On Thursday 20 February the first edition of Blastfest will take place. With bands like Marduk, Obscura, Anaal Nathrakh, Carpathian Forest and Glittertind, it ought to be a really great end of winter.
The list is long and counts at present 31 bands - with representatives from each of extreme metal's many genres. The festival stretches over three days, Thursday 20/2 to Saturday 22/2 and will be held at five venues around the city of Bergen. If you love metal, chances are that you will find a band or ten that satisfy your musical brain cells. Here is a small selection of Blast Fest has to offer in terms of bands and other entertainment:
My Dying Bride
Headliner at Blast Fest is none other than My Dying Bride, one of the pioneers of doom genre. With a curriculum that includes a dozen full-length albums and a career that stretches back to 1990, their status more than well deserved.
Triptykon
Triptykon is relatively new with their five years and only one album behind them, but with backgrounds from Celtic Frost and Hellhammer they are no novices in the game. From Triptykon you can expect a dark and exciting variation of gothic doom metal, in a good live format.
Taake
You cannot have a metal festival in Bergen without having the proud sons of Bjørgvin Taake. Taake has delivered us energetic black metal for 20 years and are known for their intense live performances. The undersigned experienced the band Inferno 2013 and it was definitely one of the highlights of the festival. Taake has an absolutely tremendous energy on stage that few other black metal bands can boast - thanks to frontman Hoest. Rejoice!
Belphegor
A world leader in the death/black metal. If you think the combination of animal skulls, blood, satanic messages and relentlessly brutal music seems appealing then this is the band to see.
Vader
One of the pioneers in Poland's highly respected death metal scene, Vader, is heading for Blastfest. It is about crushing riffs, intense drumming and brutal vocals – in other words, the tough and driving death metal that Poland is famous for.
Shining ( SE)
Swedish Shining is headed by the prolific vocalist Niklas Kvarforth, who is known for taking the many sides of music painfully seriously. If I know Shining well, their appearance on Blast Fest will be a chaos of negative, hateful music that is not exactly known for spreading a life happy message. This will be cold, dark and tough.
Sahg
If you are rather the type who appreciates powerful, atmospheric heavy music then it is worth to see Sahg. The band has recently released their fourth album and kicks off their tenth year on Blastfest with delicious rock.
Exumer
Exumer plays raw and honest thrash metal of the old kind - not unlike their countrymen in Kreator and Sodom. Last year they released their first album in 25 years, Fire & Damnation, proving that guys have good control over the recipe from the 80s .
Carpathian Forest
This Norwegian band started in 1990 and has served since then uncompromising black metal. The band is known for completely pulling it out at concerts, both musically and visually, and the performance at Blastfest will probably be no exception.
Entertainment Rosenkrantztårnet
In addition, it is confirmed that cartoonist Kim Holm and photographer Peter Best will have an appearance at the medieval castle Rosenkrantztårnet in Bergen. Kim Holm has been drawing for magazines like Nemi and Bizarro, plus he is responsible for the cover of Black Debbath album "The Fifth State Power". Peter Best is already widely known in the metal scene for the photography book "True Norwegian Black Metal". Author Dayal Patterson will launch during the festival his new book, "Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult" at the melody-bar Apollon, also in Bergen. At the same place, the previous drummer of Gorgoroth and the man behind Wardruna, Kvitrafn, will entertain with workshop and acoustic music.
The list is long and counts at present 31 bands - with representatives from each of extreme metal's many genres. The festival stretches over three days, Thursday 20/2 to Saturday 22/2 and will be held at five venues around the city of Bergen. If you love metal, chances are that you will find a band or ten that satisfy your musical brain cells. Here is a small selection of Blast Fest has to offer in terms of bands and other entertainment:
My Dying Bride
Headliner at Blast Fest is none other than My Dying Bride, one of the pioneers of doom genre. With a curriculum that includes a dozen full-length albums and a career that stretches back to 1990, their status more than well deserved.
Triptykon
Triptykon is relatively new with their five years and only one album behind them, but with backgrounds from Celtic Frost and Hellhammer they are no novices in the game. From Triptykon you can expect a dark and exciting variation of gothic doom metal, in a good live format.
Taake
You cannot have a metal festival in Bergen without having the proud sons of Bjørgvin Taake. Taake has delivered us energetic black metal for 20 years and are known for their intense live performances. The undersigned experienced the band Inferno 2013 and it was definitely one of the highlights of the festival. Taake has an absolutely tremendous energy on stage that few other black metal bands can boast - thanks to frontman Hoest. Rejoice!
Belphegor
A world leader in the death/black metal. If you think the combination of animal skulls, blood, satanic messages and relentlessly brutal music seems appealing then this is the band to see.
Vader
One of the pioneers in Poland's highly respected death metal scene, Vader, is heading for Blastfest. It is about crushing riffs, intense drumming and brutal vocals – in other words, the tough and driving death metal that Poland is famous for.
Shining ( SE)
Swedish Shining is headed by the prolific vocalist Niklas Kvarforth, who is known for taking the many sides of music painfully seriously. If I know Shining well, their appearance on Blast Fest will be a chaos of negative, hateful music that is not exactly known for spreading a life happy message. This will be cold, dark and tough.
Sahg
If you are rather the type who appreciates powerful, atmospheric heavy music then it is worth to see Sahg. The band has recently released their fourth album and kicks off their tenth year on Blastfest with delicious rock.
Exumer
Exumer plays raw and honest thrash metal of the old kind - not unlike their countrymen in Kreator and Sodom. Last year they released their first album in 25 years, Fire & Damnation, proving that guys have good control over the recipe from the 80s .
Carpathian Forest
This Norwegian band started in 1990 and has served since then uncompromising black metal. The band is known for completely pulling it out at concerts, both musically and visually, and the performance at Blastfest will probably be no exception.
Entertainment Rosenkrantztårnet
In addition, it is confirmed that cartoonist Kim Holm and photographer Peter Best will have an appearance at the medieval castle Rosenkrantztårnet in Bergen. Kim Holm has been drawing for magazines like Nemi and Bizarro, plus he is responsible for the cover of Black Debbath album "The Fifth State Power". Peter Best is already widely known in the metal scene for the photography book "True Norwegian Black Metal". Author Dayal Patterson will launch during the festival his new book, "Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult" at the melody-bar Apollon, also in Bergen. At the same place, the previous drummer of Gorgoroth and the man behind Wardruna, Kvitrafn, will entertain with workshop and acoustic music.
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com