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Helloween Puts On A Power Metal Spectacle
Hammersmith. Just the name alone evokes memories and lore of rock and heavy metal's past. It's in this West London area that we find the Apollo, formerly known as the Odeon, which has been the setting for the transformation of heavy metal bands into icons. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, AC/DC... They've all headlined this famous venue and everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Celtic Frost have recorded live releases here. Hell, this writer's first show was seeing Motorhead here in 2003, so it's fair to say there's some personal attachment to the Apollo, as well as the legacy it already holds. Tonight, Hammersmith was once again hosting an important name in heavy metal, as power metal pioneers Helloween were set to headline on the only British date of their 40th anniversary tour.
Entering into the small but grand lobby and heading up the stairs, excitement was in the air not just for the legends, but for tonight's support act, one of Europe's fastest rising power metal stars, Beast In Black. Formed in Finland ten years ago, Beast In Black has three studio albums to their name, with a fourth almost completed, as confirmed by vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos during the show. While they're definitely in the power metal category, the quintet also holds a strong electronic influence, forging the kind of metal which appears in the Eurovision Song Contest every so often. This all comes together to create an upbeat, animated energy that permeates every inch of the room as soon as the first notes of the opening song, "Power Of The Beast" were played. More...
Paradise Lost Ascends To Another Level In London
Great lineups can be like buses. You'll wait ages for one, then two come along at once. Only last week, Testament rampaged through the UK with Obituary, Destruction and Nervosa, and now fans of Gothic doom have their own dream tour as Paradise Lost embarked on the UK leg of their first European tour to promote their new album, "Ascension." It's an exciting time to see Paradise Lost, as "Ascension" has been hailed as an instant classic, with some going so far as to call the seventeenth outing their best yet, which is no easy feat considering their legendary status. It's not just Paradise Lost with a buzz about them on this tour, as joining them on the trek are Messa, the Italian doom band whose latest album, "The Spin" is also a contender for album of the year, and High Parasite, the "death pop" band fronted by Aaron Stainthorpe, whose departure from My Dying Bride after thirty five years was confirmed on the first date of the tour.
Speaking of which, it was High Parasite who got the evening underway, and very quickly too, hitting the stage mere minutes after the front doors opened. They released their debut album, "Forever We Burn" last year and it's another record full of superb tunes, gripping atmospheres and impressive song writing, so I for one was very eager to hear how the music would sound in a live setting. As it turns out, it sounds even better. High Parasite performs with enormous energy, getting the crowd moving and clapping along to a number of songs from the get go with the opening number, "Parasite." Stainthorpe himself is in tremendous form, his voice sailing across the room with majesty and force, like a ship charging through stormy waters.
Of course, there's more to the band than their most famous members and every one of them put in a great shift to make this set as fun and memorable as it could be. The singles "Wasn't Human" and "Let It Fail" sounded fantastic tonight and while not everyone was familiar with their work, those who were sang along to every word they knew, particularly on these two songs. "Hate Springs Eternal" was another highlight of the set, before they concluded their short time with the title track from "Forever We Burn." This was an exhilarating performance and, even though they'll be getting Lacrimas Profundere, I feel bad that mainland Europe won't be seeing High Parasite on this tour, as they fit in perfectly and are guaranteed to make new fans with every show. More...
Testament Thrashes With Titans In Bristol
Metal fans have always talked about their beloved genre with a sense of belonging and brotherhood. It's something which can sound very corny and many times, doesn't seem to ring true. However, in the world of thrash metal, especially nowadays, there's definitely more truth to this claim than in other areas. Frequently, when a thrash band heads out on tour, they'll bring fellow veterans with them, with Exodus's tour with Exumer and Hirax last year being one such example. This Autumn, Europe will experience a huge display of such camaraderie in the form of "Thrash Of The Titans," co-headlined by Testament and death metal stalwarts Obituary, while also featuring thrash metal flag bearers Destruction and Nervosa on what promises to be one of the tours of the year. Having kicked off in Hanover, the four bands made their way across the Channel to come to Britain, with their first stop being the Beacon, formerly the Colston Hall, in the south western city of Bristol.
Opening the show was Nervosa, marking what I believe to be my sixth time seeing them. Ten years ago, I conducted my first in person interview with their then vocalist Fernanda Lira at their first UK gig supporting Cryptopsy and Brujeria, so in addition to being a fan, I've always had a soft spot for them and have enjoyed seeing them grow as a band. Their latest album, "Jailbreak," showcased perhaps their most focused material yet and few would argue that guitarist Helena Kotina has breathed fire into their sound, helping to really beef up their sound. This was evident for everyone to hear as soon as the band ripped into the opening number, "Seed Of Death," which landed like a gut punch from Tyson Fury.
From then on, the quartet continued to fiercely shake the Beacon awake with more cuts from the aforementioned "Jailbreak" album, including "Behind The Wall" and the title track, which all sounded superb. They're clearly very proud of the record, and rightfully so, but it was nice to hear material from previous albums too, including "Kill The Silence" from "Downfall Of Mankind," and two helpings from "Perpetual Chaos," in the form of the title track and "Venomous." Nervosa seemed to be having a lot of fun and so were the crowd, including a man in full Elmo costume taking part in the pit and crowd surfing. The audience let out a sad groan when vocalist/guitarist Prika Amaral announced that they had one more song left, namely "Endless Ambition," and the band delivered a final sonic assault before ending their set. As I mentioned, I've been following Nervosa since their first album and I daresay that this was the best performance I've seen from them yet. More...
