KARMØYGEDDON 2016 – Day 2 – Kopervik

The second day is the "official opening" of this nice spring adventure. Somewhat nice weather mixed with bands, beer(/soda for the non 18 people) and great people equals Karmøygeddon day two!

Sweden is known for Abba, Death Metal and Power Metal when it comes to their music, and they chose to send a representative of the Power Metal genre to wake people up for the second day of Karmøygeddon. BLOOD BOUND acted on stage like a band of their genre is supposed to: Very happy to see their fans and to perform, while still being some of the most skilled performers in the room. People responded nicely to Blood Bound’s music, even if some of them hadn’t heard alot of it prior to the concert. The sound was great and the stage provided a grand feeling to the festival. Blood Bound filled the stage nicely and they didn’t get boring or overstay their welcome. They made a great example of how a concert should feel to people: Fun and nice.

To replace Pagan’s Mind that cancelled their show, Karmøygeddon got CIRCUS MAXIMUS. Another Norwegian progressive group. Like Leprous, Circus Maximus really knows how to play their instruments with a precision that almost makes no sense because how good it is. The execution of their songs were flawless, the sound was great and so were the feeling the band provided from the stage. The audience basically ended up with a lovely experience.

Now that people had gotten themselves some Power Metal from Sweden and some Prog. Metal from Eastern Norway, it was time for Bergen to show off their Black Metal heritage. ORKAN performed on the smaller stage. Somewhat fitting for a band of this genre, seeing as it was always supposed to be more "underground". The music was a nice, while still new edition of Black Metal. The sound in the room did however not fit the band’s sound too good and it whinded up being a somewhat weird mix. In the end, the fans got what they came for in the music and atmosphere.

SNOWY SHAW… what can be said about this guy other than the fact that he really knows how to give the audience a good time. Alot of costumes and props, as well as a bunch of interesting covers ranging from Black Metal stuff to songs closer to Mercyful Fate is what the people got served when the band entered the stage. At one point, "Shaw" sat down with his guitar and made the whole stage feel like a camp fire situation where everyone sang a wonderful little song befor going to bed. That is literally one of the most interesting moves an artist can do. It wasn’t just that a calm song was being played, but it was the complete shift in atmosphere. That takes alot of power from the artists to do something like that, and Snowy Shaw did it perfectly. All in all a great experience from a super fun and yet still professional artist.

Talking about atmosphere… KATATONIA is one band that obviously knows how that works. The band built their whole prformance on songs with a heavy atmosphere and great build ups. Sadly for them, they were placed after Snowy Shaw, and therefore had to live with the fact that they followed a very energetic and up beat show with a slow moving and calm performance. Had the two switched places, more people would probably think that Katatonia had delivered a great and strong show, but since the reality is that they played when they did, the impression some of the audience got was closer to feeling that the show was somewhat down beat and boring. Again, this isn’t really the band’s fault. The show was great and carried alot of dark energy in it. It’s just that it was placed at the wrong time of the evening.

While KAMELOT might not be a Swedish band per se, they do have a Swedish vocalist, and that almost counts as being another Swedish Power Metal band. Kamelot has a much darker take on the genre than alot of other bands, and they like to explore Power Metal a bit more through the eyes of a horror movie character, it seems. However, the show was absolutely lively and nice. The connection these guys made with their audience was just fantastic. It really did lift the show alot just to see how they treated the whole room. The set list was a little wobbly and Kobra Paige doesn’t really work with Kamelot, but the hardcore Kamelot fans did not leave this concert disappointed. The band’s performance was great, the sound guys did a good job and the lights worked alot in Kamelot’s favor!

Final band of the evening representet Power Metal’s bigger and weirder cousin, Folk Metal, and not just any band. Finnish Folk Metal giants, FINNTROLL, came to give the people of Karmøy a great experience. The sad part is that the sound guys that did Kamelot must have gone home, because Finntroll’s sound was weak and it really hurt the concert alot. The keyboards were incredibly hard to hear and on top of this, the band only seemed to be halfway as invested in their performance as they usually are. The fans seemed to enjoy it somewhat, seeing as they either did a never ending mosh pit, or danced until they couldn’t feel their feet anymore. Not a great or memorable performance, but fun nontheless.

As the second day came to a close, it was more apparent what this festival is focusing on; giving the sub genres of metal that aren’t the most brutal or "trve" a chance to thrive. The music is in many ways just as good, but glossed over by many because of a single element that might turn one off to the idea of it all. Karmøygeddon is proof that all forms of metal and rock can entertain just as much.

 

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