Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2014, Blaðsíða 38

38 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2014MUSIC
A trip east to the
Eistnaflug metal festival
Eistnaflug has come a long way from
its humble beginnings ten years ago,
when only three bands travelled to
Neskaupstaður, Hrefna Viggósdóttir, a
seasoned member of the ticket office staff
(and wife of festival
head Stefán “Stebbi
hressi” Magnússon)
tells me. “They sta-
yed at our place and
partied with us after-
wards,” she says, “and
then the festival
doubled in size every
year until 2010, when
it reached its current format.”
They’ve been close to selling out the
last four years, and this year they actually
had to turn people away. “People used to
just show up on Friday or Saturday and
catch the main bands,” she says, “but now
guests are very organised and show up a
day early on Wednesday so that they don’t
miss any bands.”
With violent assault and rape being
unfortunately all too common occurrences
at Icelandic festivals, Eistnaflug has taken
a strong stance on the issue with its “no
bullshit” policy. Indeed, there have been
no reported instances of either occurring
since they set up shop ten years ago.
Festival head Stebbi vocally enforces this
policy every day of the festival by taking
the stage and asking attendees to look out
for one another, help those in need and
make sure to have fun together.
Along with enlisting festivalgoers
to help keep the peace, the organisers,
security guards and police all work
closely together to ensure that people
feel safe at all times.
Hrefna stresses the
importance of this
ethic to the festival’s
success. “We’re not
going to have a fest-
ival where violence is
tolerated,” she says,
noting that she sees
no reason why other
festivals can’t adopt a similar approach
to make the experience enjoyable for
everyone involved.
Everybody Is Welcome
Arriving late on Thursday, I was met with a
throng of Eistnaflug regulars hanging out
in the courtyard outside venue Egilsbúð,
smoking, drinking and being merry after
witnessing a Brain Police performance.
Some were decked out from head to toe
in metal garb, donning leather jackets
and spiked collars with corpsepaint
dripping off their sweaty faces. Others
were dressed more like your average Joes
and Janes, wearing jeans and jumpers,
looking equally at home at Eistnaflug and
Kaffibarinn. The festival may be half a
day’s drive from Reykjavík, but it’s not just
the extreme metal fanatics that make their
way here.
Hrefna notes that the number of
women in attendance increases with each
passing year. “Initially we would only see
girls accompanying their boyfriends, but
now there are whole groups of women
who travel here,” Hrefna says. Female-
fronted bands are also getting more
prominent, with Angist, Kælan mikla,
Mammút and Skelkur í bringu leading the
charge this year.
The attitude of inclusivity also extends
to people with disabilities as is seen in a
touching display when the festival-goers
come together to allow a wheelchair-user
to crowd surf. Afterwards he wears a smile
from ear-to-ear, admitting he was worried
sick he’d fall out of his chair, but that it was
absolutely worth it.
The crowd remains animated
throughout the festival, and strangers
are happy to strike up conversations in
between shows. Between sets, first-timer
Jóhanna Sigrún Bjarnardóttir tells me
she came because she was really excited
about the line-up, confessing that she had
wanted to go for years, but for one reason
or another hadn’t made it until now.
Frequent Eistnaflug-ers, like Hallveig
Kristín Eiríksdóttir, claim that Eistnaflug
offers a much better atmosphere than
other Icelandic festivals, as people get
along very well and that it’s easy to chat
with the members of your favourite
For the rockers and metalheads of Iceland, the second weekend of July is a religious
holiday, road trip and family reunion all rolled into one. It marks the annual Eistnaflug
festival (“Flight Of The Testes”), held in Iceland’s eastern-most village, Neskaupstaður.
During the three days of festivities, the fishing hamlet’s population of 1,437 more than
doubles, with crowds flocking from all over Iceland, and to an extent Europe, to wit-
ness a line-up of more than 50 local and international metal bands share a stage.
Photo
Eiríkur Simonsen
Words
Tómas Gabríel Benjamin
“It used to be we’d only
see girls accompany-
ing their boyfriends, but
now there are whole
groups of them who
travel here.”
A Guided Walking Tour
Dark Deeds
in Reykjavík
Every Thursday in June, July and August at 3pm
This 90 min. walk is at an easy pace
:ŽŝŶƵƐĨŽƌĂĨƵŶŝŶƚƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶƚŽ/ĐĞůĂŶĚŝĐ
ĐƌŝŵĞĮĐƟŽŶ͕ŐŚŽƐƚƐĂŶĚŐŚŽƵůƐ
Starts at Reykjavík City Library in Tryggvagata 15
/ŶĨŽ͗ǁǁǁ͘ůŝƚĞƌĂƚƵƌĞ͘ŝƐ
Free of charge
ĮƫŶŐǁĂƌŵͲƵƉ͗ƚϮƉŵĞǀĞƌLJdŚƵƌƐĚĂLJǁĞƐĐƌĞĞŶ
Spirits of Iceland͕ĂĮůŵŽŶ/ĐĞůĂŶĚŝĐĨŽůŬůŽƌĞ
ŝŶƚŚĞůŝďƌĂƌLJΖƐϱƚŚŇŽŽƌƐĐƌĞĞŶŝŶŐƌŽŽŵ
www.borgarbokasafn.is
Tel. 411 6100
Testes Not
Required
For Metal
Car provided by Hertz car rental,
book car at www.hertz.is.