Cult of Fire - An Intimate Album Release Ritual
After what seemed like an eternity waiting for Cult of Fire’s album release show (The original date was scheduled for May), Cult of Fire ceremoniously introduced their latest album, “The One, Who is Made of Smoke,” to their hometown crowd in Prague, Czech Republic. I was one of the lucky patrons that witnessed the ritualistic black metal event and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I left the venue that night looping memories of the show over and over like some sort of black metal glitch in the matrix.
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When I arrived at the Lucerna Music Bar in the heart of Old Town Prague, there weren’t a lot of people milling about outside but that was probably because I arrived an hour early. Stateside, it’s normal to show up an hour or so early to meet up with your friends, check out the merch, grab some adult beverages and find a good spot to watch the bands from. Here in Prague, things are much more lax. What I’ve noticed is that if you show up fifteen minutes early, you’ll be OK most of the time. No one is in a hurry here and it’s a welcomed change of pace.
I noticed that there was just one other person at the merch table so I was able to grab a copy of latest album on vinyl without having to wait in line forever. There also wasn’t a mile long line at the bar, so I ordered a pint of Pilsner and then headed to the front of the stage where there were only just a handful of people already there. There was a giant black cloth (think shower curtain) draped across the front of the entire stage, but it was transparent enough to see that there were a lot of stage props behind it. This was definitely going to be an epic night.
While I waited for the cloth to be pulled back, dozens of people had arrived and started to fill in the floor in front of the stage and I was happy that my Stateside concert habits die hard. A little past 8:00 p.m. (Concerts start and end earlier here and I love it!), the curtain was drawn and it revealed an incredibly detailed and jaw dropping stage setup.
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Everywhere you looked there were artifacts of Hindu and Buddhist deities, lit candles in candelabras, burning incense, bouquets of flowers and offerings of fruit. I don’t know how long it takes to set something like this up, but it has to be a few hours. The four members of Cult of Fire were already in their respective spots on stage and their costuming was just as impressive. I’ll dive more into that later on.
This is my third time seeing Cult of Fire live and it’s been different each time. The first two times I saw them at Brutal Assault, a popular metal festival that takes place in the Czech Republic every August. The first time I saw them, they used a ton of pyro techniques (think fire!) and the second time, they played along with a full symphonic orchestra. Tonight’s show was intimate making it special in its own way. There was limited floor space in the Lucerna Music Bar and if you were lucky enough to have a ticket, you were treated to a live spectacle that the majority of bands won’t go the distance that Cult of Fire does to treat their fans.
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Midnight Exceeds London's Hellish Expectations
When fans first start listening to metal, there are always those bands who fill them with pure excitement. Most then carry on their metal journey, always hoping to discover an act that can make them feel that way again, chasing a heavy metal high as it were. Sometimes they find it and after listening to Midnight's "Hellish Expectations" last year, I was high again, feeling that thrill such as when I first heard Venom. After missing out on their visit to the New Cross Inn shortly afterwards, I couldn't be absent for their next visit and so it was back to London for my first show in two months.
Visitors for the New Cross Inn will know that while it can be very cramped, it's a great place to see live music, especially metal and punk. Speaking of the latter, the evening opened with State Sanctioned Violence, who may have been a little preachy, but one would find it hard to disagree with anything they said (and they were a long way from the constant rhetoric of a Dropdead set.) The quartet unleashed an onslaught of metal tinged punk rock that proved highly enjoyable and got those who attended early in the right mood for the night. It was a relatively short set, but I'd recommend them to anyone who likes their music to be fast and ferocious.
Ominous Moon followed, and were more in line with the denim and leather of old. Their music can be described as on the darker side of thrash, sharing similarities with Mercyful Fate and Sodom as opposed to the more jaunty sounds of many younger thrash acts. It's great to see a young band being influenced by such artists and they put it to good use, avoiding the trap of simply imitating them and really getting the crowd going. They released their debut album, "Waking The Dead" last year and as expected, there were plenty of cuts from the record with "Skeletal Lunarcy" and "Stone Cold Metal" being two of my favourite servings. I hope to see them again and I strongly believe they can craft a good future for themselves. More...
Brutal Assault 2025 Five Days & 73k Steps of Metal
This year was Brutal Assault’s 30 anniversary and the organizers gifted metal fans with over 140 bands ranging from the avant-garde to the most extreme black metal plus every heavy metal genre in between those two. Even though I was exhausted by the end of the festival, I have nothing but incredible memories to look back upon. If you’re into statistics the following are Metalunderground’s for the fest: Thirty-four bands covered, two face-to-face interviews (Gene Hoglan from Dark Angel and Malevolent Creation), 73,000 steps with temperatures ranging from the upper 50’s to the middle 80’s Fahrenheit over a five-day span with fifteen minutes of rain on the warm-up day. Not too shabby.
If this is your first time hearing about this festival, I’ll make this quick. Brutal Assault takes place at the 18th century Josefov Fortress located in the metalhead friendly town of Jaromer, located on the eastern edge of the Czech Republic. The fortress has served as Brutal Assault’s home base since 2012 and its massive worn brick walls and labyrinth of hallways and catacombs make Brutal Assault one of the most unique and popular European summer metal festivals year after year. If you’ve never been to Brutal Assault before, check out the video below for a brief and partial walkaround of the festival’s grounds.
In the past, I would normally post reports of the bands that I saw day by day and also my overall opinion of that year’s festival. To be honest, I think writing long-winded reports is now considered outdated in terms of Road Reports and more of you would prefer to read the bullet points and watch some videos to get the gist of the festival being reported on. Without further ado, here’s the skinny on this year’s Brutal Assault.
