HOLE IN THE SKY 09 med fullt program

HOLE IN THE SKY 09 med fullt program

Årets Hole in the Sky Festival i Bergen er den 10. i rekken og det betyr feiring og en del overraskelser. Den første overraskelsen man får er at i år varer festivalen i 5 dager. Det hele starter tirsdag 25. august med 4 band og SAHG som headliner og deretter går det slag i slag til og med lørdag 29. august der GORGOROTH avslutter festivalens siste dag. Den andre, og kanskje største overraskelsen av dem alle, er at det ved første øyekast kan virke som om de helt store navna mangler.
Det gjør de forsåvidt, men det finnes en del større mellomstore navn her som for eksempel CYNIC, PENTAGRAM, CANDLEMASS, ENSLAVED, ABSU og VOIVOD. Fra etasjen under finner vi band som AURA NOIR, NECROPHOBIC, NIFELHEIM og TAAKE. Går man enda lengre ned i kjelleren dukker det opp navn som BEHEXEN, ARCHGOAT, NECROS CHRISTOS, KOLDBRANN og NEGURA BUNGET. Man kan forstå ledelsen i Hole in the Sky at de har booket edruelig og unngår de dyre bandene i en vanskelig økonomisk tid, men jeg synes festivalen har klart å få til en spennende line up til tross for dette. Jeg skal ikke sitte her og påstå at dette er "billige" band, men sammenlignet med mange andre festivaler er det vel ingen tvil om at HITS har gjort mange kloke valg. Til tross for en av de mest extreme HITS line up noensinne, vil jeg påstå at dette er mindre extremesport enn hva for eksempel Hellfest bedriver. Hellfest booker store dyre navn over hele fjøla som er å finne i de fleste festival line uper i hele Europa og må kompensere med mange mindre ukjente band for å fylle opp programmet og de må omtrent selge ut for å overleve. HITS derimot unngår dette ved å i hovedsak kun booke band som ikke spiller seg ihjel på festivaler og som ikke koster skjorta og dermed får en mye mer spennende line up som vil trekke folk uansett. Jeg håper og tror at dette vil bli nok en uforglemmelig festival i vestlandshovedstaden og jeg er rimelig sikker på at de fleste festivaldeltagerne og medlemmer fra bransje og presse vil være enige at uansett hvordan man snur og vender på det, så er HITS den koseligste metalfestivalen i hele verden.

 

BACK IN BLACK: Hole in the Sky announces full line-up

Hole in the Sky takes you underground again. Well, sort of. Last year we had a fantastic selection of legendary thrash and death metal acts, fired up newbie’s and some mind-blowing party fuelled mosh bands. In the wake of the festival, we realized one thing missing though: the corpse paint! Over the past few years there’s been less and less black metal and in fact Norwegian bands in general, so this being our 10 year anniversary we thought it was time to take things a bit back to basics.
 
Hole in the Sky X is a celebration of the darker and more gloomy aspects of the metal scene. The Underground is the new loud and there is a broad selection of aspiring talent in this installment of the festival. We hope you will enjoy getting to know these bands as much as we have in the process of putting the line-up together.
 
We’re also going to revisit extreme metal history with the very talented group Enslaved as hosts. Joined by a spectacular selection of metal royalty such as Darkthrone, Mayhem and Emperor, performing songs not heard in a long, long time – or in some cases, dare we say ever?
 
To tie in with this homage to our roots and Norwegian extreme metal, another classic pairing is set to take place for the first time in Bergen since 1996. Infernus has teamed up with vocalist Pest from the classic mid nineties Gorgoroth line-up. Together with Obituary bass player Frank Watkins, the duo will, without a doubt, write a new and exciting chapter in the notorious Gorgoroth saga.  A live concert from this bunch is a sight to behold, and without revealing too much, this exclusive show will be no exception. The band has even promised to reintroduce some tracks from the legendary “Pentagram” album, which hasn’t been played for nearly 15 years.
 
There’s a bunch of firsts this time around too. Who would have thought that legendary Bobby Liebling would take his legendary Pentagram to Scandinavia for the first time ever? Underground favourites Faustcoven is making their live debut on Hole in the Sky, and then there’s Necros Christos, Portrait, Behexen, Archgoat and Absu all doing their first shows in Norway.
 
Being our 10-year anniversary, we’ve included the Tuesday in the line-up too, named Hole in the Sky: Incoming, which has some sort of a showcase vibe to it. Both Sahg, Kvelertak, Deride and Krakow have new albums coming out shortly. This is the perfect opportunity to check out where these talented artists are heading.
 
As a massive thank you to our loyal visitors that buy tickets and sell out the Garage venue even before you know who’s playing, we’ve decided to give you a little treat to show our appreciation. At time of going to print, all club passes were gone, but keep checking back for reservations not collected.
 
It will be a great celebration for almost a week to end, so make sure you check out our webpages for updates on happenings, DJ program, listening parties and all the good stuff that comes with an event of this nature.
 
See you in August.
Infernus of Gorgoroth
Tuesday – Hole in the Sky: Incoming
 
Sahg
Kvelertak
Deride
Krakow
 
Wednesday – Don’t Break the Oath
 
Necrophobic
Negura Bunget
Portrait
Faustcoven
 
Thursday – Servants of Darkness
 
Nifelheim
Anniversary surprise
Koldbrann
Necros Christos
Behexen
 
Friday – Technical Ecstasy
 
Enslaved: A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Voivod
Candlemass
Cynic
Absu
She Said Destroy
 
Saturday – Revelation of Doom
 
Gorgoroth
Pentagram
Aura Noir
Taake
Sarke
Archgoat