Aalborg Metal Festival 09, 6th & 7th November 2009, Studenterhuset, Aalborg, Denmark

Nordic Rock Booking once again opened up the doors to one of Denmark’s finest metal festivals, the AALBORG METAL FESTIVAL 2009. AMF has existed since 2002, which makes it one of Denmark’s most established metal festivals and I’m proud to say that I have been right at the spot each day of all seven years.
This year people behind Nordic Rock Booking presented strong and complex musical program, with metal music for almost every taste, even though majority of the bands were in the more extreme direction; hardcore, death & black metal.


Day One:

Thursday was a day for a festival warm-up, where people could enter a karaoke contest and win awesome prizes, including partout tickets for the festival. Furthermore Danish death-metallers Koldborn was closing down this evening. Along Koldborn another local band performed shortly this night and it was AlooP. The band is inspired from all subgenres of metal and therefore it’s hard to categorize the style of the band. One thing is sure though: AlooP is a very energetic and well playing band, who delivers an aggressive, raw and powerful expression. Unfortunately I was unable to be there on all Thursday, but I have seen both bands live on numerous occasions before.


Day Two:

Meanwhile, I was all prepared for Friday, where the doors opened at 2pm (14.00), or at least it is what I thought. I was in the bank, bought alcohol & drugs, took my car and drove to Aalborg to meet with my friend Kasper, which once again was by my side covering this festival. Unfortunately, after my arrival to Aalborg I figured out that all things prepared for this festival was forgotten at my home. In other words; it was not the best start for me. There was no other solution than putting car in a reverse and drive back home. It left an impact on the rest of my day as I for the first time ever missed two opening acts, namely Vardlokkur & Endstille, but I was told that the sound sucked big time, so I could kind of live with it anyway.

Prior to the launch of this year’s festival also highly acclaimed black metal act Blodarv also cancelled their performance. So, what is left to see this day was following bands: As We Fight, Hollenthon, God Dethroned, Artillery and finally my absolute favorites - Dark Funeral. But let’s start in a chronological order…

Previously on these pages we have presented Danish hardcore act As We Fight. The band recently finished the recordings for their third album – Meet Your Maker, (produced by Jacob Bredahl of Hatesphere, Exmortem etc. and mastered by Ziggy of Illdisposed & Mercenary). Most of their app. half an hour long show consisted of the songs from Meet Your Maker, but also a couple of their classic anthems. Jesper (vocals) was missing this evening, but the band delivered once again a solid performance and I once again got confirmed that As We Fight are one of the best live metal acts in Denmark. [3/6]

Hollenthon is an Austrian creative black metal band existing since now far 1994. Unfortunately I had no further knowledge on this band prior to this concert, so my expectations were kind of limited. During their set they were tight playing dark and cold metal while including segments from Moslem & Catholic prayers. They also get used a whole range of musical aspects and their guitarist delivered one after another long solo. It was another pleasant surprise that I’ll carry on with me forever. At the moment, Hollenthon are working on a new EP, which will be released as limited edition at their European tour with God Dethroned and Endstille which also bring them to Danish metal capital – Aalborg on this cold November evening. [4/6]

Next band on bill were Dutch veterans from God Dethroned. The band made an impressive entrance on stage followed by an amazing intro ‘God is Dead’. Apart from most of the songs from their latest offering Passiondale, they also played a few old songs, like my personal favorite “The Execution Protocol” from their 1999 release Bloody Blasphemy. “No Man´s Land” got some real motion in the audience while “Poison Fog” represents in the best manner what their April 2009 album Passiondale is all about. The whole theme this evening was about I World War, but it was original and interesting and not following typical genre clichés. “Villa Vampiria” from their 2001 record Ravenous was another catchy and tight song that left an impact on me. So, all in all, this was more than an average God Dethroned gig, showing the band that is at the top of their game. [5/6]

Denmark’s Artillery is easily appointed one of Europe’s earliest exponents of thrash metal, and the band’s contribution to the bourgeoning genre is difficult to ignore. Thus, I was much exited to see if these old-timers still can deliver their deadly dose of old-school thrash metal. In March/April 2009, Artillery recorded 13 tracks for the album When Death Comes (released through Polish Metal Mind Productions) at Medley Studios with producer Søren Andersen. But, their set list this evening contained more than just a presentation of their new opus, even though songs “10.000 Devils” and “When Death Comes” left a biggest mark on me. Esp. the last mentioned one is one fast motherfucker of a thrash anthem. The band even performed some songs which they haven’t played live in more than 10 years, and their dedicated followers in the audience seemed to have appreciated it. It was great to hear again live following tracks: “The Almighty”, slightly messy “The Challenge”, terrific “Terror Squad”, then “Bombfood”, “By Inheritance” and last but not least the unforgettable “Khomaniac”. But, the whole thing was somehow overshadowed by some drum-problems which professional people at AMF soon after solved. I don’t know if it’s just nostalgia or true entertainment but I enjoyed even the times when they ‘felt off’ and therefore I give them this relatively high mark. [5/6]

