Tusmørke@Tons of Rock 2018Photo by Andrea Chirulescu Editor Note – our photographer has attended the wonderful Tusmørke concert and right after that got a chance to sit down for an interview with the band, thus missing some of the bands reviewed by our colleague Nichlas at the beginning of the 3rd day. …
Sibiir@Tons of Rock 2018Photo by Andrea Chirulescu The first band of day 2 was the Norwegian up-and-comers, Sibiir, which plays an interesting mix of hardcore and extreme metal. Their sound on stage wasn’t too bad (even if it was in the tent) and they had a decent crowd watching them (even if it…
Festival Crowd@Tons of Rock 2018 Photo by Andrea Chirulescu In Vain was one of the first bands to feel how horrible the sound quality on the tent stage was, and even enteringthe stage area felt like a bad omen for the rest of the festival. The band did however do a good job themselves in…
The last day of a rather good festival would now solitify whether or not the Bjørgvin Black Mass would go down in history as one of the greatest tributes to old and new underground bands and occult experiences. Black Magic is not that old, but it really capture the essence of the older occult bands.…
With the first day of the Bjørgvin Black Mass over, it was up to the (very different) bands of day two to bring the energy to even higher levels. Misthyrming was the first band of the evening, and it was not the most impressive opening act the festival could have had. It was for the…
Beyond the Gates is back, and it is bigger than ever! The best festival in Norway if you like underground and occult music was moved from Garage to USF Verftet, and with that, it grew into something very different. Whoredom Rife was the festival’s first band, and to put it in rather simple terms:…
Vulture Industries from Bergen makes their return in 2017 (four years after The Tower) with their new album, Stranger Times. The new album does not take the band in any new direction, but rather keeps them going steadily forward with the expression we have come to expect from these weird, circus-like musicians. The album starts…
And so it was the last day of Tons of Rock 2017. Thus far it had been a rather good festival, so the question remained if the (rather solid) line up of the third day would be able to keep up the heat of the last two days. Due to wind, the Huth Stage was…
After a quite impressive opening day, the festival continued to shine for another day. Divided Multitude took the Huth Stage rather early in the day, and this is possibly the reason why there were a bit too much space between the people in the crowd. The band did not let this stop them from delivering…
Tons of Rock takes place in Halden, and 2017 is the fourth year that the festival is arranged. Bands from all over the world came to entertain a fairly large audience in the Fredriksten fortress for three days. Eluveitie entered the main stage somewhat early on Thursday, but people were still coming in from all…
Kicking off the last day on Rockefeller was the Fosen based band, Slagmaur. This band basically didn’t hold anything back on their stage show. From the «opening shot» when the carpets were pulled back, everyone could still see that this was going to be extreme. Two people placed on tables on each end of the…
Starting off John Dee on the Friday, was Vinterblot. They gave an energized show and played a rather tight show, as well as being interesting to look at. The audience looked quite happy with the show, and in the end, this was a solid start for the third day. Now, it was still rather early,…
Helheim enters the stage at Rockefeller, greeting a medium sized audience that is only going to grow during their performance. The second the band starts to play, they establish their presence as a tight band that knows exactly what they are doing. Songs like "Dualitet og Ulver" and "Baklengs mot intet" sounded especially nice and…
Sulphur kicked off the club day of Inferno at Blå with a bang. The band appeared controlled and tight on stage, and they gave a solid performance to their audience. Some of the moments in between songs could have been shorter, as they had a tendency to lose the energy of the room, but except…
Oppvarmingsbandet Mork kom på scenen og leverte et solid show med massive låter. Bandet er en veldig groovy utgave av black metal, og de holdt en meget profesjonell stemning på scenen. Til tross for at bandet ikke egentlig er så veldig gammelt, virket det som at hele bandet hadde stålkontroll på sin egen sjanger og…
Ashes of Her Memory fra Sotra har hatt en hard livstid med lange pauser og lengre perioder hvor bandet har vært nede for telling. "Ashes" har til tross for dette klart å komme seg til enden av en lang tunnell, og klart å bli et aktivt, sterkt og relativt relevant metalcore band i Bergen igjen.…
Svart Lotus fra Hallingdal har holdt på siden 2012. Bandet inneholder medlemmer fra Disintegration og 1349. Bandets litt okkulte form for black metal ressonerte helt greit i publikum, men cirka halve setlisten virket desverre noe tom. En åpenbar svakhet som ble enda mer åpenbar av at publikum heller ikke virket helt til å spille på…