I was able to catch the majority of this year’s headliner acts to include Macabre (warm-up day), Kerry King, Rotting Christ, Gojira, Blood Fire Death, Fear Factory, Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, Cult of Luna, Opeth and The Halo Effect. With all the aforementioned bands worthy of headliner status, one band stood out above the rest, and it wasn’t even close. That band was Gojira.
Even before Gojira was awarded Olympic gold medal status among heavy music fans around the world, they had already proven that they were one of the world’s top metal acts long before last year's Summer Olympics performance. Fast forward to Gojira’s set at this year’s Brutal Assault set and I think just about everyone that witnessed it would say that it was a jaw dropping and heart stopping performance.
I’ve seen Gojira plenty of times and they’ve always been excellent, but this time it was just on a different level. They only way I can describe it was that they were perfect. Their sound, the musicianship, their stage show and the energy flowing back and forth between crowd and band was amazing. If you don’t believe me, just go on YouTube and watch for yourself. I was able to record one song and even though it’s farther back from the stage, you can get the gist of it.
Aborted Teams With Crypta In London
It's funny how one can be so familiar with a city and still find new places. Case in point, while I'd heard of it, I'd yet to attend a show at The Garage, a small venue in Islington, north London, despite visiting The Smoke for gigs pretty much every year since 2003. It was certainly a good time to finally check it out, as a collection of extreme metal's finest were gathering to tear through the night and wreck some eardrums in the British capital, beginning with Organectomy. Like the club, I was also unfamiliar with them and since they'd come all the way from New Zealand to perform in Blighty, the very least one can do is check them out. The Christchurch quintet has been going for around fifteen years now and has accumulated a decent catalogue to choose a setlist from in that time. While it wasn't to my personal taste, one can't argue with results, and these Kiwis really got the crowd in the mood for a night of extremity. Their sound is absolutely pulverising and they're not keen on letting their victims recover, delivering seven rounds of sonic fury to the London audience. As mentioned, they're not for everyone, but it's impossible to deny their drive, passion and talent. Give them a listen if you're a fan of slam.
Up next, we have a visit from across the pond in the form of The Zenith Passage. Once more, the crowd seemed delighted and this time, it was a more technical, daresay progressive affair. I couldn't help but marvel at the intricacies of their music and the skill in which it was delivered as they made their presence known. Fans of the band will tell you that they've been around for quite a while now, despite only dropping two full length albums, albeit seven years apart, but both of these records made a big impression on the tech-death world and upon hearing the songs live, it's easy to see why. It's always a sign of a good set when those at the front are going crazy, while the old timers at the back (of which I'm increasingly more willing to join) turn to each other and say, "... Bloody good!" I'm sure a lot of technical death metal fans are familiar with the five piece, but if not, there's no time like the present. Give their music a spin or better yet, catch them live yourself. More...
The Final Day Of Mystic Festival Was Bittersweet
The day I was dreading had arrived, that day being the last day of Mystic Festival 2025. Another bummer was that there was more rain today. Lots of it. It’s an expected risk and there’s nothing you can do about it other than soak it all in, literally. Rain jackets and ponchos were ever-present today and if you were one of those that thought you could hold out not wearing rain gear during the first 3 days of the festival, today was your true test.
Fortunately for me the first band on my must-see list was going to be indoors. When I arrived, the stink of humidity permeating the venue but that would be a distant memory once Death Angel tore into “Mistress of Pain” from their debut album, “The Ultra Violence.” That surprised me because that last few times I’ve seen Death Angel, they rarely play material from their early releases. When the second song turned out to be “Voracious Souls,” my mind was blown. This is how you win back your OG fans Death Angel! Bravo!
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Death Angel
Because Polish death metal legends Vader was starting only fifteen minutes after Death Angel’s set began, I could only stay around the halfway point of “Voracious Souls.” The rain was falling steadily by the time I exited the venue. Between dodging crisscrossing poncho clad metalheads, random rain puddles and putting on my own rain jacket, I made it just in time for Vader’s first song. When I arrived, all the photographers were told that we would have to wait until the start of Vader’s second song to enter the photo pit because Vader was going to deploy a ton of pyro during their opening song.
This Vader set was going to be special. They were going to play the whole “Litany” album. The album released in 2000 and was recorded right here in Gdansk. It garnered massive acclaim throughout the metal cosmos and death metal circles. The crowd that gathered for this special set was massive. I’ll do my best to give you a visual. The Park Stage area is about 50 yards long and then it butts against a circle of food trucks. When this stage area gets packed, the crowd spills out into the asphalt roadway that in turn is the main artery walkway for the festival. During Vader’s set, that walkway was jam packed with onlookers. It was practically impossible to navigate in either direction if you wanted to go to the Main Stage area or the Desert and Shrine stages.
As the final notes of the opening song “Wings” faded out, we were allowed to enter the soggy mud laden pit area. The first thing I noticed was the fans standing on the other side of the security barriers. These were the hardcore fans. There were numerous Vader logo adorned banners draped over the barriers and one of front row fans had a giant Vader band logo tattooed over his whole back. I grabbed a shot of this and you can see it in Day 3 photo gallery HERE.
Between the rain, Vader’s unforgiving playing, the overzealous crowd energy and copious amount of fire pot blasts, it felt like I was in a war zone and I loved every second of it. Most of the press at Mystic Festival are from Poland, so to say there wasn’t much room to move about the photo pit was an understatement. In addition to playing the whole “Litany” album, Vader played several more songs and closed their fantastic set with “The Imperial March” of Star Wars fame.
