Once again on two stages – the secondary Estrella Galicia and the main one Porminho – the 25 bands will play as follows:
Every day will have a set of DJs keeping the metal pumping.
Archive for Festival
Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão reveals timetable for this year’s edition
Posted in News with tags 2019, Ecos Culturais, Famalicão, Festival, Laurus Nobilis, Louro on 10th July 2019 by PieniLaurus Nobilis Music Famalicão growing… again!
Posted in News with tags Ecos Culturais do Louro, Festival, Laurus Nobilis, LNMF, Xmas Special on 26th November 2018 by PieniAs July is still far away, Ecos Culturais do Louro decided to promote a special event, in celebration of Christmas. It’s called A Hell Of A Xmas and features bands that have played in Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão editions, as follows:
As for the festival itself, they’ve been gradually releasing names, along with guess-the-band-and-win-a-ticket contests. Just a few hours ago, Fleshgod Apocalypse has been confirmed as one of the four headliners – yes, the fest will last four days in 2019, between the 25th and 28th of July. Here are the other names so far:
ENTOMBED A.D.
WRATH SINS
SINISTRO
W.A.K.O.
CREMATORY
MISS LAVA
ANALEPSY
GWYDION
PESTE & SIDA
SOLDIER
PRIMAL ATTACK
TALES FOR THE UNSPOKEN
SIMBIOSE
HUMANART
Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão 2018 – 3rd day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Crisix, Dark Tranquillity, Ecos Culturais do Louro, Estrella Galicia, Famalicão, Festival, Laurus Nobilis, Legacy Of Cynthia, Louro, Low Torque, Metal, Porminho, Revolution Within, Rock, Tarantula, The Godiva, The Temple on 5th August 2018 by PieniThe Godiva, Dark Tranquillity, Tarantula, Crisix, The Temple, Revolution Within, Low Torque, Legacy Of Cynthia
Louro, Famalicão (PT)
Promoted by Associação Ecos Culturais do Louro
28th July 2018
No “alternative metal” band had played yet so Legacy Of Cynthia had the pleasure of doing so, kicking off the third and last day of Laurus with their brilliant “Rats And Rattlesnakes”. Their sound is too exquisite to describe but that exquisiteness is also unique, and it works perfectly live – especially in an open air festival. Their vitality spread out to the crowd, and even when bass player Caesar made a “small” thank-you speech – he himself recognized he was a pain in the ass and that those who’ve been to Legacy Of Cynthia gigs before were surely sick of listening to him – everyone applauded, clearly amused. I admit dancing to “Cabaret”, which wrapped up their set.
https://www.facebook.com/legacy.cynthia/
Late last year, rockers Low Torque released their third album, “Chapter III: Songs From The Vault”. They’ve brought along some juicy tracks like “Dust Mojo” and “Mutant”, endorsing heavy headbanging and body movement in general. And that’s it, not much else to say – pure rock’n’roll is that straightforward.
https://www.facebook.com/lowtorque/
It was the first time I’ve seen Revolution Within’s new drummer Rúben Moreira (apparently also known as Tozé…) and the kid’s got my personal approval. He also plays in One Step To Fall and their singer Diogo Pardal would join Raça later on to roar “Pull The Trigger”, but that was closer to the end. Way before that the crowd had already gone wild with the band’s other hits and usual violence. In the end, Raça thanked everyone and paid respects to the Abbott fallen heroes: “Dimebag, Vinnie Paul – rest in peace, wherever you are”.
https://www.facebook.com/revolutionwithinband/
Time to head back to the main stage Porminho and watch The Temple. They were still sound-checking, playing their cover of Mão Morta’s “Budapeste” – which sadly they didn’t perform “for real” afterwards. But then again, their own songs set the crowd on fire, starting up a really peculiar mosh pit that included laughter, capoeira moves and guys on other guys’ shoulders. Its climax was certainly “War Dance”, when singer João and guitarists Marcelo and Tiago joined drummer Rui in a tribal percussionist feat.
https://www.facebook.com/thetempleband/
Crisix is not your average thrash metal act. The music is thrash through and through: you’ve got the shredding guitars, the long shrills, the strong bass and the powerful beats. But the performance is much more than angry faces and neck-breaking headbanging. They run, they jump, they laugh… Fiesta all the time! In fact, that’s the exact term they use at some point, when they all change instruments and guitarist B.B. Plaza and bassist Dani Ramis take over the microphone. A medley of covers, including Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” and RATM’s “Killing In The Name Of”, put the Barcelona band at the top of Laurus’ most amusing artists. And their own songs, such as “Get Out Of My Head”, “Conspiranoia” or “Ultra Thrash”, made a huge cloud of dust rise up out of the mosh circles.
https://www.facebook.com/CrisixOfficial/
Getting Tarantula to play between Crisix and Dark Tranquillity wasn’t the best of options – unless the idea was for the crowd to recharge batteries. Their old school heavy/power metal is legendary around these parts, but even with the crowd echoing loudly the choruses to “Face The Mirror”, “You Can Always Touch The Sky” or “End Of The Rainbow”, something felt amiss. It’s been less than two years since I’ve last seen them live and they were in pretty good shape. Now it seemed like the spark was gone, or at least dimmed. It was a bit disappointing. And I’ll never understand why, despite someone always screams for “Power Tower”, they still refuse to play it…
https://www.facebook.com/Tarantula.Official/
There’s this Dark Tranquillity song called “The Mundane And The Magic” (which they’ve played in Laurus, by the way) and I believe “magic” is just the right word to describe what happened when the Swedes got on stage. Their current album “Atoma” was released over a year-and-a-half ago (review here) but as Mikael Stanne said, “it still felt pretty new”; the title-track, “Clearing Skies”, “Force Of Hand” and a couple more were just as rejoiced as old classics like “Monochromatic Stains”, “Therein” or “Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)”.
The encore started with “State Of Trust” and then Stanne said that it was always a pleasure to come back to Portugal and that we knew they’d keep coming; he’d learnt over the years that we were very passionate, that we weren’t “Lost To Apathy”. And “Misery Crown” was just… well, what I’ve first said: magical.
https://www.facebook.com/dtofficial/
This year’s festival finished with a local band, that came back together after almost a decade-long hiatus (I think it was an actual split-up, but whatever it was, it’s over). The Godiva was the first band I’ve shot with a digital camera, back in 2005, and for me it was enthralling to see this new version of them, all re-vamped and full of life – despite their “deadly” make-up, ha ha. And those who only knew them from the brand new single “Empty Coil”, or didn’t know them at all before this show, seemed to enjoy the old songs such as “Spiral”, “Fallen” or “Oblivion”. A great new era for the band, closing what represents a new era as well for this great festival. See you in 2019, Laurus Nobilis!
https://www.facebook.com/thegodivaband/
Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino
Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão 2018 – 1st day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Atreides, Booby Trap, Cruz de Ferro, Ecos Culturais do Louro, Estrella Galicia, Famalicão, Festival, Infraktor, Laurus Nobilis, Louro, Metal on 31st July 2018 by PieniInfraktor, Cruz de Ferro, Booby Trap, Atreides
Louro, Famalicão (PT)
Promoted by Associação Ecos Culturais do Louro
26th July 2018
Fourth edition of Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão, first one fully dedicated to metal in all its varieties. Those first three editions we’ve covered the first day only, which was the heaviest one. Now we’re proud to bring you coverage of the whole fest.
Last year the organization had already set a second stage for big bands still climbing the popularity ladder (calling them “smaller bands” wouldn’t be fair or accurate at all). This year that stage was a bit larger and endorsed, hence named after, the Spanish beer Estrella Galicia – Galicia being the community where the first band Atreides came from as well. The opening day served as a warm-up, with only the Estrella Galicia stage active and four acts on the bill, so the melodic heavy metal of Atreides started echoing around eight-thirty in the evening. The crowd wasn’t big, true, but I confess it was much bigger than I’d expected – and also more responsive towards a band clearly unknown to them, despite their two studio albums. Songs like “Frágiles” or “Laberintos” caused quite an impression – including in some little kids who were tagging along their parents but having a ball on their own.
www.facebook.com/atreidesgrupo/
Things got a bit more hardcore with Booby Trap’s crossover. The most veteran band on that day’s bill got a more aggressive feedback, just like their sound, but still they tried to convince the people in the back to get closer to the stage and join the party – unsuccessful, not even after guitarist Wild Bull provoked them by calling them something like “pussies”. Anyway, “Survive”, “Overloaded”, “Drunkenstein” (my favorite) or Motörhead’s “Ace Of Spades” (which they covered long before Lemmy’s death) kept the audience pretty hyped.
www.facebook.com/boobytrap.pt/
Cruz de Ferro is Portuguese for “iron cross”, so that alone gives you an idea what kind of metal they play and what they sing about – yep, traditional heavy metal about Portuguese battles and history in general. They had a handful of devoted fans in the front row, raising their fists and singing along loudly. To those, singer/guitarist Ricardo Pombo exclusively dedicated “Ritual da Cruz” (ritual of the cross), apologizing to the rest of the people attending the festival. But since they’ve played for the very first time a new song called “Soldado Desconhecido” (unknown soldier) – in memory of all Portuguese soldiers who lost their lives in the second Great War – I guess no one minded to be left out of the aforementioned dedicatory.
www.facebook.com/cruzdeferro666/
But it was Infraktor’s “ferocious metal” that got the most out of the crowd, proving the promoters right when they chose such a young band to headline the first day. Well, young as Infraktor, who released their debut album “Exhaust” early this year – the members are all old-school ambassadors of the national underground, as I’ve told you when I reviewed said debut (here).
