Report

Mystic Festival 2023 (Gdansk, Poland) - Day Three

The final day of any music festival is a bittersweet one. Just when you start finding your spots and getting into a routine, poof, it’s over. The first band I marked for Mystic’s final day was Djevel, a Norwegian black metal band that’s been around since 2009. It’s very rare that I’ll write something negative about any band, especially their live shows, but I must be honest about Djevel…they are not a good live band. They’re sloppy and they don’t move around much during their shows. I saw them at Inferno Festival in 2018 and I thought they were awkward and boring live to play such a prestigious festival. It’s 5 years later and I thought the same thing again.

Djevel

The next band/musician I saw was Lili Refrain from Rome, Italy. This was one of the artists I picked out to watch only if I could make it work within the scheduling. She was sound checking when I arrived at the Sabbath Stage. There was a table full of guitar effect pedals in front of her along with a floor tom and a guitar set up to her right. A short time later, she adorned the stage with her unique style and opened her set with “Travellers.” It was super impressive to watch her replicate the exact sound from the recorded version of the song. I wish I had more time to watch her whole set, hopefully she’ll be touring soon.

Lili Refrain

One of the bands that Mystic featured during this year’s edition was Voivod. The festival even pressed a limited number of 7” records with a never recorded single entitled “Chaotic Harmony, Mystic Festival Anthem.” They made 3 different colored vinyl versions of it that were limited to 999 copies in total. In addition, they dedicated the art gallery basement space to display the famed and storied artwork of Voivod’s famed drummer and artist, Michael "Away" Langevin. The prints displayed encompassed every era of Voivod’s existence. It was a touching and heartfelt tribute to such an influential band that has “Rrröööaaarrr”ed over 4 decades.

Voivod - Michael "Away" Langevin

When Voivod took to the Shrine Stage, the venue was completely full. The chants for Voivod were probably heard across the Baltic Sea, they were so loud. They kicked their set off with “Killing Technology.” Maybe it was a little bit of a political statement regarding the war happening next door? Only they know. Voivod wasn’t the first band in the past couple of years to make such a statement at Poland’s Mystic Festival. Snake and company played material from nine albums, there aren’t many bands from their era that can do the same anymore. I noticed everyone in the band smiling throughout their set which means they still love their day job and each other. That can’t be said about many bands that have even been around longer than Voivod.

Voivod - Denis "Snake" Bélanger

After the passing of their founding guitarist, Jim Durkin, everyone wondered if Dark Angel would continue with their tour and festival dates they committed to before his passing. Dark Angel has always persevered throughout their existence so it was really no surprise they were going to fulfill those commitments because that’s what Jim Durkin would have wanted.

Dark Angel - Ron Rinehart/Eric Meyer

The L.A. caffeine machine opened with “We Have Arrived,” you couldn’t have picked a better song to start with being it was their first time ever playing in Poland! Laura Christine, who filled in after Jim Durkin’s passing, is now a permanent member and her presence on stage was seemingly effortless. In my opinion, Dark Angel has never received the same praise as some of the better-known counterparts during the late 80’s and early 90’s, but they have returned, and aren’t leaving anytime soon.

Dark Angel - Laura Christine

I didn’t really want to sacrifice catching Meshuggah in place of checking out Sleep Token, but I had to see what all the loud noise about this band is about. This band is being pushed so hard onto the metal loving masses, there must be something behind it right? I’ll say this…After being in the photo pit for 3 songs and experiencing them without distraction, I can see why they are appealing to so many fans. However, this band is not metal in the sense of being heavy. The costuming is cool, they have a lot of energy, but I’m just a metal purist, maybe even a “gatekeeper.” I thought it was awful and regretted missing Meshuggah for this malakias.

Sleep Token

The final headliner for Mystic Festival 2023 was Gojira. Gojira was supposed to be one of headliner for Mystic in 2021, sharing the stage with Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate, but the pandemic derailed that. Their Mystic Festival drought was a distant memory once the twisted flanged notes from “Born for One Thing” blared from the massive PA stacks. Gojira made one thing clear, they were going to be the most remembered band from this year’s addition.

Gojira - Joe Duplantier

Gojira played 15 songs in total and the gigantic stage screens changed each time to match the theme of the song. During “Stranded,” giant silver confetti streams shot out of canons into the sky above the stage and crowd. The wind carried some of it to the left of the stage and into the giant, full-grown trees. I feel sorry for whomever must remove all that Gojira sized tinsel because there was a ton of it everywhere.

Gojira - Mario Duplantier

There was a video that was played during the song “Another World” and It featured the band in cartoon character form traveling the galaxy trying to find a new planet for earthlings. When Gojira returned to earth, the planet had already reclaimed nature from humanity and the band are left alone on Earth wishing that they could have saved the planet.

Gojira - Christian Andreu

It’s obvious that Gojira are environmentalists and they pass on a positive message with their music to the metal masses. With Gojira being the most remembered band from this year’s Mystic Festival, the message was loud and clear. Have fun, take care of each other, and take care of the Earth and its creatures. See you next year Mystic Festival and thanks for putting together another excellent festival!

Gojira - Jean-Michel Labadie