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Piotr Wiwczarek of Vader
After a wild (an understatement) Vader set, I was looking forward to something a little more subdued. I know what you’re thinking, what is subdued at a metal festival?, Well, that would be Apocalyptica. The rain was still drizzling, but at least it wasn’t heavy. This was going to be another 15-minute turnaround set. I could only stay for about a song or so before I had to run across festival grounds to catch Pentagram. Apocalyptica opened their set with Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning” and that was all I was able to see since that song is over six minutes long. It was going to take me at least 7 minutes to get to the Desert Stage. The minutes math didn’t have much wiggle room.
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Apocalyptica
This was my second time seeing Apocalyptica live and I was a lot closer this time so I could really see all the intricacies of their playing. It’s quite impressive how three cellos and a drummer can layer and mix so many complex melodies without stepping on each other. I made it to right around the dual guitar solo part of the song and then I had to haul ass (See professional journalism nomenclature) to the distant Desert Stage.
Bobby Liebling, the frontman of the historic doom metal band Pentagram, just about broke the internet earlier this year. A video surfaced showcasing his trademark death stare and his wispy white hair billowing like a geriatric lion’s mane on a windblown plain. The video went massively viral on social media platforms such as TikTok and Reddit which in turn caused renewed interest in the Black Sabbath doom inspired band that reached the apex of its popularity during the 1970’s.
Fast forward to 2011, a biopic titled “Last Days Here” showcased Bobby Liebling’s struggles with drug addiction. The indie film garnered a lot of attention and renewed some interest in the mostly forgotten doom legends. More doom and gloom would fall upon Pentagram. In 2017, Bobby Liebling was arrested for "abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult custodian” and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Most everyone thought that this was the end of the road for Bobby and Pentagram until “the video” surfaced and spread like a pandemic through the metal interwebs and obviously caught the attention of several festival and concert organizers. That brings us to the current moment where I was arriving just in time for Pentagram’s second only appearance in Poland and their first time at Mystic Festival. More...
King Diamond Dazzled Mystic Festival On Day Two
All morning long, I was fighting exhaustion from the marathon of bands I covered yesterday. The upside was that I knew that it was going to be a lighter load today in regard to the number bands I wanted to check out. The rain forecast appeared to be hit or miss during the festival hours, so that was another bonus. The first band that I was going to see wouldn’t take place until early evening so that freed up my afternoon to wander the Motlawa riverbanks that serpentine through the middle of Gdansk.
Last year, there was a lot of construction on the banks of the river, limiting how far you could walk, but now it was finished and that made it possible to see more of the sights. I’m not going to give you breakdown of the shops, restaurants, etc. because this report is about Mystic Festival itself. However, if you ever think of attending Mystic Festival you should know that Gdansk is a really picturesque city and that’s a bonus if you decide to go to this underrated festival. There’s more to do and look at other than just tents and trees.
I arrived at the festival grounds a few minutes before the first band of the day, Hatebreed. Love them or hate them, they’ve been around for several decade. They must be doing something right eh? With the intro music of Quiet Riot’s “Bang Your Head” blaring from the PA, I looked around and saw an excited crowd patiently waiting for the metalcore legends to take the stage. After the show started, the crowd was vocal every time Jamey Jasta walked to the front of the stage waved his arms towards the crowd. I think he’s more popular here in Gdansk than the local resident, Nergal from Behemoth. I’m serious!
This was my first ever Hatebreed show so I was pleasantly surprised that there were some pyrotechnics involved. Fire is always a bonus! I recognized some of the songs in their set, mainly “I Will Be Heard” and “Perseverance.” I felt complete after hearing those songs and was now headed to see another 90’s band that is still going strong today, Opeth.
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Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed
I saw Opeth a couple of years ago here at Mystic Festival and I wondered what the big deal was about this band. Like In Flames, this is one of those bands that started out really heavy and became more mainstream over time. I wasn’t a fan of them at the peak of their popularity and nothing’s changed since then. They’re super talented but the music and live show does nothing for me and this is the last time I’ll ever report on them. I can only report that they had some cool stage props to look at.
Opeth playing “§1”
The next band on my list could care less about what anyone thinks about them. It’s a DGAF attitude and it’s what makes Eyehategod such a fun band to see live. They secrete that N.O.L.A. trademark sludgy sound on every stage they infect. After what seemed like 5 minutes of screeching feedback, they erupted into “Agitation! Propaganda!” and never looked back throughout the remainder of their set.
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Mike Williams of Eyehategod More...
Was Day One Of Mystic The Busiest And The Best?
I mentioned in the Mystic Festival Warm Up Day Road Report that the official first day of the festival would be the most hectic for me. The tally consisted of twelve band sets and a visit to the Vader band exhibition (which was very cool!). I’m not going to touch on every band I saw, but I’ll pick my top 5 bands this day for me. If you’re curious of who else played, you can check them out in the photo gallery HERE!
I also mentioned the possibility of the weather not cooperating, and again, it didn’t. There were some periods of downpours and light rain here and there so because of this, I could only catch one or two songs max of some of the bands. It was a day where rain jackets and ponchos were high fashion and the indoor areas of the festival grounds were much more than a welcome sight and a convenience.
I wasn’t a fan of the day’s headlining act, but because they were given that honor, I feel obliged to write at least something about them. Being a headliner at a festival usually means you have something special planned or a stage show that makes just about every band that played before you somewhat forgettable. I didn’t see any of this. They’re great at what they do, which is sort of this power and progressive metal band that skirts the line of both genres. I can say this without prejudice: The vocalist, Anders Fridén, is very characteristic and can command a large audience with ease. Chris Broderick, one of the guitarists, was in Megadeth for a minute. Björn Gelotte, the lead guitarist, has been in the band since its inception along with Anders.
