Report and photography by ©Jeanny Petrocchi, METALPHOTO
No less than five Black Metal bands performed last saturday June 10th in Willemeen, Arnhem. A great 1st edition of BLOOD FIRE UNDEATH Festival that attracted a large audience. On that night our loving Baphomet sent forth his army of black metal warriors to cleanse Arnhem of all the trends that have tarnished the atmosphere for which it was known.
A line up comprised entirely of black metal machines; Antzaker (NL), Trivax (UK), Tsatthoggua (DE), Bezwering (NL) and Denial of God (DK).
The course of the timetable didn’t go as planned. Due to delays caused by the intermediate soundchecks and stage decorations, the last band Denial of God was unable to perform at the indicated time, so we unfortunately missed it.
Here is a brief recap, let the ceremony begin:
BEZWERING is a black metal formation from Gelderland whose lyrics are sung entirely in Dutch. We are not dealing with beginners here. The band consists almost entirely of veterans of the Dutch metal scene such as Wederganger and Heidevolk. The combination of solemn, clean vocals and soul-penetrating screams creates a pleasant and very convincing interaction. From a musical point of view, Bezwering is very divers, in which there is a smooth alternation between pagan black metal, black ’n roll and Urfaustian doom hymn. By using such variables, Bezwering manage to give their Black Metal driven sound some variety. This is definitely an advantage as the band doesn’t get lost in the wildness of speed, but rather uses twists to trick the mind of the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
This German Black Metal band, TSATTHOGGUA formed in 1993 decided to drive their efforts into an even more bizarre, faster and outrageous style. Back in the 90s, their Satanic hyper-speed Black Metal albums “Hosanna Bizarre” and “Trans Cunt Whip” was spread through the underground scene like wildfire. Tsatthoggua wandered several European stages and stood out for wearing leather and latex masks to emphasize their reference to the dark, lost and forgotten realms of humanity. Lyrically Tsatthoggua focuses less on traditional Black Metal themes of black magic, pagan mythology and generalized evil. The lyrics are very sex-obsessed and focus on S&M rather than on death, hate and misanthropy like various other Metal bands.
TRIVAX is a Black Metal band based in UK who offer an intense live experience fit for the worshippers of the genre. They were originally formed in Tehran by frontman Shayan however he moved to the UK in 2011 due to the restrictions placed on Metal music in Iran. Since than these devoted musicians seeks nothing but chaos, liberation and retribution! Even though the crowd was small at this point, they delivered their utmost; there was a huge steam of energy that swept through the dark concert hall. The frontman Shayan hyped up the crowd to get everyone in the mood, they have an indisputable stage presence that demands attention! A decent second opener for an evening that was only going to get more and more vicious.
ANTZAKER kicked off the night with their chaotic sound making it clear that they were more than worthy to perform on this 1st edition of this Black Metal Festival. This four-headed beast, made their entry under heavy red lights bringing the darkest, purest black metal from Kinheim.
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