Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2018, Page 46

Metal Is Death
Reykjavík Deathfest’s third edition
turns Gaukurinn to ash
Words & Photos: Phil Uwe Widiger
Festival
The next edition—“Reykjavík
Metalfest”—is 16-18th May 2019
For any fan of death metal, Rey-
kjavík Deathfest comes close to be-
ing their holy grail, featuring both
international and national favour-
ites of the subgenre. It is the third
edition of the festival and with
Gaukurinn’s new sound system,
this promises to be the best yet. As
I descend on Gaukurinn at around
7 pm on Friday night, I’m prepared
for my soul to be tortured and my
ears to be bleeding—in the most
pleasant way possible.
Neck cramps
Bag Of Anthrax are the perfect
opener and fill the room with
fast-paced, destructive riffs and
songs that barely extend beyond
one minute. The Hungarian Sin
Of God deliver fast, brutal and
non-compromising death metal,
and the French duo WarFuck win
the crowd with their energetic
stage presence. Severed deliver
riffs sharp enough to cut glass. At
the end of their set, I can feel my
neck starting to hurt.
Der Weg Einer Freiheit blow
the minds of the whole audience
with their atmospheric take on
black-metal that mixes calm,
graceful passages with crushing,
blast beat-driven tremolo-picking.
The American Malignancy met-
aphorically punch me with their
progressive, complex, perfectly
delivered riffs. After a few songs,
I feel saturated by the intensity of
extreme metal and I leave, miss-
ing the last two bands—DODEC-
AHEDRON and Une Misère. How-
ever, the first evening of Reykjavík
Deathfest 2018 leaves me satisfied
with the balanced line-up, great
sound and spectacular bands.
Bulldozer-fucking-
metal
The second night opens with Di-
vine Defilement who remind me of
Cannibal Corpse with their groovy
riffs and effortless tempo chang-
es. Cult Of Lilith’s new
singer is a beast, and
even though the clean
vocals are barely audi-
ble, the variety of vocal
styles and his presence
on stage totally make
up for that.
Gr uesome Glor y
play for the first time
in six years and one can feel the
pure joy of the audience of wel-
coming them back on stage. The
first reunion of the evening has it
all—technical complexity, tight-
ness, groove, heaviness and most
of all—fun. Skinned’s perfor-
mance can be described in three
words: bulldozer-fucking-metal.
The Dutch Ulsect’s theatrical per-
formance builds up with disso-
nant guitar lines reminiscent of
black metal, climaxing in heavy
breakdowns.
Dead Congregation start at a
slow, doomy pace and then accel-
erate into full-blown death metal.
I can actually feel the vibrations
of their singer’s super-low growls
through the floor. When Psycrop-
tic arrive on stage, the crowd goes
wild in various circles and mosh
pits. For the occasion of the 10th
anniversary of their debut album,
Icelandic favourite Gone Post-
al play through the whole album
with an enthusiasm and sheer joy
that is a sight to behold.
Reykjavík Metalfest
As screams for more start to fill
the room, I leave into the cold and
windy Icelandic night. I’m deeply
impressed with what the organ-
isers have achieved by putting
on such a good festival that only
revolves around extreme met-
al in the heart of Reykjavík. The
line-up was stellar,
the sound mostly on
point, and the organ-
isation smooth.
To everybody’s
delight, next year’s
edition of the festi-
val has already been
a n n o u n c e d , n o w
c a l l e d “ Re y k j av í k
Metalfest,” indicating their aim
of broadening the target audi-
ence. The discontinuation of
the Oration festival will leave a
hole in the black metal scene, but
Reykjavík Metalfest looks well
equipped to fill it.
Music
Der Weg Einer Freiheit blowing some minds
“The crowd
goes wild
in various
circle and
mosh pits.”
Suðurgata 41
101 Reykjavík
www.thjodminjasafn.is
tel +354 530 22 00
Hverfisgata 15
101 Reykjavík
www.safnahusid.is
tel +354 530 22 10
National Museum of Iceland
The country’s largest
museum of cultural
history from settlement
to present day.
The Culture House
Manuscripts, fine art, natural
specimens, curiosities and
archeaological findings form
the exhibition Points of View.
National
Museum of
Iceland
The
Culture
House
The exhibitions, shops and cafés are open daily 10 - 17 Closed on Mondays 16/9 – 30/4
Bus nr. 1 30 minutes
from Lækjartorg
Open 12–5 p.m.
Closed on Tuesdays
Strandgata 34
220 Hafnarfjörður
Iceland
www.hafnarborg.is
hafnarborg@hafnarfjordur.is
(354) 585 5790
Hafnarborg
The Hafnarfjördur Centre
of Culture and Fine Art
35/30
Anniversary Exhibition