From “Blood Of The Weak” to “Ferocious Intent”, this was the night’s most intense performance – both on and off stage. Some people were singing along the choruses, but in order to everyone give use to their vocal chords, Pantera’s “Strength Beyond Strength” wrapped up the show, as someone in the crowd “guessed”. Singer Hugo Silva joked, asking him if he had peeked at the setlist, but knowing that he’d just attended some previous Infraktor concert.
www.facebook.com/infraktor.metal/
DJ Nattu taking over in the end wasn’t the best idea, but apart from that, my heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved in putting together this event. And this was just the first day.
Photos & text: Renata “Pieni” Lino
The Godiva return, wrapping up this year’s Laurus Nobilis Music
Posted in News with tags Famalicão, Festival, final bill, Laurus Nobilis, Louro, schedule on 11th March 2018 by PieniThe two missing names in the Laurus Nobilis Music 2018 bill have been revealed: Atreides and The Godiva. The former hails from Northern Spain and the latter from Famalicão, hometown of the festival itself.
The Godiva were quite popular in the Portuguese underground back in the early 2000s, until they decided to step away for an unknown-period-of-time. The hiatus is now over and they will close this year’s edition of Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão. Here’s the full schedule:
Metal DJs will entertain the crowd every night for about an hour, after the last band leaves the stage.
Bill for Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão 2018 almost complete
Posted in News with tags Famalicão, Festival, Laurus Nobilis, Louro on 25th February 2018 by PieniEver since its first edition, back in 2015 we’ve been supporting and covering the “metal day” of Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão, in Portugal. Last year saw the growth of the bill, by adding a secondary stage, and this year we see the “growth of weight”, as all three days will be heavy ones. Needless to say, we’ll be covering the full festival this time.
There are still two bands to announce, but so far it features some of the Portuguese finest. As for the international headlining acts, we’ll have Dark Tranquillity and Septicflesh:
We’ll get back to you with the full schedule as soon as the two last bands are revealed.
Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão 2017 – metal day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Amorphis, Famalicão, Festival, Final Mercy, Heavenwood, Holocausto Canibal, In.Verno, Laurus Nobilis, Louro, Metal, Skinning, Stucker, Urban War on 5th August 2017 by PieniHolocausto Canibal, Amorphis, Heavenwood, Urban War, Final Mercy, In.Verno, Skinning, Stucker
Louro, Famalicão (PT)
28th July 2017
The 3rd edition of Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão experienced a few changes but having its metal day on Friday wasn’t one of them. And with the addition of a second stage, the number of heavy acts doubled. First one on the “breakthrough stage” was Stucker. It was around 5 p.m., the crowd wasn’t exactly massive, but when you’re in a thrash metal band playing in a metal fest, chances are that you’ll get a good feedback, no matter how scarce the number of people giving it. And Stucker have improved their posture quite a lot since I’ve last seen them, more committed. Musically they sound stronger too. They’re currently in studio, recording an EP which I was told it’s a “back to the thrash roots” ride; promising.
https://www.facebook.com/StuckerPT/
After two albums, Skinning’s death metal is quite praised among the national underground – therefore the feedback was more intense, even if the crowd was just a little larger than before. But a seven, maybe eight-year-old kid was eagerly headbanging, and for what I could gather, he was no relative of any member of the band – that alone was worth as much as a vicious mosh pit.
https://www.facebook.com/SkinningMetal/
Then from Spain came the “dark metal” of In.Verno – meaning heavy melodies spiked with synths, with a beautiful female voice mingled with male growls. This was still part of the band’s Insanity Tour, promoting their second album “The Reasonable Choice Of Insanity”, and it was a pleasant and refreshing way of closing down the so-called first part of the day.
https://www.facebook.com/invernospain/
The action moved to the bigger stage, with Final Mercy literally storming it. It had been about seven years since I’d last seen them and probably as many line-up changes since the first, a decade ago; and while some bands may look unstable after so many adjustments, this was probably the best that could have happened to Final Mercy. Guitarist Ricardo Ribeiro and bassist Arcélio’s technical skills made the music more mature, and singer Dan’s posture filled their live performance with much more vitality. A couple of days before the fest they released a video for the title-track of their latest album, “Revival” (June 2017), which I strongly recommend.
https://www.facebook.com/FinalMercy/
Despite being announced on the fest website that Urban War would close the bill of the smaller stage, it seems the plan was for them to play on the prime one all along. Well, the energy of singer Márcio Pinto needed indeed a bigger space to be fully discharged and so there he was, jumping all over amidst smoke and strobe lights, promoting “Flesh Upon The Feelings”. Pretty vibrant groove metal, well-deserved of the main stage
https://www.facebook.com/urbanwar/
I dare saying that Heavenwood were awaited just as eagerly as the headliners – and that eagerness was rewarded. In the 25 years they’ve been around, there’s close to nothing in their songwriting that one can finger-point; their live performances, however, have always been their weakness… until a couple of years ago. Don’t know if it was something about the conceptual latest album “The Tarot Of The Bohemians”, if it was the new line-up or simply the natural process of growing up… but who cares? They now kick ass on stage and that’s all that matters. I was just a bit disappointed that Equaleft-Miguel didn’t join them on stage. Due to his day job, there were a few shows that singer Ernesto was forced to miss and it was Miguel who replaced him. Given the difference in styles, I was really curious to see how that worked out. My curiosity wasn’t fulfilled, but still my satisfaction reached the top.
https://www.facebook.com/HeavenwoodOfficial/
When Amorphis last played in Portugal, it had been in celebration of “Tales From A Thousand Lakes” 20th anniversary and about a month before “Under The Red Cloud” was out, so despite such release has occurred two years ago, the title-track, “Sacrifice” and “Death Of A King” were performed live for the first time in our country – and they were welcomed accordingly. But then again, all songs caused similar thrill. Always addressing us as “my friends”, Tomi Joutsen asked for our help in “House Of Sleep” and our opinion about playing “Into Hiding”, now that original bass player Olli-Pekka Laine was back. Without surprise – but obviously with loads of emotional feedback – the gig ended with “Black Winter Day”.
https://www.facebook.com/amorphis/
Death-grind isn’t for everybody’s ears, so having Holocausto Canibal closing the bill was the right decision – the ones who couldn’t endure such extreme sound could leave (and a lot did…) and those who enjoyed it had the chance of seeing a great band of the genre on a big stage. As singer Ricardo said himself, it doesn’t look like but they’ve been around for 20 years. They’ve released a vinyl re-recording of both their debut demo and album under the inkling title “Catalépsia Necrótica: Gonorreia Visceral Reanimada”, which is Portuguese for something like “necrotic catalepsy: reanimated visceral gonorrhea”. Musically and lyrically, the brutality prevails, but they’ve toned down the theatrics a bit – less blood and entrails, that is – focusing more on sound than image. Whether you like it or not, one must acknowledge the big act they are.
https://www.facebook.com/hcgore/
And so the metal day of Laurus 2017 came to an end. I tip my hat to everyone involved in this venture, not just from an event-promotion point of view but also for the support given to national metal, still so underestimated by many.
Text & photos by:
HEAVY SCOTLAND announce first bands
Posted in News with tags 1st edition, Edinburgh, Festival, Heavy Scotland, Metal, Scotland on 26th August 2016 by Mickelrath
Brand new heavy metal festival HEAVY SCOTLAND is delighted to announce its first wave of bands for its debut year, to be held in Edinburgh between the 1st-2nd April 2017.