The final day of this good feel festival provided some amazing moments. From Rock n’ roll to industrial black metal. Absolutely an interesting note to end on! HEATSEEKERS is, as the name suggests, an AC/DC tribute group. The band provided a somewhat soft and nice opening for the people of the audience that showed up…
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 west coast of Norway now has alot of festivals dedicated to rock and metal, among them is Karmøygeddon, which is 12 years old, and still going strong! One of the most interesting, upcoming, prog bands from Norway is LEPROUS. The band delivered a nice and atmospheric performance, which seemed to please their target audience…
Darkend fra Italia var kveldens oppvarming, og de leverte i god, gammel black metal stil. Musikken kunne til tider minne om Satyricon (Dark Medieval Times/The Shadothrone era), mens det visuelle inneholdt effekter fra noe som kan sammenliknes med kultiske seremonier og ritualer. Det meste satt fint og det fenget publikum. Tematisk var Darkend en god…
Rimfrost is a Swedish black metal band from Hagfors. Their new album is the 3rd album they have released and the first one on Non Serviam Records. The album opens up nicely with As the Silver Curtain Closes. A track that in many ways reminds of Immortal’s "All Shall Fall". The ending of the song…
Nordjevel started off the last day and immediately gave a nice signal that the last evening would be a grand gesture of black metal. Nice combinations of raw black metal and a more melodic tone is why this band has already become one of the defining bands of today’s black metal. Their audience loved it…
Blood Red Throne is undoubtedly the most recognized name in Norwegian death metal, and with good reason. From the moment the members entered the stage, they showed the audience of Inferno what brutal music is supposed to sound like. A stoundingly good performance with high energy on the stage and a great, big audience. Alot…
ICS Vortex showed Rockefeller that heavy metal doesn’t always have to be bruting and dark. With a nice attitude and a very folkish appearance, Vortex and his crew delivered one of the most solid performances of the festival yet. Showcasing good old Borknagar songs as well as his own material. The energy was great both…
John Dee Vredehammer opened up with full force on one of the club scenes. The sound was ok, but nothing great. Musically, the band delivered great form of extreme metal and they delivered it in a nice fashion on stage. No props or make up, just the artists playing and giving everything. The performance was…
After years of waiting, Hadens have finally released their debut album. So much have changed in the line up of the band since the release of the 2011 EP, "Damnation" that it is impossible to expect anything. The opening track, Possessed, is an ok track, but it seems a little conservative. Meaning that it doesn’t…
Nifrost er et black metal band med veldig folkeaktige elementer. Absolutt en fin kombinasjon som blant annet har blitt utforsket av band som Windir tidligere. Med sanger som inneholder hardbarka screaming samt mer folkelige, rene vokaler, tok Nifrost fort kontroll på publikum. Mesteparten av sangene kom fra den nye platen, Motvind, noe som passet publikum…
The 3rd Attempt, det nyeste bandet til Tschort og Blood Pervertor (ex-Carpathian Forest) inntar scenen med en mørk og dyster intro. Vokalisten, Ødemark, står i en positur som kan minne om Baphomet. Alltid gøy å se at band jobber med å fronte en slags form for symbolikk allerede fra de går på scenen. Musikalsk sett…
To start off the second day, the tribute group, The C.L.A.S.P. Ritual, set the stage. Dark atmosphere, colaborative music from different bands as well as appearances from Hoest and Gaahl among others made this into a special little event that the audience seemed to appreciate alot. Strong performance and a somewhat high energy on the…
Bergen is seen by alot of people as the black metal capital of the world, and this "one time only festival" is perfect proof why that is correct. So let’s all thank Jannicke for an absolutely amazing weekend! It’s impossible to talk about the festival without mentioning the exhibitions. Some amazing and beautiful paintings by…
The best thing about this festival has always been how much new stuff anyone can find something new to like. The variety of bands are quite amazing, and most of the bands are unknown to most people. The three days are usually a little bit different in style, but there is always one word that…
Prog.metal er en av de mest interessante undersjangerne i metal. Norsk prog.metal er nok mest kjent i form av Ihsahn og Pagan’s Mind, men vi har også andre band som vokser til og denne kvelden var et godt eksempel på band som burde få anledningen til å fortsette å vokse. Rendezvous Point Tilbake på Garage…