I’ve been told that In Flames was a lot heavier during its formative years and I’m not surprised. I didn’t listen to them back then, so I have no opinion regarding how heavy they used to be. I do admit, the light show was pretty cool during my abbreviated time watching their set. Most of the material they played came from the album, “Foregone,” which was released in 2023 and is their 14th studio album. So, there you go. That’s all I’m going to write about them and it’s been too much already.
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Anders Fridén of In Flames
Suicidal Tendencies is a band that actually made an impression on me on this day. They are a band that needs no introduction unless you stumbled on this report by accident while researching dark and depressing subject matter. And unlike the subject matter, their live shows are guaranteed to leave you with happy thoughts and warm fuzzies.
When Suicidal Tendencies first came on stage, I wondered who the teenager was jumping around on the bass? Then it hit me like a skateboard deck against the head, that’s Robert Trujillo’s son! It’s been a minute since I’ve seen them and I remember reading about this a while back. He was all over the stage…in fact, they all were! I had forgotten how spastic their stage antics were. I was in the photo pit and I learned quickly that you just need to hold your ground and eventually the shot will come to you. Don’t chase the members around, you’ll only lose shot chances.
They opened their set with “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and in my head I heard “The Rain Can’t Bring Me Down” instead. At least it was dry during their time on stage. Mike Muir kept egging on the crowd to keep the mosh pit moving. The actual pit area was a mud bog only rivaled by The Redneck Yacht Club by the time band had finished. The coolest thing I saw throughout the festival happened during their set. During the song, “I Saw Your Mommy,” a gaggle of teenagers were let up on stage to help sing the song. They were jumping and headbanging along with the band. Even if you don’t for the music, you have to love this band for stuff like this.
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Suicidal Tendencies
Elder is one of those band that you either love them or you can’t stand them. One thing you just can’t argue about is how talented they are. In fact, they might have been the most talented musicians at this year’s festival. If you’re not familiar with them, they are known for their very progressive style of metal. I’ve always likened them to a metalized version of King Crimson. The are definitely a musicians’ band but they also appeal to your casual metal fan. The band Tool even had Elder open up for them during their 2024 tour.
It was raining throughout the majority of Elder’s set, but the Desert Stage area remained packed with onlookers the whole time. They played flawlessly. How do I know that? Well, I’m a huge fan and I would easily have noticed if there was a flub or blunder. Elder had a reduced setlist consisting of only the songs “Compendium,” “Sanctuary,” “Dead Roots Stirring,” “Deadweight,” and “Halcyon.” I kid about the “only” description because if you know anything about the band, their songs run on average more than 10 minutes long. I didn’t stay for the whole set because my camera bag and gear was getting soaked after one song into it. I made my way to confines of the food court area to dry off and plot my next moves.
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Elder More...
Mystic Festival's Warm-Up Day Was More Than Warm
Do you find yourself wide awake in the middle of the night wondering what is the largest and best heavy metal festival is in Poland? Let me help you if you haven’t been reading all my hype leading up to this festival. The festival is called Mystic Festival and it takes place every June in a shipyard in the very scenic port city of Gdansk, located in the north of Poland. Warm Up Days in brief mean that there’s a reduced number of bands playing that day and a reduced number of stages. In summary, Mystic Festival’s 2025 Warm-Up Day had some heavy hitters in terms of bands, and a little bit of rain (you’ll be reading about the rain in every report, it was a constant nuisance) and a lot of excited metalheads. For full report, please continue to read on…
Mystic Festival Welcomes You!
The first band of the day and the entire festival for me was Alcest. I reviewed their latest album a few months ago, “Les Chants de l'aurore,” and even though I’m not their biggest fan, the album was really good. The same can be said for their set at Mystic Festival. They are competent musicians, they sounded great, but they were a tad boring to watch. There were a lot of Alcest shirts being worn throughout the festival grounds, so they were definitely one of the larger crowd draws on the day.
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Alcest
The next band on my list was a band that’s been trending like a rocket during this past year, medieval heavy metallers, Castle Rat. I’ve heard and read the stories about their live show, and now I was about to see if it was just an exaggeration or something worth my time. The rain started to fall as they took the stage but I forgot about that right away because I was fully entertained throughout my 3-song allowance. Yeah, they’re gimmicky, but their show is unequivocally entertaining. At one point, a human sized rat came out of nowhere and joined the party onstage. I would have loved to stay and watch the whole set, but with my raincoat already soaked, I went to the indoor food court area to wait out the rain before the grunge guitar legend, Jerry Cantrell, began his set.
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Castle Rat
Then rain finally subsided before the much-anticipated Jerry Cantrell set. He is obviously better known for his work in the grunge super-group, Alice in Chains, but that’s the magic of Mystic Festival, it’s not strictly a metal festival. The festival books punk, rock, and alternative, and EDM acts as well. This year was no exception and you’ll read about them later. As I made my way to the front of the stage, you could feel the excitement from the crowd that had already shown up early. For those that never got to see Alice in Chains while they were a live band, they were more than stoked when they played some favorites such as “Them Bones” and “Would.” Visually, the band wasn’t the most exciting to watch, but I enjoyed hearing those grunge hits live one more time.
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Jerry Cantrell More...