Announced already are the first headliners, melodic death metal legends Arch Enemy; plus acclaimed brutal death metal band Sodomized Cadaver; resurgent death metal favourites Dyscarnate and Scottish thrashers Disposable. Plenty more huge bands to come so stay tuned.
Early bird tickets are now available to purchase from here, for only £70: http://www.ticketor.com/heavyscotland
VIP ticket bundles are available but already close to selling out so get yours while you can!
Set to be the biggest and best new festival dedicated to all things dark, heavy, and vicious, Heavy Scotland is borne out of a love of metal. Aimed at supporting a famously dedicated metal scene but until now without a big festival, Heavy Scotland looks set to put Scotland on the map.
With accommodation options, more bands, and ticket options to announce, Heavy Scotland is already on the way to becoming the surprise festival success of 2017.
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/heavyscotland
http://www.heavyscotland.com/
https://www.twitter.com/heavyscotland
VOA Fest 2016 – 2nd day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Abbath, Corroios, Equaleft, Festival, Kreator, metal fest, Paradise Lost, PEV Entertainment, Portugal, Prime Artists, Schammasch, Soldier, summer fest, VOA on 12th August 2016 by PieniKreator, Paradise Lost, Abbath, Schammasch, Equaleft, Soldier
Quinta da Marialva, Corroios (PT)
6th August 2016
Promoted by Prime Artists and PEV Entertainment
This year saw a new start for Vagos Open Air, now simply known by its acronym VOA – new partnership among the promoters, new venue in a new city… The quality? Same as always. Of course all these changes brought along a lot of complaints (humans…), which I don’t see relevant to talk about; but regarding five out of the twelve bands being “recidivists” in the festival, I will say something. Sure, we live in a little country in the most Southwestern corner of Europe where it’s not always easy for an international band to reach – meaning the list of well-known names that never played here is endless and yes, it would be nice to shorten that list through a fest. But at the same time… if the band’s good, what’s so wrong about seeing it a dozen times? Hell, this was my 10th time seeing Paradise Lost and I loved it!
I’m not sure if this new place is smaller than the previous one. At first glance it seems so, as it’s definitely shorter in length. But it’s considerably larger in width, so… What really matters is that the stage was placed inside a natural amphitheater, surrounded by small hills, and if that prevented the wind to ease up the unholy heat (it’s been said this is the hottest summer since 1931), it also didn’t let the sound wander off beyond the festival zone.
Back to its original 2-day format, I sadly could only attend the second day. From what I’ve heard, Dark Oath did pretty well as the opening act. Not in front of the biggest crowd, but everybody knows how unfair playing first can be; still, it seems that a fair share of people enjoyed the symphonic/melodic death metal the national band had to offer, introducing the debut full-length “When Fire Engulfs The Earth”.
Italians Adimiron followed next and apparently also focused just on their latest release “Timelapse” (or so it says on setlist.fm). I confess I had never heard of them before, even if they’ve been around since 1999. Apparently, the same happened with most of the crowd, although eventually they surrendered to the band’s sound and performance.
Mantar’s “Ode To The Flame” has received a good feedback but the duo’s live performance not so much. Or maybe their fusion of black-doom-sludge-rock isn’t the right one for a festival, especially in day light. But then again, so shouldn’t be the depressive metal of Katatonia (I know I’ve seen them live in broad daylight a few years back and didn’t like it, despite being fond enough of the band) but I haven’t heard one single bad comment about the Swede’s performance – by the contrary! But I guess Katatonia will always be Katatonia. Played a few songs from the latest “The Fall Of Hearts” along a bunch of older hits.
When Anathema got on stage it was already dark. They haven’t released anything new in two years, but they’ve got a very special place in the hearts of our metal community – always had, not since Daniel Cardoso joined their ranks. So it’s only natural that I also heard only good things about their gig.
Finally, Opeth. I remember the last time I’ve seen them, precisely at this festival, two years ago, the show was pretty disappointed for the majority of the fans, as the band seemed uninspired. They made up for it now. The title-track of their upcoming album has been rolling on Youtube for over a week but they didn’t play it, sticking to the older stuff their fans love the most.
Now the second day, that I actually witnessed. I arrived around 15:20, the “Blackhearts” documentary was still playing on the video walls. There were a few people watching it but not many – I’ve mentioned the heat already, haven’t I?
In previous editions, the first band of each day was always Portuguese, so having a Spanish opening act was a first – thrashers Soldier did the honors. VOA is part of their “The Great Western Oligarchy tour 2016”, named after their latest album. Solid riffing, a clear invitation to headbanging, to which the crowd – once again, not that big at that early hour – took pleasure in oblige. Not much talking between songs, as there was only half an hour to play, but one could see how pleased they were for being there, given the constant funny faces and broad smiles. Happy and nice bunch of people, I believe, and competent musicians. “Revolt”, from the debut “Gas Powered Jesus”, closed their set.
Equaleft was up next and the national underground could hardly be better represented. I can’t find the right words to express how proud I am for them and their achievements in these past years. After opening for Gojira last month (see here), I believe playing in a fest like this was one of the few milestones they had to reach yet on Portuguese soil and now it’s done. Go Equaleft!
The follow-up to “Adapt & Survive” is in the making but nothing ready to be shared yet, so they focused on their acclaimed debut. It’s “Maniac” now that closes their sets, not “Invigorate” anymore, but this hit still features singer Miguel, a.k.a. Jedi Mig, wielding a light saber. Soldier’s thrash was entitled to some mosh circles, but it was Equaleft’s groove that made “the dust rise up from the ground”, as I heard someone say.
The promo pic of Schammasch on the festival page shows us four guys in bare upper-bodies. I bet they regretted deeply not going on stage like that – 34ᵒC is “a bit” too much to wear long robes. Singer/guitarist C.S.R., with black paint on his face and hands and whose robe included a hood, was probably who suffered the most, even if he barely moved throughout the whole gig. He even admitted at some point that it was “boiling” up there. So kudos for their resistance.
The music itself deserves some applause too, even if their avant-garde black metal cut down the adrenaline that both previous bands rose up. Still, mainly songs from their latest “Triangle” and at least one off “Contradiction” (“Golden Light”, if I’m not mistaken) were cheered by the crowd.
It’s always hard to distinguish a solo artist from a band when the latter is named after said artist – and even so when most of the setlist is comprised of songs the artist played with previous projects. That’s what happened with Abbath. With a 75-minute slot, I understand that even if he/they had played the only released album in full, there would still be plenty of time to kill. But playing four Abbath songs among one of I and six of Immortal… I know they’re not seen exactly as covers by the fans, especially when they were thrilled to listen to “Nebular Ravens Winter” (this one’s even recorded in “Abbath”, the album) and “Tyrants” and “All Shall Fall”, but it still felt weird. Apart from the weirdness, it was super. Black metal lovers were offered a great show of the genre – even if the sun was still high up – and those who didn’t like it particularly could always enjoy Abbath and bassist King’s “evil” faces.
As aforementioned, Paradise Lost made my day. Nick Holmes acknowledged the “beautiful new venue” of the fest and said how good it was to be back. And with such a rich and diverse setlist, I doubt someone didn’t feel the same way about their return. From recent songs like “No Hope In Sight” to tracks from “a time when most of you weren’t even born” like “Rapture”, we revisited some of Paradise Lost’s highlights through time.
While drinking Super Bock, probably Portugal’s most popular beer, Nick mentioned its alcohol content – 5,6 % – and said that such beer would be banned in the U.K. because it could turn them into animals. When he associated it with football, the laughter was even louder.
As co-headliners, they could afford an encore, which happened after “Say Just Words” – by the way, from the same album they also played the title-track “One Second” that, according to Nick, they hadn’t played in a while (I checked and apparently the last had been two months prior). ”Flesh From Bone” was one of the four songs of said encore, its death-doom nature – so old-school PL in such a recent song – leading Nick to say “it feels like the last 25 years never happened”. “The Last Time” wrapped it up and I really, really hope this was far from the last time that I’ve seen them.
www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial
When entering the photo-pit for Kreator we were advised to stay somewhat away from the stage during the first song – “Enemy Of God”, as it turned out – so we were hoping for some fireworks. Imagine our disappointment when it was just confetti… Oh well. On the other hand, I’m glad it wasn’t anything dangerous, as staying away meant closer to the barriers and that was nearly impossible – the mosh and crowdsurf began with practically the first riff and the security guys needed space to attend to all of them enthusiastic metalheads. Mille Petrozza did ask more than once for circles and screams “Portuguese style” but he really didn’t need to – he was already getting that from the start.
