jokes. No introductions. And how could they? It would have broken the ceremony. We needed to be totally immersed in it.
The End of a Journey, But Not the End
This current tour, titled Anda Fardha – which translates as “The End of a Journey” – marks a significant chapter in Heilung’s story. It is a ceremonial farewell to a cycle that began years ago when the group first emerged with their raw, ritualistic vision. With each concert, they have deepened their exploration of pre-modern spirituality, myth, and communal trance. The title reflects not only a closing of this particular tour but also the symbolic conclusion of an era.
Though Heilung has announced that this will be their last tour for some time, it does not feel like a final goodbye. Rather, it is a pause, a breath, before something new emerges. And when they return, it will likely be with something even more powerful, more immersive, and more mysterious. Anda Fardha is not an ending – I’m sure of that.