As so many times before, the best thing was saved for the end, ladies and gentleman; it was time for a satanic grandfathers of Swedish & Scandinavian black metal; Dark Funeral. But before they entered the stage it was big time of delay and simply…waste of time. Following on tradition from last year, where people had to wait 1, 5 hour for Opeth, now almost the same happened with mighty Dark Funeral. I know they like darkness, but this is just not acceptable as there were given no reasons for such a huge delay (which, I’m being told, was repeated the next day before Satyricon entered the stage). However, when DF finally came on stage, they delivered 100%... I was surprised by the amount of energy, enthusiasm and will to play this kind of music. Dark Funeral is most definitely the leader and never the follower and from this night I’m even a bigger fan of the band. Simply top-notch performance that deserves an equally good mark, therefore… [6/6]


Day Three:

Saturday the doors open at 12pm (12.00) and following bands were performing: Essence, Mudslide, Methonia, The Burning, The Psyke Project, Raunchy, Mnemic, The Haunted & Satyricon.

Essence was the opening act on Saturday. They are a bunch of young guys from my hometown of Hjoerring… they came on right on time and their ½ hour long gig was more than acceptable. While getting inspiration from bands like Exodus, Kreator, Slayer and Testament, Essence still manages to create their own personal sound and style. Thus this evening’ performance was just another modern thrash metal mixed with combat and melodic assault. Essence played some of their best songs, among those “Lost in Violence” and “Blood of Man”. Essence has proven themselves be an extremely well-playing live band and succeeds in getting everyone among the audience fired up, regardless to age, gender or musical preferences. [3/6]

Metal quintet Mudslide was next to hit the stage this early afternoon in Aalborg. Mudslide consists of a handful of young musicians with a burning ambition to let them selves be heard and seen. Collisions, the newest outing from the young metallers, is infected with cold, mind numbing soundscapes and outburst of raw, dark energy. Therefore it was obvious choice for this young band to play best song on Collisions, “Horizon” and also my personal favorite “It Comes in Waves”. [4/6]

Methonia was another Danish band chosen to perform at this year’s AMF. It is a band in constant motion, always seeking to explore uncharted terrain of the musical mind. This afternoon they delivered one hell of a guitar soli, while their new man Lars took charge of lead-guitar. However, their performance was much of a ‘routine’ which is kind of unbelievable as they are still a very young act. Best song in humble opinion is “Of Love and Affection” taken from their newest EP And Affection. If you’re into progressive metal/rock then you must check Methonia, but if you’re die-hard head-banger, their live performance may be a little bit of a hurdle for you to overcome. [4/6]

Luckily enough, I have seen the next act a few times before on stage, so I knew immediately what to expect from them: the best elements of contemporary thrash and death metal, mixed with big thundering grooves and soaring melodies are the abrasive ingredients that The Burning have cultivated to establish themselves as one of Denmark’s premier up and coming metal acts. The band is furthermore known for delivering the most honest and awesome approach when playing live, and this evening was no exception. They were hard-hitting and eager to convince the remaining skeptics that they are the next big thing to come out of Denmark. Throughout the whole show they had great interaction with the audience and my ‘brother in crime’ Kasper thought they maybe had the best ever growling vocal performance he had ever heard at AMF. Scott Jensen from Dawn of Demise joined the band on the last song at this show. Simply incredible amount of energy was unleashed and it left me all wet and sweaty preventing this beautiful little dark-haired slut in the audience to give us what she considered to be ‘the best threesome followed by the best blowjob ever’. [5/6]

The Psyke Project (another Danish act) plays a very harsh and dark kind of hardcore with influences ranging from Converge, Zao to Neurosis and Norma Jean. It was my first live encounter with this awesome live band and I liked what I saw this day… Their music is filled with raging anger, up-speed-tempo and extremely professional attitude. The Psyke Project was maybe the most brutal act or individual that took appearance at this year’s AMF. I esp. liked when they had many tempo shifts, switching from the most up-speed raging to mellower and softer tunes. However, those moments were just occasional and therefore my score is just average… [3/6]