I hadn’t realized until now that their last studio album was already four years old (review here). But worry not – Mille said they were working on the follow-up to “Phantom Antichrist” and that it should be out next year. The reception of this news was loud, but when Mille said he wanted to come back as headliners of their own tour, the crowd’s roar was thunderous. Say what you will about thrash and all these “dinosaurs” like Kreator doing the same thing over and over – legends are legends and will always be welcomed.
VOA experienced “Extreme Aggression” in a “Violent Revolution” brought up by “Hordes Of Chaos” filled with “Pleasure To Kill”, and this year’s edition finished with the “Flag Of Hate” raised by a “Betrayer”. Looking forward for next year’s experiences!
www.facebook.com/KreatorOfficial
A special thanks to the promoters, to Raising Legends and Equaleft for the ride and Mosher Clothing for keeping an eye on my stuff and letting me enjoy the shade of their merch stand.
Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino
Full gallery on our Facebook page here.
Laurus Nobilis Music Famalicão 2016
Posted in News with tags antónio freitas, Bizarra Locomotiva, Famalicão, Festival, Laurus Nobilis, Moonspell, Portugal, quinteto explosivo, via sacra on 5th July 2016 by Pieni
Here’s another “music party”. Last year we introduced you to Laurus Nobilis Music (report here) and everything’s ready for its second edition:
Tampere Metal Meeting 2016
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Festival, Finntroll, Metal, Moonsorrow, Tiamat on 19th June 2016 by izaforestspiritInsomnium, Moonsorrow, Tiamat, Finntroll
Ratinanniemi, Tampere, Finland
17-18th June 2016
Tampere Metal Meeting is a brand new open air festival which was held in Tampere city centre for the very first time this year. The line-up included many well-known Finnish bands such as Finntroll and Insomnium along with a few foreign bands such as Tiamat (Sweden) and Deströyer666 (Australia).
Friday 17th June
The first band I got to see was Omnium Gatherum. I’m not too familiar with their music so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from them. They played some decent-sounding and fairly entertaining melodic death metal. 3/5
The next band that caught my attention was Baptism. These guys were on the smaller stage, playing in broad daylight with some bright “disco”lights flickering at them from all angles. Not really what you would expect to see from a grim black metal band but they made it work somehow. It was a good show. 4/5
The Man-Eating Tree are one of those bands who like to play beautifully dark, melancholic, melodic and atmospheric metal. It usually sounds good on the albums but their shows are not the most energetic although I did enjoy their cover of Type of Negative’ s ‘Everything Dies’. 3/5
The highlight of the night for me was a performance by Moonsorrow. These guys really know how to agitate the crowd with their super catchy and very entertaining folk metal. I’ve seen them live before but this show was much better than the one I saw a few years ago. 5/5
I’ve seen Insomnium live before so I decided to give them a miss. So the last band I saw that night was the Demilich. I only just discovered this band recently and so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I heard was some good, old-school technical death metal. Nothing ground-breaking but it was fun to watch. 3/5
Saturday 18th June
This time I arrived at the festival area a little earlier in the afternoon, just in time to watch Ranger. I’ve seen them live before so I pretty much knew what to expect from their show. It was pure fun and energetic speed-thrash metal from one of Finland’s most promising new metal bands. They’re always good live, especially at a summer festival. 5/5
I tend to have bad luck when it comes to Barathrum gigs. The last time that I saw them live, the show was a complete disaster due to their singer being too drunk to even stand let alone remember his own song lyrics. This time was much better. He was visibly less inebriated and he actually managed to put on a good performance. They played all the hits including ‘Dark Sorceress’, ‘Legions of Perkele’ and ‘Last Day in Heaven’. Then Mr. Sova threw a bottle of cow’s blood off the stage at the end of the show. 4/5
Next up was the melodic death metal band Kalmah. Their style is fairly similar to that of their fellow countrymen Children of Bodom. These guys sure know how to entertain the home crowd with the singer cracking the odd joke before the song announcements. 4/5
Then there was Nocturnus AD who played an interesting and somewhat bizarre mixture of technical death metal with some experimental sci-fi themes and keyboard noise. It was ok at times and downright weird at others. 2.5/5
By the time that Finntroll came on stage, the weather had taken a downturn. Nonetheless this horde of merry troll-folk are always a joy to watch – even in the pouring rain. They promised “crazy madness and circus” and that’s exactly watch they delivered. The crowds loved it and so did I. It didn’t take long for me to join in the dancing and headbanging along to the happy troll tunes. They experienced some technical problems with the sound towards the end of their set. Luckily they managed to get it fixed leaving just enough time for ‘Trollhammeren’ plus one more song. 5/5
Next up was the Australians, Deströyer666 who played a tight set of fast and furious blackened thrash metal. It was a highly entertaining show in spite of the stormy weather. 4/5
The final band was one of my favourites, the Swedish metal band Tiamat. They played some truly dark and beautiful Gothic metal featuring Henriette Bordvik (ex-Sirenia) as a guest vocals on some of the tracks. The highlights for me were: ‘The Wings of Heaven’, ‘Thunder & Lightning’, ‘Vote For Love’ and ‘Gaia’. 5/5
In summary Tampere Metal Meeting was a great way to spend the weekend. The weather could have been better but the music was excellent. My favorite shows were Moonsorrow, Finntroll and Tiamat. Notable mentions go to Barathrum (well done Demonos Sova!) and Deströyer666.
Iza Raittila
For further info check out: http://www.tamperemetalmeeting.fi/
Hordes Of Belial announces Lifer and others for 2016
Posted in News with tags critical events, Festival, Hordes Of Belial on 11th January 2016 by Paul Macmillan
It’s that time of year again when annual, Dundee based metal showcase, Hordes Of Belial start rolling out the names, and 2016 is off to a great start.
The 7th edition of the event sees its first ever Welsh band in sludged up metal and rollers, Lifer, fresh off the back of their 2015 album Black Mountain Rising. They will be joined by, among others, a raft of bands from around Scotland, including Glasgow’s Seraph Sin and Blood Thread, as well as Excellent Cadaver.
Early bird tickets will be on sale soon, from www.wegottickets.com
Hatebreed to headline Impericon Festivals 2016
Posted in News with tags Festival, Hatebreed, headliners, Impericon, Monster energy on 21st November 2015 by Mickelrath
For those about to mosh we salute you!
Metalcore giants HATEBREED have been confirmed as the headliners for the 2016 Impericon Festivals. Other names on the bill include Caliban Emmure, Northlane, Bury Tomorrow, Blessthefall, Chelsea Grin, Hundredth, Any Given Day and Devil In Me.
The festival will take place across nine cities and six countries. Info and ticket information head over to www.impericon.com
IMPERICON FESTIVALS 2016:
4.22.16 Oberhausen, Germany – Turbinenhalle
4.23.16 Leipzig, Germany – Agra
5.01.16 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
5.02.16 Manchester, UK – Academy
5.03.16 London, UK – 02 Forum Kentish Town
5.04.16 Paris, France – Les Docks De Paris
5.05.16 Zurich, Switzerland – X-Tra
5.06.16 Vienna, Austria – Arena
5.07.16 Munich, Germany – Zenith
Vagos Open Air 2015 – 3rd day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Alestorm, Bloodbath, Festival, Ironsword, Midnight Priest, Ne Obliviscaris, Orphaned Land, Overkill, Portugal, Primer Artists, Vagos, Vagos Open Air, VOA on 15th August 2015 by PieniIronwsword, Bloodbath, Overkill, Orphaned Land, Alestorm, Ne Obliviscaris, Midnight Priest
Quinta do Ega, Vagos (PT)
9th August 2015
Promoted by Prime Artists
Bloodbath
Last year, Prime Artists added one more day to the festival and the change was meant to stay. So here we were, on the third, last and more diverse day of Vagos Open Air 2015.
