EISTNAFLUG 2016
- Posted on 03-07-2016
EISTNAFLUG er Islands største metalfestival. Den ble første gang arrangert i 2005, den gang som en liten endags festival for fans og av fans. EISTNAFLUG har vokst seg større siden den gang og er i dag en fire dagers festival med to scener og 77 band der noen av de islandske bandene spiller to ganger.
Lokasjonen for EISTNAFLUG er den lille byen Neskaupstadur. Byen ligger helt øst på Island hele 70 mil fra hovedstaden Reykajvik. Landets hovedflyplass ligger ved Keflavik, ca 5 mil vest/sør-vest for hovedstaden. Derfra til Neskaupstadur kan du velge å kjøre bil. Du kan også velge buss, men da må du regne med to bussbytter. Det siste valget du kan ta er fly, men da må du først komme deg fra Keflavik og inn til Reykjavik med enten bus eller bil. Og fra Reykjaviks egen flyplass før du tar et lokalt fly til Egilsstadir og derfra med bil eller buss. Kanskje den mest kronglete måten.
EISTNAFLUG 2015 kunne by på blant andre BEHEMOTH, CARCASS, KVELERTAK, ENSLAVED, GODFLESH, IN SOLITUDE, INQUISITION, ROTTING CHRIST og SOLSTAFIR samt en hel del mindre kjente islandske band. Under fjorårets festival spilte i underkant av 40 band, mens antall band i år er økt til nesten det dobbelte. Denne store økningen skyldes at det er lagt til en ekstra dag (onsdagen) og en stor økning i antall islandske band. Det er som i fjor "bare" åtte til ti store navn i lineupen: MARDUK, HATESPHERE, MELECHESH, IMMOLATION, BELPHEGOR, AMORPHIS, OPETH og MESHUGGAH.
MARDUK
INTERVJU MED BOOKINGSJEF
GISLI SIGMUNDSSON
(Av Rune Grande)
What can you tell us about the history of Eistnaflug? When and how did it start?
Eistnaflug started in 2005 when the founder of the festival, Stefán Magnússon, or Stebbi as he’s known as, had been living for about a year in Neskaupsstaður. Coming from the punk / metal scene in Reykjavik, Stebbi missed the music scene and decided to set up a gig. He got in touch with his friends and 8 Icelandic bands got on a bus and played what was the first Eistnaflug. About 50 people bought tickets and everyone had so much fun that Stebbi decided to do it again next year. Since then it’s been slowly expanding to where we are today.
I don’t like to talk about it, but Iceland had some major economic problems a while back. Did that have any effect on Eistnaflug?
Almost everyone in Iceland was affected to some extent by the economic issues few years ago, but thankfully as Eistnaflug was a lot smaller back then the effects were limited. We probably got a few fewer guests than we would otherwise have, but back then we hadn’t really started getting international bands. Today we would be much more affected just because the scope of the festival is much bigger.
Iceland is a little bit outside the rest of Europe. Do you have a lot of foreigners coming to your festival?
Thankfully the interest from abroad has been slowly growing the last few years, so we are getting more and more foreign guests every year. We are really happy that people are willing to make the trip to visit us, we know it’s not the easiest or cheapest, but we hope that people feel it is worth it.
If for example a group of Norwegians want to go to Eistnaflug this year, what is your best advice when it comes to tickets, travel and hotel?
My best advice for anyone planning a trip to Eistnaflug is to plan early and book early, especially the accommodation. The closest accommodation goes fast, but there are good options in nearby towns and people are starting to use those options more and more. But it’s easiest if you manage to beat the rush.
Iceland has a rather unique nature with great landmarks and attractions. Do you arrange sightseeing and trips for the festival people so they can experience some of these treasures?
We have not been able to expand into that yet at least, although that is not a bad idea for the future. There are however plenty of options ranging from walks in the surrounding areas to organized tourist trips around various parts of the country. Everyone should be able to find something to their tastes.
What is the grand vision for Eistnaflug, and how does this festival differ from other festivals?
Our main goal is that people have fun and leave happy. That extends to everyone, organizers, staff, bands and of course our guests. We want to keep growing the festival, bring in interesting bands, showcase new Icelandic talent and just have a massive amount of fun that one weekend in July!
Has this year’s line-up been received as well as previous years?
