Melodi Grind Prix took place on the 13th of January at Vaterland. This mainly Hardcore and Grindcore festival featured Beaten to Death, Rat Lord, Kobol, Higgs Boson, Makkmat, Gummo and Avgrunsljud. 

 

The first band Kobol was a really good start for a festival that promised lots of extreme fun. Kobol are a straightforward and energetic blend of downtuned and therefore darker hardcore with neckbreaking grind riffs interspersed. They did their best to get the crowd energy going.

 

 

Gummo was up next, they had a great vibe to them with the singer talking to the crowd. The guitarist also played bass parts using his pedals, he did an awesome job at it. Their relentless drummer brought the energy for the rest of the band to give their best. They had a lot of groove and old school death metal type breaks. The singer was jumping around in the crowd and in front of them. You could see that people were really starting to get into it and that the band were too.

 

When Higgs Boson turn came, the crowd went absolutely crazy. The singer was everywhere including laying on the floor while letting his vocal pipes go wild. Members of the crowd were falling on the stage moshing and you could tell everyone was having a blast. The same level of energy kept on with Avgrunsljud who play a pretty angry and hardcore with slight and brief riffs with Norwegian BM influences. 

 

Rat Lord, the masked trio from Bergen brought some really good tunes to a crowd craving more good Hardcore. Their music can be pretty warm and rhythmic at times inspired a lot by the New York Hardcore scene which was a winner with the audience. In spite of other influences, the band’s cold Norwegianess surfaces giving it a slightly blackened atmosphere

 

It was delightful to see Beaten to Death and Makkmat again, the last time it happened was at a big stage with thousands of people at Obscene Extreme before the plague times. In spite of the considerable venue size difference this time, the concerts were pure energy and the audience reflected that. 

 

Makkmat are a band that in spite of being young has already been a part of many grind festivals abroad and have shared stage with established names within the scene. Their sound preserves the old school grindcore vibes performed with furious speed and brutal density which brings them close to the goregrind sound at times.

 

Beaten to Death was one of my favorites that night due to their uniqueness and extreme brutal and yet melodious and fun music. They have given many  concerts in Oslo already, some were sold out, and they have already established their name in the grindcore scene abroad. They have a pretty original blend of many influences within extreme music, all played with skilled musicianship. This time we got to see some old and brutal songs like Dødsfest which is highly enjoyable under any venue condition. In general the festival was pretty good, so hopefully it will continue as the scene hardcore/grindcore scene has lots to offer.