Personally, I still see Midnight Priest as an Iron Maiden and Judas Priest rip-off, but whether the crowd thought the same or not, they didn’t seem to care, banging those heads to songs like “Into The Nightmare” or “Rainha da Magia Negra” (Black Magic Queen). It’s a festival, a party, and they’re making copy+paste of some legendary riffs, so not even the broken high pitches of singer Lex Thunder ruined the mood. It was the shortest set of the day and it finished with “À Boleia Com o Diabo” (Hitchhiking with the Devil).
www.facebook.com/midnightpriest
Ne Obliviscaris
Ne Obliviscaris are touring the world thanks to a crowdfunding but I didn’t know so many of their fans came from Portugal – besides the wild crowd they had during the show, the signing session/meet & greet lasted more than the one-hour gig itself! I guess the guys from down under were just as surprised, but obviously happy. And it was deserved. Their extreme prog is exquisite and seductive enough to stand out from the other bands on the bill, but then the way they performed it – even in hot daylight – was more than enthralling to everyone who’s into that kind of music. And some of them had the chance to hold singer/violinist Tim Charles on the last song, “And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope”, as he jumped into the crowd and crowdsurfed. Promising to come back as soon as possible, they all left the stage smiling.
www.facebook.com/NeObliviscarisBand
Alestorm
The original bill featured Halestorm and, as I think I’ve told you before, here in Portugal we like stronger stuff. There was a lot of moaning on how they should bring Alestorm instead. Then Halestorm had to cancel – not sure why and don’t really care, as cancelling a gig due to “a scheduling conflict” sounds like a poor excuse, and therefore disrespectful to their fans – and the “bring Alestorm, you only have to remove the H!” request was all over the place. And Prime Artists answered the call! The Scottish pirates (who claim coming from the “darkest depths of the Caribbean”) came and conquered with their inebriating (yeah, pun intended) folk. Talking about how they could sense our smell when introducing “The Famous Ol’ Spiced” or how they weren’t here to steal our potatoes but to drink our beer (“Drink”), this was probably the happiest show of the whole fest.
Orphaned Land
I’ve seen Orphaned Land a few times and know how popular they are here, but still Kobi Farhi felt the need to explain to the crowd that he wasn’t Jesus Christ, he only looked like him. In fact, he couldn’t be Jesus as he wasn’t a virgin and made a lot of sex. After such a fun gig of Alestorm, so much different from the soberer Middle Eastern metal of Orphaned Land, I guess an ice-breaking remark like this was needed, but Kobi always has something amusing to say. Not sure which song he introduced by singing some The Doors verse, but that early evening we could hear oldies such as “Sapari”, “In Thy Never Ending Way” or “Norra El Norra” mixed with more recent ones like “All Is One”, “Let The Truce Be Known” or “The Simple Man” (the latter dedicated to us). All with a lot of clapping-to-the-rhythm and sing-alongs. Beautiful concert, so the news of an upcoming acoustic tour, which will include Portugal, was more than welcome.
www.facebook.com/OrphanedLandOfficial
Overkill
Thrash metal returned to Vagos in the form of Overkill – our “ugly cousins from New Jersey”, as Bobby Blitz himself described them. They indeed have a solid, crazy fan-base here – fans that make Bobby feel like he’s fifty again. Yes, fifty, not fifteen – he’s not only a top thrash metal singer and owner of a chocolate shop, he’s also a humorist. The chosen tracks to represent their latest “White Devil Armory” were “Armorist” and “Bitter Pill”; the rest were the usual classics such as “Necroshine”, “In Union We Stand”, “Rotten To The Core”, “Horrorscope”, “Hello From The Gutter”… I confess that after the little speech about brotherhood, my brain whispered “bastard nation” when Bobby said “’cause we are”, but the sentence finished with “Ironbound” after all. I wonder if I’ll ever hear “Bastard Nation” live ever again. The gig finished with the mandatory “Fuck You”, and just like three years before (see here), Bobby provoked us with “is this Portugal or España?”, when he wanted to hear us louder. And just like in that other V.O.A. edition – in fact like every time someone tells us such words – it worked.
www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew
If you’re one of those who saw Nick Holmes joining Bloodbath with very skeptical eyes, it’s about time to dismiss that feeling: the guy is definitely up to it! I had the confirmation with the release of “Grand Morbid Funeral” last November, but the ultimate trial by fire is always on stage. And when you’re a Paradise Lost fan for about 20 years, like I am, you also know that it may take you a couple of shows to get that proof, as Nick’s mood affects his performance proportionally.
Bloodbath
But as soon as “Old Nick” addressed the audience, by the way he said “We’re Bloodbath from Sweden and Yorkshire. I’m the one from Yorkshire” I could tell he was in an excellent mood, meaning he would also excel in this show. And he did. Bloodbath played a little something from the four albums they’ve released so far, pleasing old and new fans, and giving Nick the chance to show how the songs once sung by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Peter Tägtgren weren’t lessened at all by his vocal tone and skills. “Eaten” and “Cry My Name” were the encore of the probably most brutal gig of Vagos 2015.
www.facebook.com/bloodbathband
It’s not easy for an underground band to wrap up a festival with so many international famous names. Many people left after Bloodbath, but many also stayed to see national heavy metal veterans Ironsword. Along with Filii Nigrantium Infernalium the previous night, they were also special guests in this festival, and once more I believe it was anniversary related – the band celebrated their 20th this year. But also have a new album out, “None But The Brave”, released last May, which their setlist was pretty focused on. In the end of its title-track, singer/guitarist Tann said something about how we were entitled to a special version of this new song, but since I’m not that familiar with their work, I don’t know if it was really some “special version” or if someone messed up and they had to improvise. Whatever the case, they did good and some vigorous fans screamed “IRONSWORD, IRONSWORD!”. “Burning Metal” wasn’t just the last song but also the description of the show.
www.facebook.com/IronswordOfficial
And it was over. Three days that seemed to last forever and, at the same time, so quickly went by. That’s how good memories feel like, I suppose. Well, let the preparations for Vagos 2016 begin!
Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino
Note: we weren’t granted access to the photopit, so no gallery this year.
Vagos Open Air 2015 – 2nd day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Black Label Society, Destruction, Festival, filii nigrantium infernalium, FNI, mutant squad, Portugal, Prime Artists, Triptykon, Vagos, Vagos Open Air, Venom, VOA, W.A.K.O., we are killing ourselves, zakk wylde on 13th August 2015 by PieniFilii Nigrantium Infernalium, Venom, Black Label Society, Triptykon, Destruction, Mutant Squad, W.A.K.O.
Quinta do Ega, vagos (PT)
8th August 2015
Promoted by Prime Artists
Black Label Society
The second day of Vagos Open Air was the heaviest in sound and numbers. Saturdays are always prone to attract more people, but I’m pretty sure it was the names on the bill that gathered so many metalheads
W.A.K.O.
If memory serves me well, I hadn’t seen W.A.K.O. in four years. Not that they’ve inactive all that time, no. I just haven’t had the chance to see them lately. And damn, what I’ve been missing! Sure, the aforementioned gig I attended at Hard Club was a killer (no pun intended – did I mention that W.A.K.O. stands for We Are Killing Ourselves?), but this one at Vagos was simply devastating! As well as the mosh circles the crowd put up restlessly, from the opener “Abyss” to the closing “The Shadows Collapse Within”. Any thumbs-down? Sure – too short. Such a show deserved to last longer.
Mutant Squad
Next, from country next door, came Mutant Squad. Straight-forward thrash metal always works when played live, whether you’re familiar with the band or not (which I think was the case of many in the crowd). The Spanish continued fuelling the mosh frenzy that W.A.K.O. had started with songs from their debut full-length “Titanomakhia”, and also one (“Remember”) from the 2012 EP “Social Misfits”. Using a few Portuguese curse words also helped them winning over the crowd, as well as praising the W.A.K.O. gig and their guitarist Pedro Mendes. The set ended with “Mutants Will Rise”, but before leaving the stage, singer/guitarist Pla announced they’d return to Portugal in November, for the Mosher clothing fest, and the people seemed happy about it.
www.facebook.com/mutantsquadband
The thrashing went on in a much more old-school vein. Both previous bands had a pretty packed crowd waiting for them, but Destruction had an army! The action on and off stage lived up to the band’s name. This is another band that hasn’t released anything new in three years (the Saxon cover on “The Big Teutonic 4” split can’t obviously count) but whose presence in this or any other festival is more than justified, as their performances are what live shows are all about. Even when the sound goes down… Not sure what happened, but at some point closer to the end, only the drums were audible. As the band played on, I believe they still heard what they were doing on stage, but we didn’t. One thing I noticed and appreciated was that no one booed – they did cry out in disappointment, but not in angry accusation, understanding that this kind of thing happens. Eventually the sound came back, its volume still on a rollercoaster ride, but everything was back to normal when Schmier announced the last song “Bestial invasion”.