Metallica er et band som de aller fleste har et forhold til, enten de er metalheads eller ikke. Omtrent alle vet om de liker bandet eller ikke, og alle har hørt minst én låt. Uten tvil ett av de største metal bandene i verden spilte altså på Koengen forran 23.000 mennesker, og med seg hadde…
Last day of the festival, and it was a very strong day musically! Great line up and alot of fun shows! Secrets of the moon is one of the absolutely greatest musical acts of this years festival. In total control of their own music, while they seem like they disappear totally into their own minds…
The third day of this yearly adventure had the least interesting lineup, and yet some hidden treasures were able to slip through. Goatwhore is a very strong live band, mostly because of some really strong and interesting vocal lines. Every part of the band’s performance was tight and they really seemed in control. Too bad…
Inferno is one of the most important providors of good metal in Norway, and it has been so for 15 years. The two main venues of the festival is Rockefeller and John Dee. Septicflesh is one of those band names that everyone has heard, but still seems like isn’t a very "popular" band. And the…
The Swedish king of hateful music is back, and this is just amazing! The opening track of the album is called "Den Påtvingade Tvåsamheten" and starts with some ambient noises before it kicks off with some rather dark musical compositions. It is quite grand and melodic, as well as dark and melancolic. A nearly perfect…
The main problem with this single is that the band is quite talented, but the vocals of the main singer is somewhat weak compared to the rest of the image painted by the band. He isn’t a bad singer, but just not at the level he should be. That said, this is a hell of…
BLASTFEST Day 4 – The closing chapter CRAIG CAMPBELL from Canada is one funny man! The stand up (or Blast Up) where alot of fun, and to be honest, few other comedians would fit as good for this gig as Campbell. His jokes or stories mostly consisted of his relation to travelling and to Norway…
BLASTFEST Day 3 – A day for sessions BLASTFEST was alot more than just a bunch of concerts, and this will be the day where other elements (along with some concerts) get explored. BLASTFEST QUIZ WITH IVAR BJØRNSON FROM ENSLAVED A nice activity to do while waiting for USF to open. The quiz at Apollon…
BLASTFEST Day 2 – The grand opening The only problem about a festival of the scale of BLASTFEST is that when you have as many bands as this to go through, you will have to get up early. DJEVELKULT is not a very old band, but boy could they be! The whole atmosphere of the…
BLASTFEST Day 1 – Cruising Bergen One of the most interesting things about the second edition of BLASTFEST, was definetly the addition of the Showline cruise. A trip that only aprox. 200 people were allowed to join. The first band playing on this cruise, was the psychedelic band PURPLE HILL WITCH. The band itself sounded…
"Black Satanic Mysticism" is an album title that sounds very much like a 90’s Mayhem title. This can be both good and bad, depending on how the album actually sounds. It’s also important to keep the sound a little modern so that it does not become too clishé. So the question is: Do the guys…
Carach Angren returns in 2015 with a new story to tell. Last time they told us different war stories while this time, it’s a grim and dark version of Hansel and Gretel (along with some other snacks). The album starts off in a similar way as the previous albums, with an intro, consisting mostly of…
One of the true folk metal giants are back with the release of the album "One Man Army". A beautiful album that will probably fit right in to a standard folk metal collection. The album starts off with the track "March of War". A track that sets the epic atmosphere in motion, and that immediatly…
The thing about Solefald is that it is not to be taken too seriously. That isn’t really saying anything about the quality of a band, though. What says something about a band that isn’t to be taken too seriously, is whether the band knows it themselves or not. Solefald definetly knows it, and that makes…
Når Taake er i Bergen, så møter det alltid et mannsterkt publikum opp for å ønske byens største black metal band velkommen hjem. Intet unntak denne gangen, Hulen var vel omtrent fullstappet. I det konserten begynner er det helt fullstappet i konsertsalen i Hulen, og som regel vil dette være lett å forstå. Beklagelig vis…
Ein kveld på Garage dedikert til målsaka vert sjeldan betre markert enn med Rammstein tributegruppa Rammsund. Eit publikum som er av det varierte slaget ser fram til ein nydeleg kveld med energisk musikk. Bandet kjem på scena. Dei ser alle ut som den klassiske arbeidarklassemannen, med eit veldig industrielt preg. Olje og sot på kroppane…
To most people in Norway, Keep of Kalessin is probably known for being "that metal band who entered Melodi Grand Prix (Norwegian edition of ESC)", but to actual fans of the band, they’re much more than that. Keep of Kalessin has always been one of the Norwegian metal bands that has focused on making music…