Sunn0))) Rose To Another World In Prague, Czechia
I need to start my Sunn0))) show review by stating that Sunn0))) is not your traditional doom band…They are more so an experience. In my opinion, they only way to fully appreciate Sunn0))) is to see them live. This is my 3rd time seeing them but my first time writing about them. I think if anyone is going to review their live shows, they need to soak in the experience at least more than one time before writing down their thoughts. There is no describing how tight they played that night, or which songs were excluded from the setlist. You are going to describe the sights, the sound and feels. A Sunn0))) show is an event that is difficult to explain to someone that has never gone before. I will try my best.
I arrived at the venue, Archa+, which is pretty much located smack dab in downtown Prague about an hour before Sunn0))) was to take to the stage. There was already a pretty decent size crowd milling around outside the front doors with the aroma of marijuana ever-present within the surrounding air. Once inside, there was a large Sunn0))) merch table that greeted patrons. The table was loaded with stuff. They had hats, T-shirts, a long-sleeve shirt, a hoodie, pins, patches and vinyl for sale. You then had to walk down a couple of flights of stairs to get to the stage area, and once you made it, there was an absolutely beautiful sight to behold. Amplifiers. A great wall of them configured in a crescent moon shape around the stage.
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The Wall of Sunn0)))
This subtle visual cue is how you know that you’re at a Sunn0))) show. Ten of the amplifier heads stacked on numerous massive speaker cabinets were Sunn Model-T’s. The Model-T is made by Sunn Amplifiers. Sunn, the amplifier company, was a maker of loud rock amplifiers that were made popular in the 60’s and 70’s by artists such as Jimmy Hendrix, Pete Townsend and then in the 90’s by Buzz Osborne and of course, Sunn0))). The company went defunct in 2002 not long after being bought out by Fender Guitars and then was resurrected recently in 2023. For the doom and stoner genres of metal, the Model-T and Beta Leads were some of the most sought-after amplifier because of the sheer loudness and affordability before Red Fang showcased them and then the prices skyrocketed on used musical gear platforms. Enough of the Sunn Amplifier lesson, let’s get back to the band Sunn0))).
About a half hour before showtime, I claimed a spot as close to the stage as I could so I’d have a good vantage point for my photos. Shooting photos of Sunn0))) is a challenge to say the least, so you need every advantage possible or you’re going to have garbage once you start editing. A short time later, the venue lights dimmed and the fog rolled in. I’m not talking about any normal amount of smoke that you see at an average concert. I said fog and I meant it. During the whole show it would get so thick at times that you couldn’t see the person standing right next to you. Everything is whitewashed, sometimes you can’t see your own limbs.
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The Fog of Sunn0))) More...
Venom Inc. Silences The Critics In London
Metal fans love two things; Metal, and complaining about metal. Whilst the genre has some of the most loyal and devoted fans, it's nigh on impossible to go to a gig without hearing someone say "They used to be better" or "I only like their old stuff," and when it comes to online interactions between fans, forget it. Since their inception, Venom Inc. has had to deal with such negativity and with the recent departure of guitarist Mantas, the naysayers rubbed their hands in glee. But it's important to remember that they're not, and never were, a tribute act. Venom Inc. write songs of their own in addition to playing older Venom material, mostly from the Demolition Man era, and so when the band announced their headlining tour of Europe, with a rich lineup of support acts, it was both a test to see who would put their conceptions aside, and an invitation to what promised to be a great night.
The London stop of the tour was held at the 229, a relatively small but decent venue named after their address on Great Portland Street. Opening the show was Chilean born trio Ater, originally from Santiago and now residing in the USA. Going on at six on a Monday evening is a tough ask for anyone, but for those who arrived early, they were able to witness something very different, and very interesting. There's an air of mystery and enigma about them, and it's difficult to pinpoint their sub-genre, if indeed there is one, which makes their material all the more intriguing. The music is extreme and confrontational, but very atmospheric and moody, helped in no small part by the lighting, something we take for granted as fans. Ater are best experienced for one's self due to their challenging nature, and hopefully when they return to the UK, there'll be a lot more people there to witness them. One to watch for sure. More...
Vader Sets The Underworld Alight
The old saying goes, "How can I miss you if you won't go away?" Now don't panic, there's no sign of quitting from Poland's death metal kings Vader, but with the announcement that this would be their last UK show for at least two years, not a single fan in the British capital wanted to miss out on this. As is so often the case when a metal show comes to London, the setting was The Underworld in Camden and once more, it was packed on this occasion for what promised to be a show to remember.
Opening the show tonight was a band who were making their debut in London, all the way from Hamburg, we welcomed Rise Of Kronos, formerly known as Surface. As the name suggests, there's certainly a strong influence from ancient Greece in their music, and to an extent, their presentation, with one member sporting facepaint akin to God Of War's protagonist Kratos. Whether you're a fan of this approach or not, it's the music that makes a band and sure enough, Rise Of Kronos' material is up to scratch.
They're a good pick as support for Vader, being a death metal band with thrash elements and plenty of atmosphere, and even some elements to appeal to the younger death metal crowd. They also have an excellent stage presence and really endeared themselves to those who got to the gig on time tonight to see them with a mix of brutal music and a friendly demeanour, which just makes one want them to do well. The single, "Poison Of The Gods" sounded superb, as did the cuts from their latest album, "Imperium." Rise Of Kronos were absolutely tremendous and I can't recommend them enough to fans of all kinds of death metal. More...
Taake Took Over A Trendy Neighborhood In Prague
Reviewing concerts in different cities is exciting and nerve wracking at the same time, especially if you don’t speak the native tongue. Tonight, I was in Prague, Czech Republic to see Taake along with opening acts Asagraum and Heimland. I’ve been told that Black Metal is a really popular draw here in Prague, and I was going to see if that was indeed true tonight. Tonight’s show was taking place the Futurum venue, located in a trendy nightlife area of Smíchov. This seemed like a perfect fit for an underground Black Metal show.