Triptykon
Triptykon stirred another kind of turmoil – an emotional one. Although the crowdsurfers kept the security guys busy during the black metal parts that spice the doom nature of the band. Thomas Gabriel Fischer was particularly talkative and clearly happy to be there – the “it’s so good to be back” that we so often hear seemed honest. They played an excellent gloomy show that I just wished was a bit more Triptykon and less Celtic Frost. They have two great full-length albums, why dwell in past bands? One song would be enough, for old times sake – that I understand. But three? Plus a Hellhammer cover (“Messiah”) that Celtic Frost already used to cover – as Hellhammer was the band Thomas and Martin Ain were in before Celtic Frost. Even the “are you morbid?” expression was used that night. A flawless and enthralling performance, yes, but a little too much “double identity” for my personal taste.
www.facebook.com/triptykonofficial
Black Label Society
Even though not closing the bill, Black Label Society were the headliners – the number of people waiting for Zakk Wylde (with no disrespect for the other musicians, just stating the truth) left no doubt about that. Not even the 20-minute delay (that wasn’t apologized for or explained) seemed to bother the fans. But then again, those same fans go bananas with Wylde’s 20-minute solos, so we clearly don’t agree on several things.
The show was impeccable, no one can say otherwise. There’s a reason why Wylde is considered such a guitar god and that reason was palpable that night. But like everything in life, when you’re not drinking your cup of tea… I’ve heard more than one person complaining about the extensive guitar work, but come on, that’s what Wylde does! That’s what his fans where there to see and that’s what they got. Now the “lesser fans”… well, not even guitar gods can please everyone. He didn’t talk much, except when introducing the band – he talked A LOT then, although I didn’t understand half of it, given that Southern accent of his (that I’m still trying to figure out where he got it from, as the guy was born and raised in New Jersey…). I did understand clearly the “We love you Dimebag!” at the end of “In This River”.
www.facebook.com/blacklabelsociety
Venom
Only now, as writing this, did I realize that the oldest band of the bill was the only with material released in 2015. Funny. Not that it mattered that much, as Venom didn’t focus on that new album, “From The Very Depths”. If I’m correct, only “Rise” and “Long Haired Punks” were played. But we’re talking about a band that was founded 36 years ago and has released killer black/speed hits ever since – there’s no such thing as promoting an album nowadays, only mingling a couple of new tracks with a roll of classics.
Despite the late hour, and after so many mosh-friendly bands, the circle pits were back in full, matching the violence that the trio “out of Hell” unleashed.
www.facebook.com/pages/Venom-Band/197558207048784
There was still one more band left, “special guests” Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, who, as the name indicates, play black metal. For over two decades now. This year their debut EP “A Era do Abutre” (The Vulture’s Era) turned 20 years and they played a few shows to celebrate it. I believe they were invited to Vagos precisely for that anniversary. Still, black metal isn’t for everybody and the crowd wasn’t as big when they got on stage. And then there were those who wished they had left, as a desperate voice started screaming “go away, please!” at some point. Everybody – band included – laughed, but as the following song was “Morte Geométrica” (geometric death), singer/guitarist Belathauzer introduced it by saying that death wasn’t a bad thing, some people deserved death. Sounded to me like it was aimed at someone specific… The gig ended with “Labirito” (labyrinth), dedicated to “all our families”.
www.facebook.com/FiliiNigrantiumInfernalium
Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino
Note: we weren’t granted access to the photopit, so no gallery this year.
Thanks to Hugo Delgado for the memory card.
Vagos Open Air 2015 – 1st day
Posted in Festival, Live with tags Amorphis, Festival, Heaven Shall Burn, Moonshade, Portugal, Prime Artists, Scar For Life, Vagos, Vagos Open Air, Vildhjarta, VOA, Within Temptation on 12th August 2015 by PieniWithin Temptation, Amorphis, Heaven Shall Burn, Vildhjarta, Moonshade, Scar For Life
Quinta do Ega, Vagos (PT)
7th August 2015
Promoted by Prime Artists
Within Temptation
There’s a handful of great metal festivals in Portugal, but Vagos Open Air is the one that focus on international acts (without disregarding the local ones) and reaches out to a broader, not always so-extreme audience. This year we even had Within Temptation headlining the first day, while Bloodbath had the honor of doing so on the third. And if you’ve read some of my previous articles, you might know how one of my favorite quotes is “diversity is the spice of life”.
It was precisely due to Within Temptation’s busy schedule that the festival was anticipated one hour. I don’t know why they simply didn’t swap slots with Amorphis – it’s not like they’d lose the headliner status – but in the end I was glad they didn’t. Vagos is a somewhat windy town, but this year one could drop the “somewhat” out of the sentence. And add cold. So that extra hour in the sun was more than welcome, for a change.
Moonshade
Not sure if Scar For Life share my opinion though. But then again, despite their 7-year-old career and 4-album discography, they’re not exactly the most popular alternative/groovy metal band around here – even if they’d got on stage at 5 p.m., as originally announced, I doubt there would be a lot more people attending their show. And then they had some sound problems, which may have (or may have not…) led singer Rob Mancini to go often out of tune, and the crowd eventually got even scarcer. It’s a shame, really.
Moonshade, on the other hand, proved worthy of V.O.A.’s stage. “A small band”, as singer Ricardo Pereira described themselves, when thanking the crowd for coming and seeing them, but with a good live posture and performance. I was at the release party of their latest EP (see here), so I knew what to expect; still, it was a positive surprise to see how well it worked in a less intimate atmosphere and before such a more numerous audience.
www.facebook.com/moonshadeofficial
Vildhjarta
I was a little puzzled by Vildhjarta’s presence in this festival. A Meshuggah-like band who hasn’t released anything new in two years nor have near-future plans except for a vinyl edition of their only full-length “Måsstaden”. An experimental metal band who doesn’t even appear to play live that much, Brutal Assault in Czech Republic and Vagos itself apparently being the only dates this year. I guess that “little puzzled” is an understatement after all. But you know what? The crowd loved them! What I and many were skeptical about ended up in a big party, not only for the exquisite music but for the amusing guys who performed it. One of them – not sure if Vilhelm or Mynd – asking if we’d like some tea was kind of priceless.
www.facebook.com/vildhjartaofficial
Heaven Shall Burn
But it was Heaven Shall Burn who swept Vagos off its feet. Literally. The moshers and crowdsurfers had a field day. And the screamers too, as I believe this was the show with the loudest chorus sing-alongs in songs such as “Forlorn Skies”, the Edge Of Sanity cover of “Black Tears” or “Like Gods Among Mortals”. 15 years had passed since the last (and actually first) time the Germans had played in Portugal but as soon as singer Marcus Bischoff announced “Voice Of The Voiceless”, the fans knew exactly what to do and aligned for a wall of death, with no need for further instructions. Still regarding that first show, it seemed that no one had been there. Well, almost no one. One hand was raised when Marcus asked about it, joking then with the guy in response “oh yeah, you’re old enough”. But they also had the “youngest metal fan”, a 6-year-old kid who they called on stage close to the end. The kid was a bit confused, but headbanged his long hair here and there, marking the cutest moment of the whole festival.
www.facebook.com/officialheavenshallburn
Amorphis
Amorphis‘ show was as brilliant as HSB’s, but on another kind of level – whereas the Germans exceled in adrenaline, the Finns did it in intensity. The main reason is, obviously, the nature of each band, but the fact that Amorphis were celebrating 20 years of the legendary “Tales From The Thousand Lakes” added an unmatched emotional weight. Performed in its entirety in such a flawless, heartfelt way, you even forgot that Tomi Joutsen wasn’t the singer who recorded the album. The setlist was completed by a couple of songs from the very first “The Karelian Isthmus” (“Signs From The North Side” and “Vulgar Necrolatry”) and the most classic tracks from “Elegy”.
Within Temptation
Then Within Temptation soothed the moods down. Well, the “most metal” fans’ moods that is. The ones who liked the band were quite hyped by the pop-ish vibrancy of the Dutch. As headliners, they had enough time to promote their latest album, “Hydra”, and still visit all the others (except for the debut “Enter”, which I doubt they’ll ever play again, given the so much different style). One of the old ones was “Memories”, that Sharon den Adel said they hadn’t played in a long while and liked to dedicate to us. Among the newest we could hear “Paradise (What About Us?)”, “Dangerous” and “Covered By Roses”, and the Lana Del Rey cover of “Summertime Sadness”. No, not a metal gig, but that proverbial expression “they rocked!” was brought to life. Plus, Sharon is still able to jump around and sing at the same time without missing a note, not to mention the interaction she engages on with the crowd. So give it up, haters. It was a good show, that ended with the mandatory “Ice Queen”.
Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino
Note: we weren’t granted access to the photopit, so no gallery this year.
Laurus Nobilis Música Famalicão 2015 – metal day
Posted in Festival, Gig with tags Eden, Famalicão, Festa da Música, Festival, first edition, Laurus Nobilis, Louro, Mão Morta, More Than A Thousand, R.A.M.P. on 28th July 2015 by PieniMão Morta, R.A.M.P., More Than A Thousand, Éden
Louro, Famalicão (PT)
24th July 2015
Laurus Nobilis is a new 3-day festival in the north of Portugal. Each day is dedicated to a different genre of music – in fact, the alternative name of the fest is “Festa da Música” (Music Party) – the first being “heavy metal”, so off I went last Friday.