Raunchy was next, but they came on stage after bigger delay, but it didn’t prevent huge crowd turn-on. They entered the stage alongside chilly and dark intro. Their whole performance was spoiled with this terrible sound and technique problems (esp. on the keyboards), which also resulted in band only playing a couple of songs, before apologizing to the audience and leaving the stage soon after they begun. It was not entirely Raunchy’s own fault, but no matter why and how, this was the worse performance during the entire festival. [2/6]

Industrial metal act Mnemic (Latin word for ‘memory’) was next to deliver what proved to be another awesome gig. Their French singer/vocalist Guillaume Bideau spent a lot of time joking, interacting with the audience while telling us the stories on how he thought Danish chicks were much hotter than ugly muscular French ladies. The sound was also much improved since Raunchy disasters show… Mnemic played a couple of songs from their first album Mechanical Spin Phenomena, and it seemed like the huge crowd enjoyed the old classics most. This night was special for us in the audience as we were the chosen lucky ones to hear, for the first time ever, their new track “Human” which is recorded for their upcoming album Sons of the System due to be released in January 2010. It promises that the good times are not yet over for Mnemic and that the future of this long-lasting Industrial/Death metal act does definitely looks bright. [5/6]

Swedish metal act The Haunted was the next big thing, and it looked like the audience was confident in them as they have performed at AMF before. The Haunted made a respectable live reputation staging the Swedish metal scene and now the time was to capture Denmark. The Haunted is well-known for their fine sound and great stage presence. With psychotic and crazy singer Peter Dolving the entertainment is always guaranteed with the Haunted. He spent a lot of time speakin’ of Sweden as most secularized, atheist and anti-Christian country in the Western world. No false pride, no fashion, no fake set of values, The Haunted captured our minds and hearts and we will always love them for that. [5/6]

As noted before, I was unable to stay in Aalborg for any longer than 15 minutes past 12 pm, so I left for Hjoerring without watching the Norwegian superstars from Satyricon. But, I’ve been told later that Satyricon delivered maybe the strongest performance of all bands at this year’s AMF. Everything worked just perfect for the band; from their choice of the set list to their musicianship and enthusiasm put forward this night. Satyr, the charismatic leader and singer was at his best, and one can do nothing else but show respect for the man that was a personification of Norwegian black metal for almost two decades now. Their repertoire this night contained most of the songs from their two latest albums Now, Diabolical and The Age of Nero.
      Satyricon were alongside Dark Funeral, apart from being the headliners, also the best performing bands delivering the strongest performance on the stage. [6/6]

Last joint was consumed and it was time for me to Thank AMF-crew and head home to Hjoerring. See you next year again…

However, Aalborg Metal Festival 2009 was more than just music. This year one could also find metal market in the Café, here you were able to spend all your hard earned cash on great merchandise, music, instruments, you name it… so did I. One also had the opportunity of showing the singing skills in Jägergrotten, where there was a metal karaoke during all festival. This year there was also the metal-fashion show. This time it was presented by RagnaRock Fashion, who is an alternative clothing designed and made by two young designers: Signe & Monika from Aarhus, Denmark. Their aim is to make it easier for you as a customer, to buy Danish alternative design and Danish metal merchandise at the same place. All their styles are very worked through. RagnaRock fashion styles for both women and men and some of their designs can be seen at the pictures presented here or at their website.


•    I want to take this opportunity once again to Thank the organizers and stuff at Nordic Rock Booking & Studenterhuset for putting such an amazing and Denmark’s finest metal event together and for letting me feature it for the seventh time in a raw. The only wish I have for next year is broader range of metal sub-genres to be presented. We simply need at least one band playing Gothic, Symphonic and/or Power metal…

* Many more pictures of this year’s installment of Aalborg Metal festival can be seen here.

** Our review of last year’ AMF.

Relevant references:

http://site.aalborgmetalfestival.dk/
http://www.studenterhuset.dk/

www.hollenthon.com
www.myspace.com/satyricon
www.darkfuneral.se
www.mnemic.com
www.the-haunted.com
www.artillery.dk
www.raunchy.dk
www.myspace.com/theburningdk
www.myspace.com/aswefight
www.myspace.com/methonia
www.myspace.com/mudslideonline
www.myspace.com/essencemetal
www.vardlokkur.com
www.myspace.com/blodarv
www.myspace.com/endstilleband
www.thepsykeproject.com
www.goddethroned.com


*** Whole festival witnessed and reported by Bato with a little help of his friend Kasper.