When I arrived, Heimland had already started playing. As I made my way past the ticket booth and down two flights of stairs into the stage area, I saw how Black Metal ranks in Prague. Unequivocally and without a doubt, it’s a popular draw. The place was already packed for the first band. I bumped my way through the attentive crowd to an open area off the side of the stage. I was able to catch about 5 songs of Heimland’s set. Without having ever listening to them previously, I would say they’re solid as musicians and as a live act. On a side note, some of their material did remind me of early Taake.
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Heimland
Next up was Asagraum, whose popularity is starting to climb among the Black Metal faithful. If you don’t know anything about them, they are a mostly all female Black Metal band based in Netherlands but with some roots from Norway. They’ve been around since 2017 but after catching their whole set, they sounded like they’ve been around much longer. I thought they were good. They played with a lot of enthusiasm and were tight. They received a healthy response from a rabid crowd so that tells me that they’re well on their way to headlining their own tours soon.
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Asagraum
I’ll be honest, Taake is one of my favorite Black Metal bands so if I read like a homer the rest of the report, you’ll know why. After entering the fog filled stage during their intro music, Taake started their set with “Hordalands doedskvad VI”, the instrumental track on “Hordalands doedskvad.” In fact, they plated the entire album tonight for its 20-year anniversary. I love it when a band decides to showcase important albums in their catalog. For Taake, this was hands down one of their most important albums during their historic rise within the Black Metal divinity.
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Hoest from Taake More...
Vio-Lence Leads A Thrash Metal Charge In London
Even the legends still have first times for everything. When thrash metal exploded onto the scene in the 1980s to take on the wretched plague of glam, many of the American names were able to cross the pond and perform in Europe, including Britain, who themselves wanted either an evolution of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, or an alternative to the synthpop that dominated the airwaves. Of course, the Bay Area was one of the two main homes for American thrash, along with the East Coast, and it gave the world such groups as Metallica, Megadeth and of course, Vio-Lence, whose debut album, "Eternal Nightmare" is still considered a classic of the genre to this day. In 1990, they would release their sophomore full length, "Oppressing The Masses" and now, thirty five years later, Sean Killian and co. marked the occasion with their first headlining tour of the UK and Ireland, along with other European dates, and they had some very impressive company joining them.
All too often, unknown openers are dismissed, especially when it comes to a weekday show and people are debating whether to stop home on their way from work or whatever, but those who got to the show on time today were able to witness history. Tonight's curtain jerkers were Kuazar, who were not only performing their first show in London too, but became the first metal band from Paraguay to perform in the UK. While it's always cool to be a part of history, the big question is, are they actually any good? Well, yes, demonstrably so. Kuazar are clearly very proud of their homeland, and the South American nation couldn't have picked better ambassadors for their metal scene.
The trio boasts a very impressive catalogue, with material from their most recent album, "Hybrid Power," proving particularly impressive. "Obscure & Violent" sounded fantastic, while the other tracks had more of a story behind them, such as the call for mental health support and anti-suicide anthem, "Silence," as well as the rousing "Machete Che Pope (Acosta Ñu,)" a song about the horrific slaughter of children in their homeland. Musically, they're very much at home on a thrash bill, but there's a bit more to them than that, offering some heavy grooves and pummeling rhythms, along with an intense stage presence that invites everyone around them to come closer, which they did very quickly. This was one of the most impressive openers I've seen for a while and I hope they're able to return to Europe soon. More...
Napalm Death Returns To Brixton With Crowbar
Over the course of metal music, there are tours with names that become as well known as the bands that spawned them themselves. Perhaps the most famous is Ozzfest (which, for those of you under twenty, was like a circus that treated the audience as clowns,) the abysmally named but wildly successful Lollapalooza which was created by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell and featured a number of metal bands performing, and of course, the Family Values tour, a celebration of nu metal, mostly by bands who didn't want to be called nu metal.
In recent years, grindcore pioneers Napalm Death has joined those ranks with their Campaign For Musical Destruction tour, which by now has become a regular thing at this time of the year and brings together a plethora of extreme acts, from fellow grind favourites like Rotten Sound to death metal icons such as Immolation to thrashers like Warbringer. The actual name has been used by the band sporadically for decades but as a regular trek, it's become more of a staple this decade. Napalm Death has just completed the latest edition of this travelling explosion and this year, the European lineup included New Orleans masters Crowbar, East Coast grindcore band Full Of Hell and "bimboviolence" outfit Brat, also from NOLA and Metal Underground was lucky enough to be there for the London stop of the tour.
Just like last year, when the trek featured Pig Destroyer, Primitive Man and Wormrot, the Campaign For Musical Destruction made its London pitch in Brixton. Not at the Academy, thank the gods, but just down the road at Electric; a smaller venue that packs a great atmosphere. As always, fans could hardly wait to burst through the doors for this celebration of noise and first up to bat were New Orleans (relative) newcomers Brat. Although they've been around for five years now, their debut full length, "Social Grace," was only released a year ago and so people have had a little time to get their teeth into them now. Much like the 2023 tour openers Escuela Grind, much has been made about their image and therefore, whether or not they're actually grind or whatever, but personally, I'm all for it.
