BLASTFEST 2016 – Day 4 – Bergen – USF Verftet

And so my journey comes to an end… Day 4, rise and shine, and after a great day in Bergen rock city, me and my partners in crime find ourselves at Studio, where Karmøy-bound Evig Natt opens the final day of the festival. Both the band and yours sincerley are quite surprised by the great attendance so early after 3 days of metal and mayhem, horns up to all who was there. The bands mix between goth, doom and death is not a bad way to start the day, add growling and clean female vocal, and you get the audience right where you want them. The highlight for me was acctually the last song of the set, a brand new track from the upcoming album, and by the sound of it we can all look forward to the release late march this year.

Khold is the first band on the big stage this afternoon, here you get catchy black & roll from a band in great shape, with vocalist Gard is showing all black metal wannabes how to put on facepaint. Some idiot shouts "If you want pina colada" between two of the songs, some people just never grow up. Anyway, excellent performance, not the most enthusiastic crowd, but hey, its day 4! I feel alive and kicking again, and prepared to check out next band up at the small stages, namely Vredehammer. I have just recently really started to dig into this band, and I absolutly love their take on black metal. No disapointment  tonight, tight and well played, and only adding to my newfound enthusiasm for the band. Vocalist Per gets some guitar issues before the last song of the show, but that does not stop these guys from finsishing in style.

Allright, time for the big stage again, and Einherjer. And man, what a show they delivered! There is something in Einherjers music that is almost impossible to explain, something ancient and primitive, it hits me deep in my soul like Thors hammer, just fucking fantastic. The crowd is going wild, new boy Ole shines like the guitar hero he is, and the other three guys seems to enjoy the response they get with a big smile on their faces. Einherjer totaly owns Blastfest this evening, and can add another great performance to their already impressive collection of faboulus live shows. A band you simply must experience live if you have the chance, at least once in your lifetime.

I skip Sahg and Blood Tsunami for a well deserved beer or two, and return to the big stage in time for Red Harvest, this mighty machine of a band. The massive and industrial metal takes hold of everyone present, and holds you down all the way througout the set. And what a presence the great Ofu Khan has, he owns the room, as he probably owns every room he walks in to. Respect to bassplayer Thomas, who is wearing a Bombers t-shirt for the occasion, a friendly nod to the great Lemmy, as well as Abbath playing later.

In Vain. And…the dissapointment of the festival is a fact. I love In Vain, and they do nothing wrong. But the sound is just terrible. I try to move around to see(hear?) if it helps, but no luck. Its just really, really bad. Ok, we are talking about 52 bands playing over 4 days, its just to bad its In Vain that has to pull the shortest straw. The funny thing is that some agreed with me afterwards, some didnt. But I can only hear what I heard, end of that. I have seen them before with great sound, so I know what they are capable of.

And so…there are a few albums that has a life of its own. The music seems timeless, and you cant remember how the world used to be before this perticular album came along. "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" is one of those albums… Released in 2001, and frequently in my ears ears ever since. To be able to experience this live has been a dream, and here we are, the dream has come alive. The atmosphere is tense, and there is no doubt that Im not the only one in the audience who has been waiting for this. And then it begins.. I knew it would be good, I knew it would be fantastic, even so, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Im not only interested in music, music is my life. And this is one of the greatest musical moments of my life. There are moments even Pink Floyd can only dream about, and there are moments when the music flows in a way that is just ridicoulus great. And the voice of Kjetil Nordhus…This is a voyage where he needs to express different emotions, and to hear how this man does so in such a natural and controled way is something you need to hear for your selves. I can only bow down and say thank you, I will never EVER forget this evening.

And.. there it ends for me… After 4 days and overwhelmed by Green Carnations performance I call it a night, without even giving Abbath one thought. Sorry my good man. My friends who stayed to the bitter end is full of praise to legend of Blashyrkh and Im happy for them and him. Blastfest 2016 is over, what a couple of great days this has been, I have seen nothing but smiling faces, from the audience to the staff, security and artist. What a BLAST!

So, I missed your band? You dont agree with me? You think all my reviews are useless? Fear not, look me up at Karmøygeddon 2016 and I will explain why my opinion is better than yours, and buy you a beer while you sit still and listen. See you there!

 

For flere bilder, sjekk http://www.eternal-terror.com/gallery/view.php?id=3053