“Heavy Metal” in its general meaning, that is, as none of the four bands had such a traditional sound.
The first band, Éden, was supposed to get on stage at 19:30 but the show was delayed for about an hour. It wasn’t the band’s fault, not even the promoter’s. It’s just that it was a week-day, and despite being summer, a lot of people are still at work. Even at 20:30 there was only a fraction of the big crowd that would later pack nicely the area in front of the stage.
Éden is local band that’s been around for 20 years – although I confess it was the first time I’ve heard of them. Metal sung in Portuguese, with an alternative vibe and a very expressive singer. Despite the long career, it seems they only have two albums out – “Kaos” (1999) and “Ciclo Fechado” (2012) – but they’ve always been active, either playing live or working in other musical projects, so there wasn’t any hint of rustiness in their 
performance. Some people in the audience engaged in their sound right away but others – especially the kids who were already at the front row waiting for More Than A Thousand – were a little harder to convince. But in the song “Voa” (which means “fly”), frontman AguiarS smiled and said “you’re not flying… but we are!”. And that was amusing enough to make the more skeptical let themselves go to Éden’s sound.
For the last song, AguiarS left the stage while a couch was placed in front of the drumkit. He’d soon return wearing a white tunic and holding a staff, which automatically made me think of St. Peter. But since they have a song named “S.º Sinfrónio”, I believe that was the song that closed the gig.
Then More Than A Thousand stormed the stage with “Feed The Caskets”. Like I’ve said before, they had a legion of fans eager to see them – including me. MTAT announced early this month that they’re going into a hiatus, one with no foreseen expiration date, so I tip my hat to Laurus Nobilis promoters for recognizing the band’s talent (trust me – that’s not always the case around here, in their own home country) and giving them one more chance to say goodbye to their fans – some of them who were seeing MTAT for the first time and whom singer Vasco Ramos “welcomed to the family”. 
I’ve seen MTAT a couple of times before (a lot less than I’d like to, sadly) and the interaction between the band and the crowd feels indeed as if you’re among good friends. Vasco keeps the spirits up constantly, asking for screams, jumps, fists in the air and mosh pits, and the other members, even without a microphone, encourage the crowd just the same by clapping their hands or simply with their lively posture. So what if Vasco went out of tune once or twice? Their music is top-notch metalcore and the way they give themselves to it is a match. I was just hoping for a somewhat longer gig, but that understandable delay messed with every band’s schedule (except for the headliners, that is). Still we heard a fair share of their mandatory songs, the last being the usual “No Bad Blood”.
I’m not sure how famous R.A.M.P. are outside of Portugal, but here they’re close to legends – after all, they were the first metal band to enter the Portuguese music charts, back in 1998. And more than 25 years after their formation, and despite their latest album (“Visions”) being six years old already, they still stir crowds – because they’re one of those bands that always deliver a tremendous show, new material or not.
Also, they’re proof that metal can be as aggressive as amusing – that flood of heavy riffs and sharp beats always hand-in-hand with funny faces and teasing one another (bass player Sales, being the youngest and the shortest, is their favorite target…). Let’s not forget singer Rui Duarte’s remarks. I believe my favorite from this show was when there was a little misunderstanding 
regarding the next song to play. As I’ve said before, the schedules suffered some changes and it seems that Rui thought they’d be playing even less than they actually would. So he started introducing the ballad “Alone”, which he always dedicates to his mother, but drummer Paulinho called him, telling him there was still one song before that. “Okay, so this one is not for my mother, is for an ex-girlfriend”, was how he amended the introduction to “Clear”.
There were a lot of classics missing from this setlist, but since their last tour was a best-of one, to celebrate their 25th anniversary, it was refreshing listening to songs that I hadn’t heard live in a while. And by the crowd’s response, they were happy too.
I’m pretty sure that headliners Mão Morta (dead hand) are unknown to non-Portuguese natives. Here, they are huge. They’re considered avant-garde/death rock, but personally, I think they’re too unique to fit any label. The songwriting is dark, in a creepy kind of way, and then the lyrics address capitalism and politics in general, as well as human rights and basic instincts – sung in Portuguese, in Adolfo Luxúria Canibal’s overly-deep voice, it was almost impossible not being a success around here.
With 16 albums out – the latest, “Pelo Meu Relógio São Horas De Matar” (according to my watch it’s time to kill), released last year – the band delighted the audience with recent tracks just as “Os Ossos De Marcelo Caetano” (Marcelo Caetano’s bones) and “Pássaros A Esvoaçar” (birds flying), and old ones like “Tu Disseste” (you said) or “Anarquista Duval” (Duval the anarchist). It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but one look at all those people swaying to that sound and it was clear that the headlining role had been deserved.
I wasn’t at the other days of the festival, but this first one was convincing enough – a great place, with very welcoming people, diverse food spots and, of course, some of the finest names in our musical scene. See you next year!
Text & photos by Renata “Pieni” Lino
Gallery in our Facebook page here.
Quinphonic Festival Announces 2016 Line-Up
Posted in News with tags Birmingham, Black Phoenix Rising, Festival, Melodic, power, Prog, Quinphonic Festival, Quintuple, Roadhouse, symponic on 14th June 2015 by Mickelrath
After the success of this year’s festival, the world’s premier Quintuple header festival returns. ‘The Quinphonic Festival 2’ will feature five outstanding international symphonic / melodic / power / prog metal bands all, playing full one-hour sets. We happily announce the bands that are performing next year:
The enigmatic Evenoire from Italy
https://www.facebook.com/evenoire
The wondrous Wildpath from France
http://www.wildpath-music.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Wildpath.metal.band
The lavish La Ventura from the Netherlands
http://www.facebook.com/LaVenturaNL
The hypnotic Hydra from Germany
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialHydra
The dynamic Dakesis from England
https://www.facebook.com/Dakesis
The day of metal goodness will take place at The Roadhouse in Birmingham, UK on Bank Holiday Sunday, 27th March 2016 from 3pm till 11pm.
Information regarding ticket sales will follow in due course.
Edinburgh’s Sonic Mass: stoner, psych, doom, sludge and more
Posted in Interview with tags Edinburgh, Ewen Cameron, Festival, sonic mass on 23rd March 2015 by Paul MacmillanIn the last Scottish fest interview, we looked at BOB Fest, one of the country’s longest running events of its type. This time around, the focus is on a brand new show, Sonic Mass, organised by Edinburgh based Pisschrist Promotions, and entertainment website Echoes And Dust. Pisschrist have continuously hosted some great up and coming names in their relatively short existence, including Karma To Burn, White Wizard, and Jex Thoth. Sonic Mass sees them up the game, with a double-figure bill.
Again, this is a project (jointly) managed by a musician, with Pisschrist owner, Ewen Cameron, laying down the low-end in Cthulhu worshipping doom troupe Atragon. Cornered and nursing a hangover, he was kind enough to mumble some responses to what I’m sure was some very welcome pestering.
Valkyrian Music: Hey Ewen, how are you this fine evening?
Ewen Cameron: Hungover, tired and suffering from pretty bad tinnitus.
VM: What were up to to cause such a bangover?
EC: I’ve just finished a run of four days of shows, three of which I was promoting.
VM: Ouch! Well, I’m going to pick what’s left of your brain about your new Sonic Mass event. Can you give us a brief description of what it is?
EC: Sure, it is a weekender dedicated to all things space rock, prog, doom or sludgy. It is the brainchild of myself and Sander, the editor of the website Echoes and Dust.
VM: Why a stoner-prog-space rock theme?
EC: There’s a number of festivals in the country dedicated to doom and stoner stuff, and a lot dedicated to the more psychedelic end of things. We felt there was room for something more eclectic. We didn’t set out with a strict list of genres we wanted to target, we just knew the vibe the event should have, and went from there. There’s a focus on the experimental, the weird, the psychedelic. Don’t expect us to book anything too clichéd or run of the mill!
VM: You’ve been part of building that scene for a while now, right?
EC: I’ve been promoting for about 3 years now. There was a lack of heavy gigs in Edinburgh, as a few great promoters all called it a day around the same time.
VM: That’s some good timing!
EC: It wasn’t so much a case of good timing. More of a case of “If I don’t, who will?
VM: Strangely enough though, some people think the small festival market in the UK has reached saturation point. Do you think there is room for more events like this?