If anything this year’s line-up has been received even better. When we expanded the festival last year we brought the biggest line-up that we had done yet and I think we set the bar pretty high for a small festival like us. But we feel, and the feedback that we’ve gotten seems to justify it, that we’ve at least matched that line-up and even surpassed it. So we’re really happy how it has been received this year.
Is there a focus on getting more local bands to grow forth with Eistnaflug?
We try to help the local bands as much as we can when we can, and this year we have a record number of Icelandic bands on the bill. In our opinion it is in everyone’s benefit if the scene gets more attention abroad, both the bands and the festival will benefit in the long run. Thankfully we are seeing more and more Icelandic bands break out of Iceland, getting record deals and doing tours abroad. In some cases we can say we played a small part, and hopefully we can do more of that in the future.
What makes Iceland the best place to have a metal festival?
I’m not sure it is possible to explain. I think people just need to visit us and experience it for themselves. We would be happy to show you all!
LITT INFO OM FESTIVALEN
Billetter:
Festivalpass: ISK 20000 (tilsvarer ca NOK 1360)
Dagspass onsdag: ISK 10000 (tilsvarer ca NOK 680)
Dagspass torsdag: ISK 14500 (tilsvarer ca NOK 985)
Dagspass fredag: ISK 14500 (tilsvarer ca NOK 985)
Dagspass lørdag: ISK 18000 (tilsvarer ca NOK 1225)
Billetter bestiller du fra tix.is
Overnatting:
Det er to campingplasser i eller ved Neskaupstadur
I tillegg er det to hoteller i byen samt hhv tre og to i de nærliggende byene Eskifjordur og Reydarfjordur.
IMMOLATION
Program:
Onsdag 6. juli
Boli Stage
17:00 MEISTARAR DAUðANS
17:50 MOMENTUM
18:45 CELESTINE
19:45 HATESPHERE
20:45 MUCK
21:50 MAGNI
23:20 MARDUK
00:50 AGENT FRESCO
01:50 ÚLFUR ÚLFUR
Torsdag 7. juli
Boli Stage
17:00 IN THE COMPANY OF MEN
17:50 PINK STREET BOYS
18:45 ZHRINE
19:45 KOLRASSA KROKRIðANDI
20:45 MELECHESH
21:50 ENSIMI
23:20 IMMOLATION
00:50 DR SPOCK
02:05 MISþYRMING
Brennivin Stage
14:00 GLORYRIDE
14:45 BROT
15:30 SKRATTAR
16:15 GORESQUAD
17:00 URðUN
17:50 NYKUR
18:40 DRK HARVEST
19:35 ABOMINOR
20:30 SÓLSTAFIR
21:45 ANGIST
22:45 DYNFARI
23:40 STROFF
00:40 OTTOMAN
01:35 ENDLESS DARK
02:35 LUCY IN BLUE
Fredag 8. juli
Boli Stage
17:00 ONI
17:50 SAKTMÓðIGUR
18:45 BENEATH
19:45 KONTINUUM
20:45 BELPHEGOR
21:50 DIMMA
23:20 AMORPHIS
00:50 SÓLSTAFIR
02:05 THE VINTAGE CARAVAN
Brennivin Stage
14:00 BLACK DESERT SUN
14:45 HATARI
15:30 SAILS OF DECEIT
16:15 GRIT TEETH
17:00 SKURK
17:50 MANNVEIRA
18:40 CONFLICTIONS
19:35 NAðRA
20:30 LIGHTSPEED LEGEND
21:25 CELESTINE
22:20 MOMENTUM
23:20 BOOTLEGS
00:15 CASIO FATSO
01:10 DEFEATED SANITY
02:25 PERTURBATOR
Lørdag 9. juli
Boli Stage
17:00 GLERAKUR
17:50 STROFF
18:45 FUFANU
20:00 OPETH
21:45 MESHUGGAH
23:15 HAM
00:30 DISCO PARTY
Brennivin Stage
14:00 ANDRI ÍVARS
14:45 ALMYRKVI
15:30 MAMMÚT
16:35 REDUCED TO ASH
17:25 WORLD NARCOSIS
18:15 DULVITUND
19:05 NARTHRAAL
19:55 GRAFIR
20:50 GREAT GRIEF
21:45 CHURCHHOUSE CREEPERS
22:40 KÆLAN MIKLA
23:35 AUðN
00:30 OPHIDIAN I
01:25 SINMARA
02:25 SEVERED