I would say maybe I'm in the minority for liking a bit of fun with my music, but the crowd in south London were clearly game too. They didn't have time for a lot of songs and vocalist Liz Selfish was recovering from an illness, but they went off like a sandstorm (which coincidentally was also their intro song,) causing havoc all over the venue with an excellent display of sonic violence that contained plenty of cuts from their debut, including "Ego Death," "Hesitation Wound" and "Human Offense." As the band practically tore apart their instruments, Selfish was entertaining (and confusing some of) the audience with manic facial expressions and dance moves that I couldn't dream of doing. For all the pink, the silliness and the pop samples, they're very much a hardcore band at heart, making a big noise with a grounded attitude. Though the clips of Britney Spears songs were somewhat funny, in truth, Brat doesn't need them. They have a brilliant stage presence that can win over any doubters willing to check them out, as I hope many will do when they return to London this Summer. More...
Biohazard & Life Of Agony Bring Brooklyn To London
It's quite amazing how far a reputation can travel. Through music, movies, sportsmen and more, the borough of Brooklyn, New York is known all across the world. From the Beastie Boys to Mike Tyson, so many people have helped give the area the fame, and to an extent notoriety that it maintains today. Of course, there's no shortage of heavy music in Brooklyn, and at long last, two of Brooklyn's most revered names teamed up to bring their punishing sounds to Europe, beginning in the British Isles. On March 4th, Biohazard and Life Of Agony arrived in London, enticing everyone in the British capital with Knicks and Jets merchandise out to the show to hear the concrete audio both groups are known for.
The Kentish Town Forum, a personal favourite when it comes to venues in The Smoke, opened at six in the evening but it would be nearly an hour before attendees would get to witness the opening band of the night, LYLVC (pronounced, "lilac") from North Carolina. I must admit to some hesitation because I can't stand it when bands spell their name in capitals or use Vs and Ys when it's not needed, but it's not fair to judge a band on this kind of thing. The venue was still a long way from being full and when greeted with TV screens, complete with sci-fi intro video, the crowd clearly didn't know what to make of it.
To be honest, this attitude barely changed throughout the set, which was a shame because LYLVC has a ton of energy and was clearly excited to be performing in London. Their mix of rock, rap and electronic music comes together to create an uplifting sound and vocalist Alyse Zavala was a particular highlight, though I did enjoy watching keyboardist Cam Gillette, because I was convinced that at any moment his gear was about to fall over. Ultimately, LYLVC far exceeded my expectations, but the lack of reaction from the audience led me to believe that this was the wrong tour for them. They'd fit in better with modern nu metal bands like Blind Channel or Project Renegade, or even supporting veterans of that sub-genre. An intriguing, if miscast opener. More...
Obituary Redneck Stomps Over Bristol
It seems strange seeing a band mere weeks after witnessing them less than a month before. Then again, most bands aren't genre pioneering heavyweights with an incredible catalogue, so, only about three weeks on from Obituary's set supporting Sepultura in London, it was on the train to Bristol to see them headline their own tour of the United Kingdom. Dubbed the "One for the old school" tour, it was supposed to feature support from thrash metal veterans Sadus, but only one date into the tour, they were forced to leave after some truly horrific actions on the part of one member. So, without one of the tour's main attractions, how would it fare?
Without Sadus, Obituary opted to invite local bands to open for them on the remainder of the trek, and in Bristol the opportunity fell to Overpower. Kudos has to be given for them being willing to step up to the plate so quickly, especially since they were in very real danger of one of their members not being able to make it. As for the performance, they clearly had some friends in attendance, and probably a few fans of their own, but I don't think they made too much of an impression. The vocals were grating, the music unoriginal and the stage banter was painful. The only thing worse than sitting through a band you're not enjoying is one that thinks they're funny on top of it. As mentioned, fair play to them for having the guts and eagerness to take this opportunity, but I can't try and smooth over what felt like an incredibly long and joyless time. More...
Anthrax & Kreator Team With Testament In London
Thrash metal is a fascinating field. Arguably the first metal sub-genre, fusing the anthems of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden with the "fuck you" attitude of punk icons like Discharge and Dead Kennedys, it kept the youthful spirit alive in metal and was a perfect antithesis to the glam stylings of Motley Crue and Poison. Over forty years on from the debut albums of its stalwarts like Metallica and Slayer and thrash still has an important place in metal, with many of its big names just as popular as ever. Recently, three of these iconic names joined forces for a tour fans will never forget, even if the bands and fans alike are now more concerned with mortgages and car insurance than skateboarding and day drinking.
Only a few months ago, Kreator and Testament trekked across the United States and Canada for the North American leg of the Klash Of The Titans tour and with Anthrax replacing Possessed for the European portion, it was Testament's turn to kick off the evening of metal. Rarely can it be claimed with legitimacy that Testament put in a bad shift and that was the case tonight, as the Bay Area representatives got things going in style with "D.N.R.," a personal favourite and a highlight from the excellent 1999 effort, "The Gathering," which was followed immediately by "3 Darks Of Darkness" from the same record. Twenty five years after the release of the cult favourite album, it was good to hear its songs alongside older and fresher favourites alike.
Being in the special guest role, there was only so much time Testament had to make their impact felt but they did just that with a number of songs from their reunion era onward, including "More Than Meets The Eye" from "The Formation Of Damnation," along with the album's title track, plus "Native Blood" from "Dark Roots Of Earth" and two numbers from the band's latest album, "Titans Of Creation." "The Ritual" is often represented by the exciting "Electric Crown" when it comes to live shows, but tonight Testament had another surprise in store as they performed "Return To Serenity" for the first time since the year 2000. Of course, most sets end with an old school classic and that was just what happened tonight when the quintet finished with "Into The Pit," the only song from their eighties material. A furious end to a storming set. More...