EC: I’d certainly agree that the music scene in Scotland at the moment is healthy. Possibly too healthy. It has reached the point where people cannot afford to attend all the shows they would like to. Even a small festival is a big ask for your average punter. Not everyone works Monday to Friday, and two days of loud music / drinking isn’t great for the body or the wallet. I see the future of these events being more niche-focussed, and designed to bring in crowds from further afield, rather than the current, local scene approach. Scenes only ever hold a certain number of people, so you limit your maximum attendees. We had a people from Aberdeen, London, Manchester, etc travel to Edinburgh for Sonic Mass.
VM: If you’re talking about niche markets, you must have to be deeply involved in the relevant genre. How important is personal taste in a project like Sonic Mass?
EC: Hugely. The number one requirement for us is that we like the band. I’ve always maintained that rule as promoter. I’ve never put on a show to make money and never will. I put on the bands I want to see and that is it. When it comes to Sonic Mass, Sander and I pick a list of potential bands we both like and fit the vibe of the event. Obviously the local scene is important too and we’d never run it without a good collection of local bands that fit the vibe.
VM: To be honest, it seems better that way. There are too many people putting on shows based on what they think the numbers will be, then wonder why the audience dries up after a year or so.
EC: Definitely. It is impossible to predict every outcome. Some promoters think that a band that brought 50 people last year will bring 75 this year, but that’s rarely the case.
VM: With the first SM done and dusted, and a second one possibly in October, what have you learned, and what would you like to change?
EC: We’ve still to set a date but October seems likely. It will come down to availability of bands. We’ve got some names we know we want to book for it. Ideally we’d like grow the festival to include more acts, probably a second venue involved, earlier starts. The second one is definitely going to be a case of more of the same; we didn’t have too many issues other than the obligatory late running. Totally my fault, but it did mean some attendees missed the end of headliners sets, as they had to leave for trains, buses etc. I’ve been attending gigs in Glasgow for years and missed so many sets due to late finishes, so I feel their pain. That is definitely something we’ll tighten up on for number 2.
VM: Are there any bands you’d like to book for SM who seem like a pipe dream at the moment?
EC: Yeah, but if you’d told me last year about some of the bands I’m booking this year, I’d have not believed you, so I’m happy to entertain these thoughts. Ideally for myself, Ufomammut, 40 Watt Sun, Ahab would be my top 3.
VM: So, it pays to dream, then!
EC: Yeah, I started out booking some local bands to play in a 70 capacity venue, with no idea what I was doing. Now I’m putting on bands from the other side of the world that I never expected to see, let alone promote a show for.
VM: Well, that about wraps it up! Thank you for taking the time talk. Before you go, though, I’ll ask you what I asked (BOB Fest organiser) Luke James in the last interview: Do you have any closing advice for those thinking of taking on a similar event?
EC: Book bands you genuinely like, don’t expect to make any money, and lay off the beers until the headliners are on stage each night, if you can.
by Paul Macmillan
Penicuik’s annual BOB Fest is ten years old this summer!
Posted in Interview with tags BOB Fest, Festival, Interview, Luke James, Penicuik on 13th March 2015 by Paul MacmillanIt’s a well-known fact amongst those familiar with the live UK music scene that small festivals and yearly events have come up along with the big boys in recent years. New yearly events spring up all the time. As well as applying to most genres, it also applies to most regions. Scotland is no different, giving fans the option of almost year round metal entertainment, with repeating events which are a little something more than just another gig.
One such event, and one of the longest running north of the border, is BOB Fest. Based in Penicuik, Midlothian, it has been running every year since 2006, operating an open air format when weather permits. Valkyrian music caught up with organiser Luke James – who also plays for Dog Tired and Torn Face – to interrogate him about the projects ins, outs, ups and downs.
Valkyrian Music: Hey Luke, how are you doing today?
Luke James: Alright man, doing away
VM: Thanks for taking time to talk about BOB Fest!
LJ: No worries, happy to!
VM: I guess the first and foremost question is ‘Why?’. What made you want to start BOB Fest all those years ago?
LJ: We started putting on our own gigs in Penicuik all those years ago because there was absolutely nothing happening with live music. The first few we put on were a success so we thought we would ramp it up and make the all-dayer, BOB FEST!
VM: We? So you don’t run it alone – there’s a team?
LJ: I run it alone but back in the first BOB we were all total broke. Fresh out of school and no job in sight. The Penicuik Town hall were thieving goons, and demanded a ridiculous price for the hall, so the only way we managed to book the gig was if all the bands chipped in for the price of the hall, and we would pay everyone back at the end. That’s why there was a ‘We’; because there was no way I could have started this without the other bands help. Once I got a job and rationed my beer money, by BOB fest 2 I footed the bills myself. Been doing so ever since. I will give credit to Barry (Buchanan) from Dog Tired, too, though. He has helped out ever since he started in DT.
VM: It’s good to acknowledge your roots!
LJ: Definitely!
VM: What is the ethos of the event? How do you pick the line-up?
LJ: The ethos from day one is that it’s a festival built for having fun! BOB FEST is always full of people wanting to have a great time. Since BOB FEST 1 there has always been a friendly, drunken, family atmosphere, where people pit and worship Heavy Metal. I like to think that the bands that play let go and really enjoy themselves. At BOB there’s nothing to prove. It’s just a group of like-minded people partying. A lot of the bands that have played in past Bobs I had seen live, playing alongside them over the years in Dog Tired and Torn Face. This doesn’t mean that it’s just mates that play; if people are interested in playing, message the Bob fest page and I’ll get back to them.
VM: Quite a community spirit, then.
LJ: Definitely! Penicuik has a unique Metal community and spirit. They will burst out laughing reading that. Somehow, this scaffy wee town in Midlothian has always had a belting metal scene.
VM: What do you think has been the hardest thing about running BOB Fest?
LJ: Bands not showing and cancelling either on the day, or the night before. That sucks major balls. The main challenge is the weather. In 2012 I put Bob Fest 6 out in the green for an open air experience. It was an incredible day, sun blazing and the smell of beer and spew in the air! What was also great was the fact that the whole town heard it! Tonnes of complaints naturally flooded The Craigiebield after, and the police arrived, but it was a day I will never forget. I planned to do this in 8 and 9 but the Penicuik weather system had another agenda. It rained so much 2 days before, that – on both occasions – the grass was actually flooded. There was not even a chance of putting up a gazebo, unless a band were happy sinking into the ground during the solo. The amount of effort that goes into organising an open air gig for it to rain last minute is extremely frustrating. Perhaps in the future I’ll give it another shot, but not this year.
VM: Do you have any favourite moments that still stick out in your mind?
LJ: Too many! Where to begin? Adam Poustie from Edgeville Hellride’s victory speech after the cake eating competition was legendary. The faces of the poor folk that got involved in the chilli eating competition will never be forgotten, either. I think people nearly died that day.
LJ: There have been so many great bands that have played that I couldn’t mention all the highlights I remember. Having crowd pleasers Certain Death, epic tyrants Firebrand Super Rock, Achren and Man of the Hour definitely ruled though. Back in BOB 1 it was bring your own booze! Many ridiculous moments then. 10 years on, its still going strong, with a growing fan-base.
VM: Ten years is a long time! Have you ever felt like packing it in?
LJ: It is a long time. I’ve thought about, maybe, in the far future, passing it down to someone. I would love to be wheeled into BOB FEST 30 as an old man. It is that one day of the year that people from all over join friends and family, and party listening to metal. I don’t think there is any need to stop that.
VM: Are you happy, then, with where the show is now, or do you have ambitions to take it somewhere new?
LJ: I’m always looking to make BOB FEST bigger and better every year. Whether that be the annual eating competition, or the bands I am booking. This year will also be Dog Tired’s 10th anniversary, so I’m planning to make it huge.
VM: Sounds like it’ll be a huge blow out, then! You guys party hard!
LJ: Penicuik parties hard!
VM: Indeed! Well, that about wraps it up. Thank you again for your time! Do you have any closing advice for those thinking of taking on a similar event?
LJ: Thanks man. For advice I’d say go for it! If you want to make your own night/alldayer/festival’ it can be done! Get all the essentials booked in place well before the event. Things like backline/P.A/stage, if needed. Then promote it! A Facebook event page won’t do. Poster the surrounding area, and get friends to help with flyering. Be kind to all bands that are playing, and make sure you compensate bands that travelled from further afield. We all love metal, but we’ve all got to make ends meet.
by Paul Macmillan
BOB FEST 10 takes place on Saturday the 18th of July at the Craigiebield House Hotel In Penicuik. Tickets will be available at the door. The event page and the bands will be announced soon.
Valkyrian Music 